Help
The Practitioner's Toolkit for Marine Conservation Agreements is an evolving “work-in-progress,” since our goal is to frequently update the site with new information. We want to continually improve our understanding of the content provided on the site, so please Contact Us if you know of additional resources, related projects, different interpretations, or errors. We also want to provide information for other countries and U.S. states. To this end, we will continue our legal, policy, and data research for new geographies and update the web site with new country and state-specific information periodically. If you cannot find the information you need, have questions, or have information to share, please Contact Us.
The toolkit has several features that allow you to explore the site. Note: Many of these features require that Javascript is enabled in your browser for full functioning. Site features include:
- Navigation and Help
- Site Navigation after Translation
- Search
- Step-by-Step Arrows
- Browser Windows and Documents
- Interactive Tables and Expandable Sections
- Interactive Maps and Illustrations
- Printing
Navigation and Help
The pages of this site share features that allow you to navigate easily and know where you are. The navigation menu in the left column of each page can be fully expanded at any time for inspection of all topics. Fully expanded, it serves as a site map. There is also a Site Map page that includes the entire menu in static form.
To the right of the Expand/Collapse links, a location path (breadcrumbs) shows where the current page is and links to pages above it in the content structure. At any time, you can return to the site's home page by clicking on the page header image or the Home link of the breadcrumbs.
Continuing along the top bar of the page to the right, as well as in the page footer, you will find additional information on and help with the site.
Moving your mouse over a small image or link on the page often reveals an informative text box or tool tip (like this one).
Site Navigation after Translation
In the left column below the navigation menu is an automatic translation feature provided by Google Translate. This translation service renders some features of the toolkit inoperable. Most importantly, the navigation menu does not expand, making it difficult to browse beyond the top level of the translated site. After translating, you may explore sub-sections of the toolkit through links located within each top-level menu page (except for U.S. State Maps). You may also use the breadcrumb links at the top of every page to help with navigation.
The Site Map page provides the full navigation menu in static form. Tip: After translating the Site Map page, click right on a link of interest to open it in a separate tab or window, thus leaving the site map page open. Tip: If a translated page looks very badly formatted or unstyled the first time it loads, or the Google Translate box doesn't display, reload the page.
Search
At the top right of every page is a Google search box, customized to search the entire MCA toolkit. You can refine the results.
Step-by-Step Arrows
The field guide section of toolkit is organized primarily as a series of four phases that guide you from the initial step of analyzing the feasibility of a marine conservation agreement project to the final step of implementing a project on the ground or in the water. Within any section of the field guide, you can use the Next Step and Previous Step links (located at the top of each page within the field guide section) to proceed through the core content of the toolkit in a systematic way. If you want to return to the previous step, you can simply click on the Previous Step link. You can also go to the next or previous step in the process by using the navigation menu on the left side of the page. Finally, at the bottom of each sub-step page is a link to the next sub-step.
Browser Windows and Documents
Links to external web sites and internal documents on this web site, including illustrations, tables, and presentations, will open in a new window. Sometimes the link is indicated by a small thumbnail image. The tooltip that displays when you mouse over it (see example) will always say whether the link opens in a separate window.
Users of Internet Explorer 7 (IE7): Check your browser settings in Tools->Internet Options->General->Change how webpages are displayed in tabs. In the settings window titled Tabbed Browsing Settings->When a pop-up is encountered, make sure that "Let Internet Explorer decide how pop-ups should open" is selected.
All documents are available for download in PDF format; the document size is indicated next to the download link. You will also find the occasional Excel (.xls) file in addition to its PDF version.
Interactive Tables and Expandable Sections
On many pages, including Home, you will find links or arrows that allow you to expand and collapse information. In some cases, including Contacts and Funding, a long table displays or is hidden in this way. Furthermore, several tables in the toolkit, including the aforementioned, are sortable in place—click on a column heading to sort the information. Other good examples include the MCA Field Projects inventory and the Publications and Presentations table.
Interactive Maps and Illustrations
Several pages within the toolkit include maps or other illustrations that can be used interactively. One such type of map serves as an alternate way to navigate—Country Analyses, U.S. State Analyses and Field Projects are examples of this type of map. Move your mouse over the map to select the link of interest. Some illustrations in the toolkit use a menu of options near the graphic to show variations based on your choice—the terminology for Submerged Lands is the best example.
Printing
Pages in the toolkit will print legibly from your browser. The print versions eliminate web navigation and extraneous images and color. Try printing this page to see the print format.