Report | October 10, 2023
50 marine sanctuaries in Spain: Proposal for strictly protected marine areas
What are strictly protected marine areas?
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are the best tool for ocean conservation, if they are properly managed. Their purpose is to protect the marine environment and the habitats and species that live within it. Their benefits are well-known and for that reason MPAs have been established in all the seas of the world, as is the case with protected natural areas on land. However, MPAs only are effective when human activities within or around them do not have negative impacts on the marine ecosystems. In other words, it is necessary to avoid any damage to the ecosystems that make up those areas. Even so, many MPAs are poorly managed, with a high level of permissiveness of harmful activities. Thus, they become ‘paper parks’, their protection on paper does not translate into real protection at sea and so the indisputable ability of well-managed MPAs to restore marine environment is lost.
Types of MPAs vary, depending on their targets, management levels, and effectiveness in protecting the sea. They include strictly protected areas, which provide complete or a very high level of protection. Their objective is to safeguard high-value ecosystems within them (including geological elements) against negative impacts, and to allow them to recover in cases where this is necessary.3 These areas protect pristine places, shelters for vulnerable species and habitats, essential spawning and breeding grounds, and carbon-rich habitats, which are essential for the recovery of the sea’s health and to combat climate change.4,5,6 Strictly protected areas use strict management measures to conserve ecosystems of high natural value, whether they are in a good state of conservation or need to recover from impacts.7 For all these reasons, strictly protected areas are considered to be the most effective protected areas for both conserving and recovering sea life.5,8,9,10
There are several types of strictly protected areas, ranging from areas that are totally closed to any use (apart from non-damaging activities required for research, monitoring, and management) to areas in which certain strictly controlled uses are allowed. They are also referred to in different ways. The most common ones include the following terms: according to the IUCN, strict nature reserve (category Ia) and wilderness area (category Ib) 3; according to The MPA Guide, fully protected areas and highly protected areas; 11 and, more generally, no-entry zones (without any activities) or no-take zones (without extractive activities).5,12
