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| | | Protected Areas |
Maintained by UNEP
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| | The definition of a protected area, as adopted by IUCN, is: an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means. Although all protected areas meet the general purposes contained in this definition, in practice the precise purposes for which protected areas are managed differ greatly. | | | | The benefits of establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) are well known, particularly for coral reefs. A reduction in fishing pressure, ideally through the complete closure of selected areas to all types of fishing, typically maintains more numerous and diverse populations of previously targeted species, leads to the reappearance of species absent from fishing grounds and substantially increases the biomass of large predatory species. There can also be positive effects on coral reef habitat with increased coral cover and structural complexity. | | | | The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is a global database of protected areas maintained as a collaboration the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre. This is the only comprehensive global list of protected areas, and contains links to descriptive data describing important sites ('site sheets'), and GIS-data showing the distribution of sites, including mapped boundaries for a large number of locations. Information of more than 4000 MPAs is included in the World Database on Protected Areas, and site sheets have been completed for approximately 20% of these. | | | | |
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| | | Title | EXPANDING CANADA'S SYSTEM OF NATIONAL MARINE CONSERVATION AREAS
( WEBSITE )
| | Description | The Government of Canada will establish five new national marine conservation areas in the next five years. National marine conservation areas (NMCAs) are marine protected areas that are managed by Parks Canada. Formerly called national marine parks, they consist of highly protected zones surrounded by cooperatively managed multiple use areas where activities such as commercial fishing and shipping would be appropriate. The guiding principle is ecologically sustainable use. Waste disposal, mining, and oil and gas exploration and exploitation are prohibited throughout these areas. The long term goal is to represent each of Canada's 29 marine regions (situated within the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans, as well as within the Great Lakes) with at least one national marine conservation area. Through a series of national consultations, Parliamentary debate, and experience in assessing a number of proposals, Parks Canada is now poised to significantly expand its system of NMCAs. | | Keywords |  CANADA; MPA; MARINE PROTECTED AREAS | | Geography Keywords | CANADA | | Content Language(s) | French; English | | Web Address (URL) | http://parkscanada.pch.g ... rch_e.asp | |
| Type of Website | Institutional website | |
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| Related to Topics | Protected Areas
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979 Topics - 5229 Related Knowledge - 11257 Members - 47 Editors |
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