Protecting the Sea: Rethinking marine protected areas

New Zealand is now far behind international best practice in MPA legislation and practice. At the same time, the degradation of our marine environments is escalating. The current MPA system has long not been fit-for purpose and there is strong consensus around the need for change.

In this report we have identified tricky areas that will need to be negotiated to successfully effect MPA reform. But there are many areas on which there is broad consensus, and these can be fruitfully built on. It is also clear, overall, that the greatest progress on MPAs has been made through collaborative processes and New Zealand has rich experience in this area to build on.

While progressing MPA legislative reform, which we consider vital, we need to simply get on with the job. For this reason, we have recommended establishing further collaborative marine planning processes without delay.