Marine Protected Areas boost fishing and tourism, with profits sometimes in the billions, according to the most comprehensive global assessment of its kind to date.
MPAs, or national parks at sea, are found in many of the world's oceans, with past research showing fully protected areas can help restore fish populations by 500 per cent on average, yielding bigger fish over time.
Now a new study of more than 50 protected areas in more than 30 countries in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania has concluded they also bring significant financial benefits.
“In every corner of the globe, ocean protection boosts economies,” said Dr Mark John Costello, the study author and a professor at Norway’s Nord University.
“For far too long, marine parks have been overlooked as GDP generators and job creators.”
Dr Costello said the study offers the strongest evidence yet that protecting the ocean replenishes it with abundant fish, protects against climate change, while boosting local and national economies.
“Now, we can add tourism operators and fisheries to the list of ocean protection beneficiaries,” he added.
The study looked at 51 MPAs representing a range of ecosystems, from coral reefs, kelp forests, mangroves, rocky reefs, and salt marshes, to mudflats and sandy and muddy seabed habitats. They use a range of protection methods, with some allowing or restricting many human activities and others banning human activities altogether.
Less than 8 per cent of the world’s seas are protected, far short of a global goal of 30 per cent.
“The ocean is under threat from us. Science shows that establishing national parks at sea will help ocean life to bounce back – and provide more benefits to humanity,” said Enric Sala, founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas and author of the award-winning book The Nature of Nature.
He added: “Outdated misconceptions about the economic impacts of marine protected areas are blocking progress on the world’s urgent conservation goal.
“This study demonstrates that both fishing and tourism benefit from national parks of the sea – a final blow to the argument that conservation is costly and harms fishing.”
The study found economic benefits to fisheries for 25 countries spanning the North Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian oceans.
Marine reserves in the study included Ras Mohammed National Park in the Red Sea, Egypt, as well as other protected marine areas in the UK, Spain and Sweden.
Benefits to fisheries adjacent to the protected areas were detected in 46, or 90 per cent of the MPAs, including an increased fishery catch for 76 per cent and bigger body size, at 25 per cent.
Examples of economic benefits from tourism were found in 24 countries, including France, Spain, Italy and New Zealand.
Coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass ecosystems were the most profitable, with some individual MPAs generating billions of dollars in revenue each year.
The MPAs that delivered the most economic benefits were strictly protected, where fishing and other damaging activities are banned.
These are also known as no-take marine reserves. Currently, less than 3 per cent of the global ocean is under this type of full protection.
MPAs are found all over the world, including the UAE, which was not included in the study but consistently ranks among countries with the highest percentage of protected marine areas.
Protected areas in the UAE account for around 12 per cent of its marine territory, far above the global average of 7.5 per cent.
They include Saadiyat Marine National Park, a 59-square kilometre area home to endangered Hawksbill sea turtles.
Another protected area in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the 4,255-square kilometre Marawah Marine reserve, is home to the world’s second largest dugong community.
Permitted activities in the protected areas include diving and snorkelling, plus, in the case of Marawah, recreational fishing with a line and rod.
However, anchoring, jet skis, fishing, de-ballasting, sewage discharge, collecting shells and corals, and rubbish disposal are banned in both.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS
Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
'Operation Mincemeat'
Director: John Madden
Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton
Rating: 4/5
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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LIST OF INVITEES
Shergo Kurdi (am)
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
Todd Clements
Matthew Jordan
AbdulRahman Al Mansour (am)
Matteo Manassero
Alfie Plant
Othman Al Mulla
Shaun Norris
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
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6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
