Dr Francis Vorhies is affiliated with the African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University.

Dr Francis Vorhies

The theme for this year’s World Ocean Day (8 June) is “Strong Marine Protected Areas for Our Blue Planet.” While this is a very pertinent ocean-related issue that deserves our attention, we also have to ask the following question: what about strong marine protected areas for both people and our planet? The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 calls for us to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.”

This means using it for our benefit responsibly. In addition, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Target 9 aims to “Ensure thatthe management and use of wild species are sustainable, thereby providing social, economic and environmental benefits for people.” It is important to note that the GBF supports the achievement of the SDGs. So, as we celebrate World Oceans Day, we can ask how Africans benefit from their Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and the wild marine resources they are conserving.

There are hundreds of MPAs in African waters. They can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea , and the Red Sea. South Africa on its own has over 40 MPAs within its continental Exclusive Economic Zone — an area where a State has sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage natural resources — plus a large MPA around the Prince Edward Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. How do South Africans benefit from their MPAs? As MPAs aim to conserve marine wildlife, they deliver an array of environmental or ecological benefits, including providing safe habitats for maintaining and restoring populations of fish, turtles, penguins, and other seabirds. They also provide natural reference sites for researching ecosystem resilience, the impacts of climate change, and the sustainable management and use of marine species. Importantly, MPAs can deliver tangible economic benefits, including enterprise opportunities related to marine tourism and sustainable fisheries.