Extraordinary progress in the past decade has brought 1.6 percent of the world’s ocean to a category of “strongly protected,” researchers say in a new analysis, but the accomplishments are still far behind those that have been achieved on land – and those that are urgently needed. In a report published in the journal Science, researchers from Oregon State University point out that numerous international policy agreements call for protecting 10 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2020, while some conservation organizations and most scientists say 20-50 percent of ocean protection is needed. The science of marine protected areas is now mature and extensive, the researchers say, and the multiple threats facing the Earth’s ocean from overfishing, climate change, loss of biodiversity, acidification and many other issues warrant more accelerated, science-driven action.
