Sciences, Eaux & Territoires (Mar 2011)
A critical look at the definition of indicators to assess the effectiveness of marine protected areas A critical look at the definition of indicators to assess the effectiveness of marine protected areas
Abstract
Marine protected areas (MPA) have been created to protect threatened, rare species and/or preserve remarkable habitats. What are the results, have they succeeded in restoring biodiversity? Are the selected indicators suitable for the task? How can they be improved? The international community’s commitment to creating and managing a coherent network of marine protected areas (MPA) by 2012 leads us to reflect on the definition of MPA effectiveness and on how best to assess its impact through the development of appropriate indicators. This approach leads to a better understanding of the difficulties involved in developing these indicators, difficulties linked to the complexity of MPAs and the need to reach a compromise between the conservation of biodiversity, on the one hand, and socio-economic and governance-related interests, on the other.
