Marine reserves
Marine bioregional planning and the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas
The development of Commonwealth marine reserves around Australia is being undertaken as a key part of the marine bioregional planning process and will contribute to commitments made by the Australian Government to establish a National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA). Australia's Commonwealth, state and Northern Territory governments are working together to establish the NRSMPA.
Australia is committed to establishing a representative network of marine reserves by 2012. This network of marine reserves will reflect Australia's international commitments made at the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.
The primary goal of the NRSMPA is to establish and effectively manage a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of marine reserves to contribute to the long-term conservation of marine ecosystems and to protect marine biodiversity. The NRSMPA aims to be:
- comprehensive - including the full range of ecosystems recognised at an appropriate scale within and across each bioregion
- adequate - have the required level of reservation to ensure the ecological viability and integrity of populations, species and communities
- representative - reasonably reflect the biotic diversity of marine ecosystems.
In 1998, guidelines for establishing the NRSMPA were developed by an inter-governmental Task Force on Marine Protected Areas and agreed to by all Australian governments. The Australian Government later developed a set of Goals and Principles to apply the guidelines in Commonwealth waters. These Goals and Principles provide a consistent framework for identifying new marine reserves and they emphasise the strong role of science in the process.
Consistent with the Goals and Principles, the Australian Government's objective in developing the regional networks of marine reserves is to ensure robust conservation outcomes while seeking to minimise adverse impacts on users of the marine environment. The general approach is to design new marine reserves that, where possible, avoid areas highly valued by industry groups and recreational users while at the same time meeting conservation outcomes.
Find out more
- Goals and Principles for the Establishment of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas in Commonwealth Waters
- The science behind marine bioregional planning
- More about the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas
About marine bioregional planning
Marine bioregional planning is being implemented in five large marine regions.