Coverage of MPAs

There are about 2,679 coral reef protected areas globally. The figures may seem like a lot, right?

But if we convert it into percentages, it is only about 27% of the world’s coral reefs. Additionally the result is skewed in Australia’s side as more than ¾ of Australia’s coral reefs are within MPAs. Outside of Australia, the area of protected reefs drops dramatically to be only a mere 17%.

Sadly, for the remaining 73% of coral reefs, most of it is outside of any formal management scheme.

Reefs near a MPA

Within Southeast Asia itself, as of 2002, the country that has the greatest number of MPAs is Malaysia. Malaysia has 136 MPAs, and Indonesia Is close behind, at 131 MPAs. Cambodia Is the lowest, with only 1 MPA. If we consider the percentage of the country’s reef areas that are inside MPAs, for Malaysia it is only a mere 7%, and a 9% for Indonesia.  The country that has the highest percentage of reef area inside MPAs is Thailand, at 38%.

Regionally, the percentage of coral reef areas in MPAs is only 8%. And this is a very serious implication as Southeast Asia has the most extensive and diverse coral reefs in the entire world, making up 28% of the total number of coral reefs globally.  The mere 8% of coral reefs areas in this region that is within MPAs is a cause for concern. However, when measured again in 2011, the nearly 600 MPAs in Southeast Asia now cover 17% of the region’s reefs, a small but steady increase. This provides hope that the importance of reef conservation is spreading, though effectiveness of MPAs may be another issue.