Creating and managing marine protected areas

Abstract

The complex, diverse and often-fragile ecosystems fringing the coastlines of Brazil and Australia are impacted by the behaviour or many diverse actors. Marine spatial planning (MSP) and Marine Protected Areas (MPA) are important instruments that governments of the two countries use to protect biodiversity and regulate activities within these ecosystems. This chapter provides an overview of the use Australian and Brazilian government make of MSPs and MPAs and discusses the successes and problems of implementation. Australia’s marine protection system is more advanced than Brazil’s but the latter has been progressing towards a comprehensive MSP and MPA system, though the system is hampered by a lack of implementation.