To satisfy the aims of the Regional Seas Conventions (OSPAR, Cartagena, Barcelona, etc.), it is now necessary to network at this level.
Such cooperation is an opportunity to come together to share common problems beyond national borders and drive new ideas internationally.
The network and forum of Carribean marine protected areas is a regional initiative to improve communication and skills in the Carribean region.
CaMPAM was founded in 1997 within the framework of the Carribean environment programme (UN environment programme UNEP-CEP) and the specially protected area and wildlife protocol (SPAW Protocol) of the Cartagena Convention. Since then, the network has received the support of governments, foundations and experts. The initiative brings together MPA researchers, authorities, managers and academics.
One of the most productive areas in the tropical Pacific is that which comprises the territorial seas of Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica, also called "The Tropical Pacific". This area presents major currents that allow the dispersal of planktonic larvae in the sea and a demonstrated connectivity between the different marine protected areas of the countries, where several migrations of organisms of ecological and economic importance occur.
CMAR ("Corredor Marino del Pacífico Este Tropical" or "Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor") was born in a meeting of the Ministers of Environment of Costa Rica, Panamá, Colombia and Ecuador which was held in San José de Costa Rica between 31 March and 2 April 2004, where they signed the "San Jose Declaration", which established the definition, principles and objectives of the CMAR. This declaration defined the CMAR as a regional initiative for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and coastal and marine resources in the area of influence of the MPA ?s Galapagos (Ecuador), Malpelo and Gorgona (Colombia), Coiba (Panama) and Cocos Island (Costa Rica).
The CMAR initiative aims to consolidate opportunities for sustainable development in the region by integrating several fields of action.
The Locally-Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Network is a group of practitioners involved in various community-based marine conservation projects around the globe, primarily in the Indo-Pacific, who have joined together to learn how to improve our management efforts. We are interested in learning under what conditions using an LMMA strategy works, doesn't work, and why.
The Network's membership consists largely of conservation and resource management projects that are using (or planning on using) an LMMA approach, and includes: community members, land-owning groups, traditional leaders, elected decision-makers, conservation staff, university scientists and researchers, donors.
The Network spans the people and cultures of Southeast Asia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and the Americas.
From the Shetland Islands to the Azores, i.e. from the UK to Portugal, marine biodiversity conservation is a key national concern addressed particularly by the creation of marine protected areas.
There is a vast range of tools, approaches and goals behind the acronym "MPA" which need to be understood.
MAIA - Marine Protected Areas In the Atlantic Arc - partners aim to enhance and share their wealth and differences to facilitate mutual understanding and foster the development of an efficient, coordinated and recognized network of marine protected areas in the Atlantic arc.
To support the process, the MAIA network:
MedPAN is the network of marine protected areas managers in the Mediterranean.
The objective of the network is to improve the effectiveness of marine protected areas management in the Mediterranean. The MedPAN network today counts over 26 members, mainly managers of marine protected areas from the entire Mediterranean basin, and 16 partners that are keen to contribute to strengthening the network.
These partners manage more than 30 marine protected areas and are working towards the creation of several new sites. Since 1990, the MedPAN network has sought to bring together the managers of Mediterranean marine protected areas (MPAs) and to support them in their management activities.
A legally independent structure since the end of 2008 with a permanent secretariat since the end of 2009, MedPAN aims to promote the establishment and long-term operation of a network of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean.
The North American Marine Protected Areas Network (NAMPAN) represents a trinational network of resource agencies, marine protected areas (MPA) managers, and other relevant experts, and is intended to enhance and strengthen the conservation of biodiversity in critical marine habitats and help foster a comprehensive network of MPAs in North America. NAMPAN is a network of both important marine places and the institutions and people connected with those places.
North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) was launched in 1993 as a comprehensive intergovernmental cooperation mechanism comprising all six Northeast Asian countries, namely, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Japan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Russian Federation in order to jointly address environmental challenges in this subregion.
The Network was formed further to the recommendations of the first FORUM of the Regional Coastal and Marine Conservation Programme in West Africa (PRCM) held in Conakry in May 2004. The strategy gained strong support from the Governments, leading to a General Policy Declaration signed by 10 Ministers in charge of the environment and fisheries in 6 nations: Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal.
Following a lengthy process of studies and consultation between the MPA managers and the various bodies involved in marine and coastal resources management, the regional network of MPAs in West Africa, RAMPAO, was officially established by fifteen member MPAs at the Constituent Assembly on 16 April 2007 in Praia, Cape Verde.
Te Me Um - TErres et MErs UltraMarines (Ultramarine Lands and Seas) - is an information, interaction, training and cooperation programme in French overseas territories. Since 2009, local actions have been set up to address the needs of organisations responsible for ultramarine natural areas.
French overseas territories include some of the richest parts of the planet in terms of biodiversity, and account for 97% of France's marine property - the second largest in the world. This heritage represents priority protection and sustainable management issues. Numerous natural protected sites have thus been established in these French territories where managers are faced with many difficulties.
Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) is a regional professional, non-governmental, non-profit, membership organization, registered in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The organization is dedicated to promoting the educational, scientific and technological development of all aspects of marine sciences throughout the region of Western Indian Ocean (Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion(France)), with a view toward sustaining the use and conservation of its marine resources.
The organization's inter-disciplinary membership consists of marine scientists, coastal practitioners, and institutions involved in the advancement of marine science research and development.
A group of snakelock anemones (Anemonia viridis) discovered on the rocky shore area at Freshwater Bay, SW Isle of Wight during our intertidal surveys on the 26th May 2013.
Amy Marsden / Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
