The Coral Triangle Maps of the Month is a bi-weekly email running from August-December 2012 that showcases various maps that highlight the diversity and uniqueness of the Coral Triangle region. The maps also show some of the pressing issues that are threatening this very important resource considered the epicenter of the world's marine biodiversity. The maps are generated by the Coral Triangle Atlas team at The WorldFish Center.
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Map 05: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Papua New Guinea
A portion of a locally managed marine area in Nuakata Island, Papua New Guinea Photo: James Morgan/CTSP
Local management of resources has a long tradition in Papua New Guinea. Coastal communities are heavily dependent on the near shore marine environment for a variety of foods and land/sea tenure is under traditional ownership. As such the primary method for conservation in Papua New Guinea is through Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs). While the LMMAs of Papua New Guinea are relatively small, they are effective in maintaining benefits for local communities.
To date the majority of LMMAs have been established around the edge of the Bismarck Sea. Kimbe Bay,
on the north coast of New Britain was the site of a pioneering approach to using science to design a network of LMMAs. It's been five years since the design was completed and there are now nine LMMAs in the Bay. LMMAs have also been set up around the coasts of Manus Province. Recent scientific studies in Kimbe Bay have shown that many of the larvae produced by the fishes inside LMMAs disperse a few hundred meters from their parents, indicating that protective efforts inside LMMAs will benefit local people by sustaining fish stocks in the local area. As a result, LMMAs can provide a direct benefit to the local communities managing the area.
If you want to help the Coral Triangle Atlas keep up with the latest status of these marine protected areas, please contact Annick Cros at acros@tnc.org or ReefBase at reefbase@cgiar.org
Follow this link to download a high-resolution version of this map from the CT Atlas website To see more maps, view the CT Atlas Map Gallery online To generate your own map, check out the CT Atlas interactive map
Follow these links to see other maps in this series:
The Coral Triangle Atlas is an online Geographical Information System (GIS) database providing scientists, governments and NGOs with a view of spatial data at the regional scale. This project will improve the efficiency of conservation planning in the region by giving researchers and managers access to biophysical and socioeconomic information in spatially explicit while encouraging them to share their data to complete the gaps, therefore reducing duplicate data collection efforts and providing the most complete and most current data available.
By contributing data to the CT Atlas, NGO partners, governments and managers are helping to strengthen the effectiveness of conservation activities in the Coral Triangle through improved information flow and access to the region's best datasets.
For more information about the CT Atlas and to contribute data, contact: Annick Cros atacros@tnc.orgor ReefBase at reefbase@cgiar.org You can also participate in discussions or submit questions to the CT Atlas forum
