Private Marine Conservation Agreements
How conservation agreements contribute to protecting the worldSolution Info Hide
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Problem
Action
Marine Conservation Agreements include any formal or informal understanding between two or more parties in which the parties obligate themselves, for an exchange of benefits, to take certain actions, refrain from certain actions, or transfer certain rights and responsibilities to achieve agreed upon ocean or coastal conservation goals.
The summary table below identifies the major elements and variables of MCAs. MCAs can be entered into by governments, communities, private entities, and private individuals. They are based on agreed upon terms and conditions, are often bottom-up approaches, and include quid-pro-quo incentives wherein all parties receive benefits.
The major components of the toolkit are organized in a logical progression of ideas and phases:
- Overview provides the basic information about MCAs to help you get started, then dispels myths and provides definitions of important terms.
- Field Guide can be downloaded in its entirety or reviewed online section-by-section by practitioners wishing to evaluate and implement new MCA projects.
- Field Projects can be reviewed for lessons learned and used as illustrative examples with potential funders and authorizing entities.
- Country Analyses and U.S. State Analyses provide information on opportunities for MCAs and management frameworks in specific geographies.
- U.S. State Maps is a comprehensive review of available spatial data and maps for U.S. ocean coast states—information that is necessary to determine ownership and use of ocean and coastal areas.
- Resources provides supplemental information useful to practitioners developing project proposals, such as U.S. state agency contact information, funding sources, MCA-related publications, other online conservation tools, sample documents and agreements, and workshop information.
Finally, for assistance navigating the toolkit, users can see the Help link on the upper right of each page or Contact Us.
Quick Downloads
If you are short on time you can quickly download one or more of the toolkit’s marketing or informational documents:
- MCA Field Guide (download .pdf, 1,885)
- MCA Workshop proceedings (download .pdf, 2,018k)
- Leasing and Ownership of Ocean and Coastal Resources (download .pdf, 264k)
- The Law & Policy of Conservation Leasing and Ownership (download .pdf, 673k)
- Marketing postcard (download .pdf, 92k)
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Results
MCA Field Project Inventory
The inventory here represents a collection of known projects that meet the definition of an MCA. Our goal is to identify and inspire at least 500 MCA field projects throughout the world as a means to establish the validity, replicability, scope, scale and positive impact of MCAs. If you know of new field projects, or additional information regarding the projects already identified, that should be considered for inclusion in the inventory, please Contact Us.
Here are two specific examples:
Lease: Conserving through Ecotourism in Indonesia
Location: Papua, Indonesia
Description
Misool Eco Resort (MER) is located in the remote southern part of Raja Ampat, Indonesia. The small resort is located on the island of Batbitim, deep in a vast archipelago of uninhabited islands, 240 kilometers from the nearest resort and half a day's journey from the nearest village. Misool Eco Resort is deeply committed to a policy of environmental and social responsibility. We seek to provide exceptional and enriching diving experiences in a sustainable environment. We aim to protect and revitalize both our natural surroundings and the community in which we operate. We are committed to demonstrating to our hosts, our guests, and the local government that tourism can support a local economy on much more favorable terms than mining, logging, overfishing, or shark finning. In doing so, MER entered into a lease agreement with the local community to establish a 200 square km Marine Protected Area (no-take zone) surrounding Misool Eco Resort. Within this area, all fishing, shark finning, harvesting of turtle eggs and shellfish are strictly prohibited. We also require all boats to practice reef-safe anchoring. We regularly patrol the area for illegal fishing and shark finning. In addition, the Misool Conservation Centre is being registered as a UK-charity, and will provide a well equipped, functional base for scientific research and conservation projects, both social and environmental. Perhaps most importantly, MER is dedicated to safeguarding the local community in which we operate. Our labor force, drawn largely from the closest village, is offered favorable working conditions, health benefits, job training, and English lessons.
Lease: Washington Oyster Restoration
Location: Woodard Bay, Washington State, USA
Description
This case study provides an example of leasing subtidal lands from the state for a native oyster restoration project. In 2005, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Washington and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) entered into a 10-yr conservation lease for 10 acres of submerged lands in Woodard Bay in South Puget Sound. As the first lease under WDNR’s Conservation Leasing Program, it was designed both to test the new leasing program and to allow for restoration of native oyster habitat in the area.
The site was selected to meet conservation objectives of both TNC and WDNR and to avoid direct competition with tribes or existing shellfish leases. The lease allows proprietary control over 10 acres of submerged lands in Woodard Bay, although it does not provide for control of access over the site (i.e., boat traffic).
A portion of the bay was once used a log dump by a timber company. The state acquired the parcel from the timber company in 1988. Much of the bay bottom around the lease area is now clogged with sunken logs and wood debris. A small remnant population of native oysters exists in the area, although the site has a low diversity and abundance of shellfish. The restoration of Olympia oysters at the lease site should increase benthic diversity and abundance. If successful, benefits to water quality may be seen as oysters and other shellfish provide an important filtering function to the bay ecosystem.
Finalizing the lease required extensive upfront planning and survey work. WDNR required that TNC complete a legal boundary survey and in-depth ecological assessment, pre- and post restoration survey work, and submit a detailed restoration and management plan. Phase I (baseline physical and biological characterization) was completed in 2005 along with experiments on oyster recruitment and survival. In 2006, a Phase II pilot enhancement project was done to test restoration methodology and to identify the best locations for expanded restoration. The final phase of habitat enhancement was planned for June 2007. Approximately 2.5-3 acres of habitat will be enhanced with oyster cultch. Monitoring of oyster recruitment, survival and predation is on-going.
Limitations
Unfortunately, many myths exist about the management of ocean and coastal environments, especially as they relate to private leasing and ownership. Managers, scholars, and conservationists alike often hold preconceived notions about what can be done with the lands and resources lying within ocean and coastal waters. Some of these myths are put forward as “biblical fact,” some are based on hearsay, and some are rooted in specific experiences. Even so, standing myths are often counterproductive. While we cannot address all of the myths within this toolkit, we have attempted to identify and dispel the most prevalent ones.
Myth: Everyone knows “You can't buy the ocean.”
Myth: All lands and resources lying within ocean and coastal waters are publicly-owned.
Fact: Many areas lying below the high tide line along the coasts are privately owned.
Myth: Lands and resources lying within ocean and coastal waters are already protected.
Fact: Protection levels vary dramatically from totally protected to completely unprotected.
Myth: Conservation is not a productive use of ocean and coastal lands and resources.
Fact: Ecosystem services are being recognized as legitimate uses of the marine environment.
Myth: It sets a bad precedent for private organizations to assume the conservation responsibilities of government agencies.
Myth: Private organizations should get free use of public lands for conservation purposes.
Fact: A range of factors determine if and how much it costs to encumber public lands.
Myth: Private conservation of lands and resources lying within ocean and coastal waters conflicts with existing rights held by native peoples, the public, and private entities.
Myth: We should only lease or own ocean and coastal lands and resources when they are threatened by degradation or already degraded.
