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 07: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Solomon Islands
A community member tags a turtle in one of the locally-managed marine areas in the Solomon Islands Photo: James Morgan/CTSP
Solomon Islanders, like their neighbors in Papua New Guinea, have a long history of managing their resources at the community level. Traditional ownership - wherein land and sea tenure is held by clans - prevails across the nation's numerous islands. As such, the primary method for marine conservation in the Solomon Islands is through Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs). While the LMMAs of Solomon Islands are generally on the small side compared to other countries in the Coral Triangle, they are effective in maintaining benefits for local communities.
Locally Managed Marine Areas can be found in all nine provinces, from far-eastern Temotu Province through to the western end of Choiseul Province. A national-scale Gap Analysis conducted under the Convention on Biological Diversity's Program of Work on Protected Areas as well as provincial-scale "Ridges to Reefs" conservation plans approved by Choiseul and Isabel Provinces has helped to prioritize conservation areas. All of these measures have built on an already strong base of local support and further galvanized support at national levels. Of note, earlier this year the Solomon Islands National Protected Areas Act was passed by parliament, enabling local communities to place their LMMAs under formal protection while restricting the activities of extractive industries
If you want to help the Coral Triangle Atlas keep up with the latest status of these marine parks, please contact Annick Cros at acros@tnc.org or ReefBase at reefbase@cgiar.org.
Do you need more maps on the Coral Triangle?
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
