- News
- Events
May - June 2013:
- Bimonthly Q & A: How does management work in the marine environment? Check your answer here.
- The Lesser Sunda Sustainable Fishery Initiative, led by a private company, seeks to establish agreement-based local sustainable fisheries by providing economic incentives through access to new global markets. Read more…
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.
- Mar 2012: Conservation agreements will be a focus of discussion at the American Society of International Law’s Annual Meeting.
- Oct 2012: An introduction to MCAs and two MCA field project case studies were presented in a webinar on October 9 and October 10. Listen to this webinar online or download the webinar.
- May 2013: MCAs will be presented as tools that help ecoresorts and local communities work together to achieve common goals at the Executive Symposium for Innovators in Coastal Tourism Development.
- MPA News provides a list of conferences relevant to MPAs and/or marine ecosystem-based management.
To submit an event for posting, please Contact Us.
See Also...
This Practitioner's Toolkit for Marine Conservation Agreements provides information for non-governmental organizations, government agencies, and eco-friendly businesses that are interested in understanding how agreement mechanisms, effectively culminating in payments for ecosystem services, can better assure success of ocean and coastal conservation efforts.
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, ecosystem processes, and ecosystem services
- How to plan and proceed with MCA projects
Marine Conservation Agreements Defined
Marine Conservation Agreements include any formal or informal understanding in which one or more parties commit to delivering explicit economic incentives in exchange for one or more other parties (usually right-holders) committing 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 associated with:
- Community conservation agreements
- Conservation incentive agreements
- Leasing and ownership in ocean and coastal waters
- Marine protected areas
- Market-based strategies
- Payments for ecosystem services
- Proprietary rights of submerged lands
- Submerged lands leasing
The Overview elaborates more on MCAs.
How to Use the Toolkit
The primary navigation method for the toolkit is in the left column of each page. The major components of the toolkit are organized in a logical progression of ideas and phases:
- Overview provides the basic information about MCAs, then dispels myths and provides definitions of important terms
- Field Guide can be downloaded in its entirety or reviewed online 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 and State Analyses provide information on relevant laws and policies, opportunities for MCAs and management frameworks in specific geographies.
- Resources provides supplemental information that is helpful in developing project proposals, such as U.S. state agency contact information, funding sources, MCA-related publications, sample documents and agreements, workshop information, and U.S. State Maps.
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 Toolkit Fact Sheet (pdf, 840k)
- MCA Field Guide (English, 3.1M) and earlier versions (Spanish, 3.1M; Bahasa Indonesia, 1.7M)
- MCA Feasibility Analysis: Gulf of California and Mexico’s Northern Pacific (English, 5.6M; Spanish, 5.0M)
- MCA Feasibility Analysis: Eastern Tropical Pacific (English, 5.8 M; Spanish, 5.6M)
- MCA Feasiblity Analysis: Coral Triangle - Indonesia (English, 3.5M; Bahasa Indonesia, 2.5M)
- Indonesia MCA factsheet (English, 221k; Bahasa Indonesia, 209k)
- Marketing postcard (pdf, 92k)
About Us
The Nature Conservancy and several of our partners recognize the need to expand the tools we use to protect ocean and coastal 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 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. Header 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. Vaquitas © WWF. Tropical overwater structures © Heike Schroeder
