Partnership on Coastal and Marine Protected Areas

Many United Nations institutions are currently involved in activities concerning marine and coastal protected areas and these represent an important component of their mandate and programmes of work. The challenges posed for the implementation of global and regional commitments on marine and coastal protected areas (MCPAs) suggest that strengthened cooperation and coordination among UN institutions and major partners would be beneficial to address such challenges, particularly through improving coherence and effectiveness of efforts. In the light of this, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC), UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB), UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre (WHC), and United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Seas Programme (UNEP/RS), jointly with selected organizations and programmes have initiated a partnership on MCPAs.The purpose of the partnership is to coordinate information inputs to UN and other international processes dealing with activities related to, particularly with reference to the 2012 target of establishing representative networks of MCPAs agreed upon at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. In this perspective, the partnership aims to contribute to the work of individual partners to promote among their member states and other constituencies the utilization of MCPAs as a management tool for marine and coastal conservation and management. Among the areas of collaboration, is that to build a platform for exchange and dissemination of information, including through enhancing existing databases and websites. Scientific Experts’ Workshop on Biogeographic Classification Systems in Open Ocean and Deep Seabed Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. National University of Mexico (UNAM). Mexico City, Mexico. 22-24 January 2007