Marine ( multiple use and zoning ) ‘Speaking a Common Language’ Marine ( multiple use and zoning ) Jon Day Director (Conservation, Biodiversity & World Heritage) GBRMPA September 2003 Evaluating Management Effectiveness WPC Durban

The GBR is:  world’s largest MPA & WHA  > 2000 km long  ~ 345,000 km 2 It includes:  over 3000 reefs  over 900 islands Currently classified under IUCN solely as a single protected area of category VI

Copy of page from 1997 UN List of Protected Areas

Zoning Plans Zones separate conflicting uses and range from: u General (= reasonable) use u National Park (‘no-take’) u Preservation (‘no-go’) 5% All zones are developed through a clear planning process set out in the legislation (incl public participation) and the approved zoning plan is sub-ordinate legislation

‘No-take’ areas in GBR: currently ~ 16,000 km 2 GBR zones and IUCN categories

Should the GBR be a single IUCN category?  Primary legislation defines the purpose of the entire MPA but also gives effect to a zoning system  Zoning is the ‘cornerstone’ of GBRMP management  The zoning plans are statutory documents; they have legislative approval and cannot be amended without going through due process  Each zone has a clear specific objective, and the ZP specifies what can occur ‘as of right’ or ‘with permission’  Each zone meets the IUCN requirements for a separate PA

Proposed amended UN listing format

Rationale for proposed approach  improve the usefulness of the existing IUCN category system to more accurately account for the existing 6 IUCN categories, particularly where they have been legally recognised within multiple-use protected areas;  improve the utility of the existing IUCN categories, particularly those locations “nested” in large multiple-use areas;  improve the reporting in data bases of ALL protected areas including multiple-use areas; and  increasingly required, given trend toward larger integrated management areas and more transboundary sites

Proposed approach It is suggested that: u the areas concerned must be defined in legislation, and the areas (or zones) within the PA must also have legislative approval once they have been mapped; u the management aims/objectives for the individual parts should be unambiguous, allowing assignment to a particular IUCN category. u when these conditions are met, each part of the larger management unit should be recorded and classified separately in reporting, on the WCMC data base and the UN List.

Proposed approach (cont) u The above advice should relate to all kinds of PAs (marine and terrestrial) and should be a requirement of any reporting process. u The proposed listing approach would minimise any chance of double-counting. u Start now ….. as it will still take years to compile!

IUCN Categories and MPAs IUCN categories Equivalent marine terms? Ia Preservation Zone, Scientific Reference Area, Scientific research area, Ecological reserve, marine refugia Ib marine wilderness area II Marine National Park, marine sanctuary, no-take area, fully protected areas, marine conservation area, marine reserve III Historic shipwreck, marine monument IV Habitat Protection Zone, Fish habitat area, Fishery Closure areas, replenishment area, marine management area, buffer zone, sensitive sea area, Conservation Area marine park? V Coastal Park, Marine & Coastal Protected Area, biosphere reserve, seascape protection zone VI Multiple use zone, General Use zone MPAMPA

The complexities of applying IUCN categories to marine areas IUCN categories (developed for terrestrial PAs) do not directly apply to MPAs 3 dimensional aspects Some marine boundaries not easily delineated nor managed Ownership issues

Issues still needing to be addressed?  The recognition that many PAs (terrestrial and marine) do actually comprise of differing IUCN categories.  Acceptance that often only one category per PA can create problems (eg mis-representing parts of the PA as something they are not; skewing the accurate accounting of the various IUCN categories; etc)  Problems with ‘zoning in a vertical dimension’

Zoning of the Tasmanian Seamounts Marine Reserve (Southern Australia)

Thank you