Myth 5: Using Marine Conservation Agreements to protect ocean and coastal biodiversity is a new strategy.

Fact 5: Using Marine Conservation Agreements is not a new strategy; they have been used in various forms for well over 50 years.

Marine Conservation Agreements (MCAs) have been used in various forms within and outside the United States for well over 50 years. For example, California Audubon is now in their second, 50-year lease at the Richardson Bay Sanctuary within San Francisco Bay and in the United Kingdom , the National Trust has used purchase and sale agreements and easements to protect intertidal areas for over 40 years.

Dating back even further, the terrestrial precursors to MCAs, terrestrial privately owned protected areas (PPAs), have existed in various forms for centuries. The first private land trust in the United States has operated continuously since 1891. One of the earliest scholarly references to PPAs occurred more than 40 years ago at the Ist IUCN World Congress on National Parks. Recommendation No.10 from the Congress acknowledged that many nature reserves throughout the world are “owned by private individuals, but are nevertheless dedicated in perpetuity to the conservation of wildlife and of natural resources…” The recommendation noted that it is “…desirable to increase the number and diversity of such areas,” and commented that “…such individuals and institutions who have already taken such action are to be commended for their activities and that others are urged to do likewise”.1

The true problem with MCAs is not that they are new; it's that their use is not widely known, understood or applied. To access examples and an inventory of known MCA projects, see Field Projects.