- On June 16, the Marine Conservation Institute recognized six marine protected areas, three in Madagascar and one each in Senegal, Chile and Canada, as Blue Parks.
- The awards, announced at the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya, recognize MPAs whose management is “durable, equitable and effective” at protecting marine life.
- Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, countries agreed to protect 30% of the world’s land, freshwater and marine areas by 2030, but experts say that protection must be meaningful, not just symbolic.
- One of the common features of the awardees is the existence of some form of co-management with Indigenous peoples and local communities.
MOMBASA — At the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya, a message echoed across sessions: Effective marine protected areas (MPAs) are critical to safeguarding oceans.
The Blue Park Awards, instituted by the U.S.-based Marine Conservation Institute, shine a light on MPAs that are delivering on their promise. This year, six of them made the cut: the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area in Canada; Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area in Chile; Kawawana Indigenous Community Heritage Area in Senegal; and Nosy Hara National Park, Sahamalaza- îles Radama National Park, and Nosy Tanihely (also spelled Tanikely) National Park in Madagascar.
The conference held in Mombasa from June 16-18 saw more than 6,000 delegates from governments, nonprofits, the private sector, and other institutions gather to talk ocean conservation.
Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted by parties to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022, countries agreed to protect 30% of the world’s land, freshwater and marine areas by 2030, in what’s known as the 30×30 target.
“This cohort of Blue Parks is a powerful reminder of what the 30×30 goal actually requires,” Lance Morgan, president of the Marine Conservation Institute, said at the awards announcement in Mombasa on June 16. “These six MPAs, protecting different places in the ocean under different governance models, show that effective marine protection is achievable across cultures, geographies and political systems.”
The six sites represent an array of governance models and a wide diversity in size, from more than 700,000 square kilometers (about 270,000 square miles) in the case of Rapa Nui, to less than 5 km2 (1.9 mi2) for Nosy Tanihely.
Nosy Tanihely is a speck of an island in the Nosy Be archipelago off Madagascar’s northwestern coast. What’s exceptional about the compact park is that it’s fully self-financed, Landisoa Randimbison, director of the park, told Mongabay. Its revenue comes from tourist fees, and it’s the only protected area in Madagascar to achieve this kind of financial autonomy, she said.
Nosy Tanihely has no permanent settlements or tourist accommodations. Its management is shared between Madagascar National Parks (MNP), a parastatal agency responsible for the majority of Madagascar’s protected areas, and an association that represents stakeholders on the largest island of the archipelago, Nosy Be. These include fishers and tourism operators whose activities could impact the marine ecosystem around Nosy Tanihely.
The Banc-des-Américains MPA is co-managed by the federal government of Canada, the provincial government of Québec, and the Mi’kmaq First Nations, on whose ancestral land and seas the site is located. These communities were involved in the creation of the MPA in 2019, and they continue to participate in the ongoing management of the area.
On the other hand, the establishment of the Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area has been far more contentious. The expansive MPA covers the entire exclusive economic zone of Rapa Nui (also known as Easter Island) and Motu Motiro Hiva islands, which are Chilean territories in the southern Pacific Ocean. Today, the MPA is managed by the Indigenous communities of the islands and the Chilean government. Mongabay has reported on the problems with the park’s management before Indigenous groups became involved as stewards.
The sense of ownership and pride among Rapa Nui delegates was palpable at the awards ceremony. “The area is not only to protect the species, the ecosystem or the ecological process. It is also to protect our culture and how we live with the ocean,” Ludovic Burns Tuki, executive coordinator of the Rapa Nui Ocean Council, said on receiving the award.
Kawawana in Senegal is also under the care of nearby communities. It secures coastal and estuarine ecosystems, including mangrove forests, tidal channels and mudflats, along the Casamance River. It was established in 2008 through a community-led initiative by a fishers’ collective in the Mangagoulack rural municipality. The government recognized it in 2010 as an ICCA (Indigenous Peoples’ and community conserved territories and areas), which weaves customary governance systems and traditional practices into management.
Another area where coexistence is key is Madagascar’s Nosy Hara National Park, which hosts the island nation’s largest sea turtle nesting site, according to the Marine Conservation Institute. Spread across more than 1,000 km2 (about 400 mi2), the MPA includes a core no-fishing zone of 310 km2 (120 mi2). In the sustainable-use zone, fishers continue traditional and subsistence activities. The state-backed agency MNP co-manages the park, along with residents, who are part of the co-management committee. Communities are also involved in patrols, ecological monitoring and awareness-building work.
Sahamalaza-Iles Radama, established in 2007, is another MPA co-managed by MNP along with resident communities. It’s home to all of Madagascar’s known mangrove species, hundreds of fish and coral species, and marine megafauna like whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and dugongs (Dugong dugon). The ocean sanctuary is part of a larger biosphere reserve whose terrestrial area hosts eight lemur species. The European Association for the Study and Conservation of Lemurs (AEECL) supported the park’s creation and continues to organize community-based conservation activities and awareness building in the region. The park is financed, in part, by the FAPBM (the Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity of Madagascar), a private trust that channels returns from endowment funds invested in the international markets to finance conservation.
“Financing remains a major challenge. Designating protected areas is only the first step. Effective management requires long-term investment in institutions, science, monitoring, enforcement and community engagement,” Fatou Ndoye, executive secretary of the Abidjan Convention at the United Nations Environment Programme, said at the award ceremony. The convention is a regional treaty governing marine and coastal resources from Mauritania to South Africa’s Atlantic coast.
The Blue Park Awards were launched in 2017, then called Global Ocean Refuge Awards, and are awarded annually. Today, there are 40 MPAs with a Blue Park stamp, covering a combined 4.2 million km2 (1.6 million mi2) of marine estate in 30 countries and Indigenous territories.
The award recognizes MPAs whose management is “durable, equitable and effective” at protecting marine life.
But the recognition isn’t necessarily a one-off event. Parks that undergo reviews and are found to maintain the Blue Park standards in subsequent years are also rewarded under the system. For example, this year two other reserves in Africa, Aldabra Atoll Special Reserve in Seychelles and Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park and Reserve in Kenya, were recognized for maintaining their standard of protection.
Protections that last are the need of the hour, experts across multiple panels at the Our Ocean conference emphasized.
“Success will not be measured by the number of square kilometers placed on the map,” Ndoye said. “Rather, success will be measured by whether these areas are effectively managed, whether they are adequately financed, whether they are ecologically connected, and whether they are delivering tangible benefits for biodiversity and coastal communities.”
Banner image: Nosy Tanihely. Image courtesy of Tanihely National Park Association.
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Cite this article
Malavika Vyawahare (2026). Six marine sanctuaries recognized as Blue Parks, four of them in Africa. Mongabay Conservation news. DOI: https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321762
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