Progress Toward Meeting the Global 2012 Challenge

As of 2007, the MPA Global Database includes some 5,000 MPAs worldwide containing 2.58 million square km. This represents only 1.6% of the total marine area protected inside exclusive economic zones (EEZs). In the world ocean, it only amounts to 0.65%. Only about 350 MPAs from the above total are known to protect cetacean habitat and many of them are fragmentary - too small and yet to be included in functioning networks. In terms of highly protected "no-take" areas, only 0.08% of the world ocean is protected (0.2% of national waters).

In August 2006, the Micronesian Challenge was announced, an ambitious regional programme involving the Northern Marianas, Guam, Palau, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and their vast marine estate. The "challenge" is to go beyond world targets and conserve at least 30 percent of near-shore marine and 20 percent of forest resources across Micronesia by 2020.

In Oct. 2007, the Scientific Committee of ACCOBAMS (Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area) recommended 17 proposed marine protected areas in its waters. In Oct. 2007 the Parties to ACCOBAMS agreed in principle to start creating these MPAs.

In 2007, the US designated the highly protected Papahanaumokuakea Marine Monument in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, at 340,000 km2 then the largest no-take area in the world. For more information search the directory.

In 2008 the Kiribati created the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, at 410,500 km2 the largest MPA in the world. For more information search the directory.

In October 2008, WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society launched its "12 for 2012" Global MPA Campaign, as a contribution to international targets, to put in place 12 large and significant MPAs and MPA networks covering whale and dolphin habitat in national waters and on the high seas around the world.

In October 2008, the Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), and Chantecaille Beauté announced that they would promote the conservation of ten important high seas areas around the world as High Seas Gems. Two of these, the Ross Sea and the Saya de Malha Banks were also announced to be among WDCS's 12 for 2012.