Global coverage of marine protected areas has increased significantly over the last decade due to the proliferation of large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs). LSMPAs are different from smaller MPAs in coastal areas. Their meaning and value for diverse groups are often less visible and less understood. Their size and remoteness pose unprecedented governance challenges and opportunities. Their social, political, and economic impacts are understudied and potentially far-reaching, with implications for the populations of entire nations.
In 2014, Rebecca Gruby, Noella Gray (University of Guelph), and Lisa Campbell (Duke University) initiated a research and outreach project to generate and share new knowledge about the unique human dimensions of large MPAs. The project produced some of the first empirical social science studies of LSMPAs, including in-depth case studies of proposed and designed LSMPAs in Bermuda, Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile), Kiribati, Palau, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands & Guam. See our website for more information.
Our initial project has grown into a longer-term engagement with diverse scholars and practitioners engaged in a community of practice focused on LSMPAs. In 2017, for example, we helped organize the Think Tank on the Human Dimensions of Large MPAs, which brought together 125 people from 17 countries to develop best management practices and a shared research agenda. Most recently, we have partnered with the Big Ocean network to conduct a long-term study of management progress and priorities for large-scale MPAs globally. This work, launched in 2022, will fulfill a need for more robust information about LSMPA management that can inform cross-site learning, management decisions, funding priorities, and scholarly research on LSMPAs.
Select publications:
Gruby, R.L., Gray, N.J., Campbell, L.M., Acton, L. (2016). Toward a Social Science Research Agenda for Large Marine Protected Areas. Conservation Letters 9(3): 153-163.
Gruby, R.L., Fairbanks, L.W., Acton, L., Artis, E., Campbell, L.M., Gray, N.J., Mitchell, L., Zigler, S.B.J., Wilson, K. (2017). Conceptualizing social outcomes of large marine protected areas. Coastal Management 45(6): 416-435.
Examples of outreach materials
Gray, N., Gruby, R., Campbell, L.M., Acton, L., Artis, E., Fairbanks, L., Mitchell, L., Wilson, K., Zigler, S. 2018. Human dimensions of large-scale marine protected areas- Lessons learned across five sites. (A lessons learned pamphlet designed for practitioners and decision-makers)
Gray, N., Gruby, R., Campbell, L., Acton, L. (2015). Marine Wilderness or Peopled Seas?. Current Conservation. 9 (2): 13-17
