New Life for the Ocean
How Marine Protections Keep Our Waters Wild
The ocean drives the processes that make our planet capable of supporting life, and contains some of the world’s most complex and diverse ecosystems. But these ecosystems are increasingly under threat. Pollution, overfishing, offshore drilling and other human activities are destroying ocean habitat and threatening marine species, with profound consequences for the biodiversity on which the health of our oceans depends.
The ocean drives the processes that make our planet capable of supporting life, and contains some of the world’s most complex and diverse ecosystems. But these ecosystems are increasingly under threat. Pollution, overfishing, offshore drilling and other human activities are destroying ocean habitat and threatening marine species, with profound consequences for the biodiversity on which the health of our oceans depends.
A growing number of scientists and conservation groups are coalescing around the goal of protecting at least 30 percent of the world’s ocean by 2030 through networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) – protected zones of ocean where extractive and destructive human activity is limited.
The experience of six MPAs in the United States and around the world shows that marine protected areas are effective tools for conserving and reviving ocean ecosystems. To restore our oceans to health, we need to protect more of our amazing ocean places.
More Nature: 30 Percent by 2030
Topics
Authors
James Horrox
Policy Analyst, Frontier Group
James Horrox is a policy analyst at Frontier Group, based in Los Angeles. He holds a BA and PhD in politics and has taught at Manchester University, the University of Salford and the Open University in his native UK. He has worked as a freelance academic editor for more than a decade, and before joining Frontier Group in 2019 he spent two years as a prospect researcher in the Public Interest Network's LA office. His writing has been published in various media outlets, books, journals and reference works.
Steve Blackledge
Senior Director, Conservation America Campaign, Environment America Research & Policy Center
Started on staff: 1991 B.A., Wartburg College Steve directs Environment America’s efforts to protect our public lands and waters and the species that depend on them. He led our successful campaign to win full and permanent funding for our nation’s best conservation and recreation program, the Land and Water Conservation Fund. He previously oversaw U.S. PIRG’s public health campaigns. Steve lives in Sacramento, California, with his family, where he enjoys biking and exploring Northern California.
Kelsey Lamp
Director, Protect Our Oceans Campaign, Environment America Research & Policy Center
Kelsey directs Environment America's national campaigns to protect our oceans. Kelsey lives in Boston, where she enjoys cooking, reading and exploring the city.