Western Indian Ocean Marine Protected Areas Outlook
UNEP
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Abstract: The Nairobi Convention and WIOMSA have released the region’s first MPA Outlook for the western Indian Ocean. The publication examines the current and future status of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) at a regional level. According to the report, the region has declared 143* marine and coastal areas as protected – an area covering 553,163 square kilometers, representing 7 percent of the total Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for the region and an estimated 63 percent of the overall square kilometers – was brought under protection in the seven years since the 2015 adoption of Sustainable Development Goal 14.5, which committed countries to conserving at least 10 percent of their marine and coastal areas by 2020. The publication gives momentum to the more ambitious target of 30 percent protection by 2030, as proposed under the Global Biodiversity Framework.