Governments establish marine protected areas to shield threatened marine ecosystems and other undersea resources from intrusive human activity. Marine protected areas also provide living laboratories for oceanographers and marine biologists to conduct research.
What are the three main purposes of marine protected areas?
Marine Protected Areas are established with one of three objectives in mind.
- To conserve natural heritage: The goals are to protect and restore the biodiversity within the ecosystems of an area. …
- To conserve cultural heritage: This would include providing protection to historical artifacts, such as a shipwreck.
Why marine protected areas are important?
Marine Protected Areas are important for the future because it can protect depleted, threatened, rare, and endangered species and populations. Furthermore, protecting MPA’s can help preserve habitats that are considered critical for the survival of lifecycles of species.
What is the purpose of protected areas?
Protected areas provide for life’s essentials. They protect natural resources that are critical to many people on earth. Within these areas, genetic diversity is permitted to evolve in response to natural selection pressures. These genetic resources are a source of many new products.
What are the cons of marine protected areas?
The disadvantages of large MPAs include difficulties of surveillance, enforcement and monitoring of vast offshore areas, as well as high total costs. While the cost per unit area may be lower for large MPAs, conducting surveillance and monitoring in such vast areas requires much more expensive technologies.
How do humans benefit from marine ecosystems?
Healthy marine ecosystems are important for society since they provide services including food security, feed for livestock , raw materials for medicines, building materials from coral rock and sand, and natural defenses against hazards such as coastal erosion and inundation.
What are the features of protected areas?
A Protected Area is a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.
Why is it important to protect natural areas?
Protected areas help to mitigate extreme weather events, enhance carbon storage, and provide space for plants and animals to adapt to a changing climate. 4. To maintain functioning ecosystems and the benefits they provide. Protected areas provide clean air and water, healthy soils, wild foods and medicines.