What will the MPA achieve?
The MPA Objectives
Dive deeper
Translating the vision for the MPA into practical action requires a couple of steps in between where we define in increasing detail what we want the MPA to achieve. These steps are the strategic and operational objectives.
Scrawled filefish - Jude Brown
The strategic and operational objectives provide a clear chain of thought that links the overall vision for the MPA through to practical management actions. Flowing back in the opposite direction, it is possible to trace all the actions we do back through the objectives they deliver to understand how they contribute to the overall vision.
Vision
Provides the overall ambition for the MPA.
Strategic objectives
Capture the values and intention of the MPA and are designed to last 20-25 years.
Operational objectives
Breakdown the strategic objectives into a number of specific, clearly-defined aims against which progress can be measured using the metric identified. They will be reviewed every five years, but are designed to last at least 10-20 years.
Management actions
Activities that will be undertaken to achieve the operational objectives. Each action is associated with a target we can measure and a single management action can contribute to more than one operational objective.
Strategic objectives
This goes to the fundamental purpose of the MPA. Ascension has a wealth of marine life and we aim to ensure it is protected and thrives for generations to come.
Operational objectives:
1a. No loss of species and no reduction in species abundance or ecosystem complexity in offshore areas
1b. Proxy objective: Surveillance, compliance and enforcement regime effectively detects all known threats to offshore ecosystems
1c. No loss of species and no reduction of species abundance or ecosystem complexity in inshore areas
1d Proxy objective: Monitoring, regulation and management regime effectively tackles all known threats to inshore ecosystems
1e. Maintain the size distribution and age at maturity of species in inshore areas
1f. No loss of genetically distinct sub-populations from inshore or offshore areas
1g. No reduction in the extent or condition of key habitats
The marine environment is fundamental to the identity of the island and one of Ascension’s greatest assets. We want the island community to realise its health, welfare and economic benefits in ways that don’t compromise the prosperity and enjoyment of future generations
Operational objectives:
2a. People living on Ascension have access to recreational and fishing opportunities in the MPA that are equitably shared and enjoyed by the community
2b. Fishing pressure in inshore areas is adaptively managed by local stakeholders to prevent it from contributing to the decline of any stock
2c. Ecological relationships between harvested, dependent and related species are maintained in inshore areas
2d. Ascension is recognised as a world leader in the responsible management of sports fishing and ecotourism; these activities have no negative impact on the behaviour or population size of protected species
2e. A significant proportion of revenue from sports fishing, ecotourism and other economic activities in the MPA is retained on the island
2f. Future developments are assessed and designed to be compatible with the conservation objectives of the MPA
Ascension’s marine environment is globally important and we want to share this resource with researchers and the public to increase understanding and appreciation of the world’s oceans.
Operational objectives
3a. The Ascension Island MPA becomes a world-renowned site for the scientific study of marine ecosystems
3b. Ascension becomes an active and influential member of international networks of MPA managers, and initiates and participates in collaborative projects
3c. Every person on Ascension is aware of the MPA and its purpose
3d. The Ascension MPA and the conservation and scientific work being undertaken reaches a global audience leading to increased political and financial support
The potential benefits of the MPA to biodiversity, the people of Ascension and the wider global community will only be achieved if it is well-managed with the resources and oversight required.
Operational objectives
4a. The legal and operational framework for the MPA (primary and secondary legislation, regulations, management plan) is fit-for-purpose and enforcement action is effective
4b. Management actions are designed to deliver the MPA objectives, based on the best available information and subject to regular monitoring and review
4c. The Ascension Island community is effectively engaged in MPA governance structures and the benefits and impacts of management decisions are equitably shared
4d. Human and financial resources are secured to deliver effective management
This plan has taken the aspirational approach of stating what should be done and not been limited by what currently can be done.
Some of our operational objectives are going to be difficult to achieve and measure with current technology and resources. We want to keep these objectives in place so we don’t lose sight of our goal, but in these cases, we have also identified a proxy objective that is more achievable in the short term.
Setting the biological objectives is difficult. We have chosen to aim for no overall reduction in measures of ecosystem condition, and the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Strategy provides more detail of how this will be assessed given the natural variability found in biological systems. The oceans around Ascension are not completely pristine and so an objective of ‘no reduction’ implicitly accepts any losses that have gone before. In the absence of historical baselines this is the only pragmatic option for management and, in the face of major threats such as climate change, maintaining the current position is still an ambitious aim. For a small number of species such as turtles and seabirds, we know that specific pressures have been removed and targets for these species reflect our expectation that they will continue to rebound. However, for the MPA overall, maintaining the current diversity and abundance will be our objective.
The objectives described here focus on management outcomes. Monitoring and research will also be essential to the success of the MPA, but is not an objective in itself and so is covered separately in more detail in the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Strategy.
We do not feel there is any contradiction between the objective to protect biodiversity and the objectives to encourage sustainable development and scientific research. With good management, these will not just coexist, but will actually support and enhance each other. However, should any points of conflict arise, the primary objective of the MPA will be Strategic Objective 1: to conserve Ascension Island’s marine biodiversity, habitats and ecological functions for long-term ecosystem health.