Science Impact Objective
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are essential for strengthening biodiversity and climate resilience. By limiting destructive human activity in critical habitats such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and deep-sea ecosystems, MPAs protect marine species, restore ecological balance, and safeguard crucial carbon sinks. By allowing the ocean to recover, build resilience, and thrive, MPAs also sustain the area's benefits to humanity, helping to stabilize fish stocks, enhance food security, and boost coastal economies.
Despite their proven benefits, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) face significant hurdles. Insufficient scientific data, political resistance, conflicting stakeholders interest, and economic pushback, often stall their creation or weaken enforcement and dilute their impact.
Our work to support MPAs is fueled by science. We advance the creation and management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by equipping scientists and decision-makers with essential data and tools to identify priority sites and monitor ecosystem health. From mapping deep-sea biodiversity hotspots to modeling ecological connectivity, our science helps prioritize sites for protection and inform sustainable management in alignment with the goals of conservation frameworks including the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 30x30 goal to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030.
Through convening diverse stakeholders and building our collaborative partnerships with local governments, communities and institutions, we also work to underscore both the importance and economic potential of prioritizing the ocean among key decisionmakers, and accelerate alignment towards collective benefit and lasting impact.