28
July 2008
The establishment of an ecological
network of marine protected areas
(NMPAs) is widely considered as the most
eff ective way to protect ocean biodiversity
and its economic values. However, in
the nearly one million square kilometer-
seascape of the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas, where
58 priority areas have been identifi ed for
conservation and management over a
timeframe of 50 years where should the
MPA network start?
The direction for strategic marine
conservation will be set by applying the
best science with regard to selection,
The Framework for a Network
of MPAs in the SSME: Status of
Implementation
By Evangeline Florence B. Miclat
Conservation International-Philippines
design and management of MPA
networks, which protect: a) valuable
resources; b) the habitats that sustain
them; and c) the interests of the people
who depend on them.
When planning for NMPAs establishment,
it is necessary and basic to determine its
conservation target.
What is the aim of the
NMPAs?
The use of modeling to design an
ecological NMPA does not work in the
case of the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas because of
insuffi
cient and scattered data. To provide
some basis
in designing ecologically
sensible NMPAs in this seascape, the basis
for design was expert opinion and best
knowledge. A workshop of MPA experts
and practitioners was convened in 2003,
under the auspices of the World Wide
Fund for Nature-Sulu-Sulawesi Marine
Ecoregion (WWF-SSME) Conservation
Programme. The objective of the
workshop was to develop the Framework
for a Network of MPAs in Sulu-Sulawesi
Seas (WWF, 2004), based on MPA experts’
discussion and known biophysical
29
Tropical Coasts
information (Stakeholders of the SSME, et
al., 2004).
The SSME Conservation Programme
focused on: (1) protection of species
of special concern; (2) management
of integrated coastal ecosystems,
i.e., mangrove forests-seagrass beds-
coral reefs-linked ecosystems with
terrestrial components; and (3) fi sheries
management.
The Framework for NMPA in
Sulu-Sulawesi
The development of the framework for a
network of MPAs in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas
took into account the following (Noss,
1992):
1. Representation of biodiversity in the
areas that make up the network;
2. Maintenance of viable populations of
species of special concern within the
network;
3. Maintenance of ecological and
evolutionary processes that
aff ect biodiversity in the network;
and
4. Resiliency by including in the
network areas that have high rates to
survive and recover from short- and
long-term environmental changes.
The framework also considered a set of
sample criteria for the NMPAs, which was
derived from internationally accepted
criteria for MPA establishment (Roberts, et
al., 2003). Additional inputs were provided
by MPA experts who contributed to the
SSME NMPAs framework. The resulting
criteria were as follows:
1. Biogeographic representation
2. Habitat representation and
heterogeneity
3. Human threats
4. Natural catastrophes
5. Size (expert functions,
viability, management)
6. Connectivity
7. Vulnerable habitats
8. Vulnerable life stages
9. Species of populations of
special concern
10. Exploitable species
11. Ecosystem linkages to ecological
services for humans
12. Ecosystem services
13. Adjacency of terrestrial managed
areas
14. Disturbance
Understandably, a network of sites
intended to protect species would be
diff erent from a set of sites that would
target fi sheries management. Networks
for species protection would vary in
confi guration depending on species
being targeted, e.g., NMPA for green sea
turtles or NMPA for Napoleon wrasse.
Due to these variations, experts worked
in groups, with each group selecting the
criteria for sample NMPAs, as applicable,
from the set of identifi ed criteria.
They matched the selected set of
criteria with the fundamental goals of
conservation, identifi ed the specifi c
conservation targets of the sample
NMPA, including indicators, based on
the criteria and conservation goals, and
listed the socioeconomic and cultural
considerations in NMPA establishment.
The group outputs were presented in
the framework in three matrices:
1. Network of species of special
concern (for marine turtles);
2. Network of MPAs for integrated
coastal ecosystems (for coral reefs);
and
3. Network of MPAs for fi sheries (for
demersal, pelagic, reef and deep
sea).
Each matrix provided ideas on the
confi guration of a network depending
on a chosen conservation objective.
By combining the above matrices, a
general framework was developed.
The framework provides the guiding
principles and biophysical and
socioeconomic decision rules when
establishing NMPAs in the SSME.
Work in Progress
It is a work in progress and will have to
be tested and improved accordingly.
Notwithstanding its draft form, it
is useful for a seascape like Sulu-
Sulawesi where scientifi c information is
insuffi
cient, in guiding the establishment
of ecological networks of MPAs for
biodiversity conservation and resource
management. (Table 1 presents
the biophysical and socioeconomic
considerations for the Network of MPAs
for Species of Special Concern).
The framework also provides immediate
(two years), intermediate (one to fi ve
years) and long-term (seven to ten years)
action priorities for implementation.