A pathway to protect 30% of coastal waters by 2030

The countries of the world agreed to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 (30x30), from the current 8% under some kind of protection. However, there is no roadmap for achieving this global target. We find that, to achieve the protection of 30% of the exclusive economic zones of countries (EEZs), the world needs to establish 190,000 new small MPAs in territorial seas alone by 2030. Despite the proven benefits of coastal MPAs to nature and people, MPAs aren’t being established at the pace required to achieve the global target. We argue that the three main obstacles to scaling coastal MPAs are lack of awareness, inadequate governance, and the wrong business models. Here we propose a novel cost-effective and scalable pathway that would enable and equip coastal communities around the world to establish and effectively manage their own local MPAs.