Myth 16: Marine Conservation Agreements distract from efforts to create formal Marine Protected Areas.

Fact 16: Marine Conservation Agreements can complement and augment the number and effectiveness of formal Marine Protected Areas.

Marine Conservation Agreements (MCAs) can be used to complement and augment the number and effectiveness of formal Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in several ways:

• Creating private protected areas in ocean and coastal areas that function similar to government-established MPAs. For examples, see California 1, Indonesia 1, New York, Tanzania and Washington 2.
• Leading to the establishment of formal MPAs by helping organize local communities and providing incentives to governments. For examples, see Chile, Ecuador and Kiribati.
• Serving as ecological links and corridors that connect MPAs to one another. For example, see Virginia.

Still, some critics believe that MCAs will divert attention and resources on the part of conservation interests, and interest on the part of host governments, from MPA creation. In addition, these critics object to MCAs on the grounds that they do not yield permanent protection in the same way that, for example, an MPA reportedly does.

First, it should be understood that MCAs are often implemented in response to situations where the creation of MPAs is not possible. While it is true that in many cases the ideal way to conserve marine and coastal habitat is through formal MPAs (with clear legal status, an enforcement mandate, and adequate funding), not all high priority sites for biodiversity conservation are appropriate for MPA designation. Therefore, alternatives to formal MPA creation are required.

Second, the degree of permanence provided under an MCA depends on the project-specific situation. In some instances, MCAs can lead to fee-simple purchases or perpetual conservation easements. In other instances MCAs can take the form of a renewable 99-year lease. As such, MCAs have the potential of providing a great deal of permanence. MCAs can also be short-term but serve to thwart an imminent threat, thus creating a window of time to design a long-term intervention.

Finally, there are contexts in which MCAs can serve as a kind of trial period to rapidly demonstrate the benefits of conservation to various stakeholders, thereby serving as a prelude to the process of creating formal MPAs.1