- News
- Events
- Opportunities
July 2009: Conservation International would like input on draft research findings. For more information, download the discussion paper Incentives in Marine Conservation Approaches: Comparing buyouts, incentive agreements, and alternative livelihoods (pdf, 164k).
Email list: News and opportunities related to marine conservation agreements will be periodically distributed to an email list. Click if you would like to receive emailed updates.
July 2009: An introduction to the new MCA Toolkit, to be released in Spring '09, will be given at the Coastal Zone Management Conference to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, July 19-23.
September - November 2009: The 28th International Submerged Lands Management Conference will be hosted as a webinar series by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Chumbe Island Coral Park, Tanzania
Opportunities list: Opportunities for NGOs/grantees to undertake new MCA projects are occasionally identified and listed here. If you are aware of an MCA project that is in need of a grantee, please Contact Us.
This Practitioner's Toolkit for Marine Conservation Agreements provides information for local, national, and international organizations regarding a promising strategy to protect ocean and coastal biodiversity from degradation and depletion.
Purpose of the Toolkit
The Practitioner's Toolkit for Marine Conservation Agreements (MCAs) was developed to help conservation organizations determine:
- What MCAs are
- When MCAs can help abate threats to ocean and coastal species, habitats, and ecosystems
- How to plan and proceed with MCA projects
Marine Conservation Agreements Defined
Marine Conservation Agreements (MCAs) include any formal or informal understanding between two or more parties in which the parties obligate themselves, for an exchange of benefits, to take certain actions, refrain from certain actions, or transfer certain rights and responsibilities to achieve agreed upon ocean or coastal conservation goals.
MCAs have also been called and are often still associated with:
- Leasing and ownership in ocean and coastal waters
- Proprietary rights of submerged lands
- Marine market-based strategies
- Marine protected areas
The Overview elaborates more on MCAs.
How to Use the Toolkit
The primary navigation method for the toolkit is the left-hand toolbar. The major components of the toolkit are organized in a logical progression of ideas and phases:
- Overview provides the basic information about MCAs to help you get started, then dispels myths and provides definitions of important terms.
- Field Guide can be downloaded in its entirety or reviewed online section-by-section by practitioners wishing to evaluate and implement new MCA projects.
- Field Projects can be reviewed for lessons learned and used as illustrative examples with potential funders and authorizing entities.
- Country Analyses and U.S. State Analyses provide information on opportunities for MCAs and management frameworks in specific geographies.
- U.S. State Maps is a comprehensive review of available spatial data and maps for U.S. ocean coast states—information that is necessary to determine ownership and use of ocean and coastal areas.
- Resources provides supplemental information useful to practitioners developing project proposals, such as U.S. state agency contact information, funding sources, MCA-related publications, other online conservation tools, sample documents and agreements, and workshop information.
Finally, for assistance navigating the toolkit, users can see the Help link on the upper right of each page or Contact Us.
Quick Downloads
If you are short on time you can quickly download one or more of the toolkit’s marketing or informational documents:
- MCA Field Guide (download .pdf, 1,885)
- MCA Workshop proceedings (download .pdf, 2,018k)
- Leasing and Ownership of Ocean and Coastal Resources (download .pdf, 264k)
- The Law & Policy of Conservation Leasing and Ownership (download .pdf, 673k)
- Marketing postcard (download .pdf, 92k)
About Us
The Nature Conservancy and several of our partners recognize the need to expand the tools we use to protect marine biodiversity. In light of this, we developed the Practitioner's Toolkit for Marine Conservation Agreements. The toolkit was originally launched in January 2008 and is continually being improved upon with new information. Without the aid of our partners, the toolkit would not be what it is today. Read more >>
If you would like to contribute to the Toolkit, have comments or questions, or need further assistance, please Contact Us.
Submerged lands illustration: Justin Van Dyke. Banner photos: Misool Eco Resort © Shawn Heinrichs, Blue Sphere Media. Local fisherman © Conservation International. Corals-Ecuador © Conservation International and NAZCA. Gulf of California and Port Susan Bay, Washington © The Nature Conservancy. Public boardwalk © Jay Udelhoven. Pelicans © Wendy Norden. Richardson Bay map © Audubon California.