How Are We Doing Protecting 30 Percent of Ocean Areas by 2030? Beth Pike of Marine Protection Atlas

The Marine Protection Atlas maps the global conservation of ocean areas that are supposed to legally protect aquatic animals and plant life from industrial activities like commercial fishing, mining, and drilling, but they have varying levels of protection and effectiveness so far. In this 33-minute podcast, we discuss the status of legally protected marine ocean areas worldwide, some of which are called “blue parks,” based on a report titled “Ocean protection quality is lagging behind quantity: Applying a scientific framework to assess real marine protected area progress against the 30 by 30 target” this was published in the Conservation Letters journal in 2024. Host Carrie Freeman interviews our guest -- the lead author of that report -- Beth Pike, who is also a ship captain, whale researcher, and the current Director of Marine Protection Atlas at the Marine Conservation Institute. You can explore the maps at https://mpatlas.org/ 

This is in context of the monumental agreement from 188 countries at the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in 2022 to protect 30 percent of our planet's land and waters by the year 2030 (Hence "30 by 30"). Beth's co-authored report tells us how we are lagging behind on that 30 x 30 goal and what we need to do to meet it, including ensuring that nations hold themselves accountable for not just making a marine area a park on paper but actually taking the extra steps to fund and enforce protections to avoid oil drilling, mining, and commercial fishing/poaching in those areas --high protections well managed so they actually allow marine plants and animals to regenerate and flourish and stem the tide of mass extinction we humans have caused. 

Parks require policy, and they need political will to be funded and protected, so at the end we discuss the importance of voting for political leaders who care to do the right thing for biodiversity and our planetary health, and do so in an equitable/fair way that works with frontline and indigenous communities to use their knowledge in the process of developing policies that work for humans and nonhumans alike. In the context of US Politics, see articles like https://www.americanprogress.org/article/project-2025-would-be-a-disaster-for-national-marine-sanctuaries/ 

You can see a summary of Beth's report in this Inside Climate News article that alerted me to this issue. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17062024/largest-marine-protected-areas-have-inadequate-protections/ 

In Tune to Nature is a weekly show airing on Wednesdays from 6:30-7pm EST on Atlanta indie station WRFG (Radio Free Georgia) 89.3FM hosted by Carrie Freeman or Melody Paris. Please consider donating to support this 50plus-year old independent, progressive, noncommercial Atlanta radio station at www.wrfg.org 

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like those who live in our oceans.

Photo Credit: Stellar sea lions looking at us and depending on our marine protection efforts, by Jett Britnell/Coral Reef Image Bank.