The Need to Incorporate Environmental Justice

into MPA Management

Huey-Shian CHUNG
PhD candidate
Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS)
Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts
University of Wollongong

What is MPA
Terminology
sanctuary area, marine parks, marine national parks, marine
reserves, national marine parks, national seashores, fisheries
conservation zones and etc.
The Definition of MPA:
A clearly area with marine attributes, recognised, dedicated and
managed, through legal or other effective means, mainly to
achieve a long-term conservation purposes

How MPAs work

Zoning strategy
-core zone (no-take zone)
-restricted zone
-peripheral zone

Main Benefits of zoning MPAs

Achieve diverse objectives
Balance stress from human involvement
to oceans
Separate competing marine users

Global commitments to MPAs

Aichi Biodiversity Targets
17% MPA coverage in costal States
terrestrial and inland waters by 2020.

Benefits and Challenges of MPAs

Benefits

Challenges

Achieving diverse
objectives
Balancing stress
Separating
Com
Recre
competing
merci
ationa
al
l
fisheri
activities
fisheri
es

Conflicts of
objectives

es

Conse
rvatio
n

Conflicts of the
allocation of
Touris
Educa
mconservation
tion
burdens and benefits

Calls for Just MPA management

The Promise of Sydney
To construct an effective and just conservation
based on social justice and environmental
responsibility.

The USs Environmental Justice Movements

The Love Canal controversy in 1978
The Warren County landfill controversy in 1982
A United Church of Christs report Toxic Wastes
and Race in the United States, in 1987
The 1991 National People of Color Environmental
Leadership Summit that produced the 17 Principles
of Environmental Justice

Contributions
Introducing rights to environment into
environmental governance
Raising an awareness of recognition while
making environmental decisions
Developing a goal-like environmental justice
approach to combat legal discrimination, poverty
and inequality.

Solutions to MPA Management Challenges

Benefits of
MPA
management

Challenges of
MPA
management

Solutions inspired
by the US
Environmental
justice movements

Achieving
diverse
objectives

Conflicts of
objectives

Developing and
legalising rights to
sustainable
development

Balancing stress

Conflicts of the
allocation of
conservation
burdens and
benefits

Adopting recognition

Separating
competing
activities