NPS image by Shaun Wolfe

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been recognized globally as an effective tool for marine biodiversity conservation. To strengthen marine biodiversity conservation, China is building a new MPA system, incorporating more land-ocean interactions. On August 20, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), which is in charge of the national MPA management, organized a video recording for MPA online training for the first time. NRDC was one of the only two international organizations invited. Shuling Chen, China Fisheries Science Fellow, presented “MPA Planning, Policy, and Management in the U.S.”. She introduced the MPA management framework in the U.S. including cases of marine type national parks and state-level MPAs, to serve as reference for China to build its first marine type national park pilot and establish an MPA network at the local level. In light of the data deficiency and complicated inter-agency relationships in China, examples of MPA planning based on “best readily available science” and cross-agency monitoring and enforcement were also presented. The training video will be available on the NFGA website for all levels of MPA agencies in China. An MPA policy report with more details is expected to be released later this year, continuing our support for nation-wide MPA management capacity building.