MPA costs and funding needs - a comparison against Terrestrial PAs to guide advancements in MPA finance

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are frequently challenged by a lack of sufficient and sustainable financial resources to conduct enforcement, management, and monitoring activities.  Some have suggested that marine... [ view full abstract ]

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are frequently challenged by a lack of sufficient and sustainable financial resources to conduct enforcement, management, and monitoring activities.  Some have suggested that marine conservationists examine past success in terrestrial protected areas (TPAs) to help guide future MPA management, including financial strategies.  However, differences in funding needs for MPAs versus TPAs have not been directly compared, and need to be better understood to help identify and apply traditionally TPA financial strategies for a marine context.  This presentation includes summary of a recent literature review that investigates the distribution of costs incurred by MPAs vs. TPAs across three main categories; establishment, operational, and opportunity costs.  Available literature and data is not sufficient to report formal statistical results comparing cost distributions.  However, the research does allow for a snapshot quantitative comparison, that is complemented with theoretical support to provide initial insights on the different funding requirements between MPAs and TPAs.  Discussion includes policy influences such as property rights, as well as logistical differences of conducting PA operations between marine and terrestrial mediums.  In addition, the research and presentation points towards significant knowledge gaps and necessary future steps to further research in MPA sustainable finance.