In principle, there There is nothing wrong with an international approach to marine management. Indeed, if some international organization can provide a "vision" and moral support, it would be extremely beneficial. vision for the establishment of marine reserves. If some international organization takes MPAs up as a key issue, this can provide globally unifying ideals, principles, and moral support for the endeavor. Indeed, for waters outside the jurisdiction of coastal states, some form of binding international would provide for the most effective management (Molenaar 2004) (Provide Hyperlink to external INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION) However, given that the majority of activity happens within the jurisdictional control of states, and given the sovereign rights of states, we contend that the most details of implementation are most effectively and enforcement can best be handled on a national or regional basis. Many For instnace, most states have strongly established legislative and financial machinery that can be used to mandate and fund the creation of MPAs, something lacked by virtually all current international bodies.
Also consider that most nations have preexisting infrastructure related to land-based conservation areas that can be expanded and adapted to meet the needs of operating MPAs. Indeed, many nations have currently operational systems of Marine Sanctuaries that could be expanded to meet a 10% goal. For instance, the scope of existing enforcement agencies, such as the National Park Service can be expanded to cover MPAs. Often, it may be effective to extend land-based protected areas offshore, unifying the operation of several diverse protected areas (Consider, for example, the pairing of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusettsand Massachusetts and the Cape Cod National Seashore). Continuing to using the United States as an example, comprehensive legislation such as the National Marine Sanctuaries Act already exists (16 United States Code § 1431). Although this is a very good beginning, such legislation does have significant room for improvement. In particular, the process for creating new Marine Sanctuaries needs to be streamlined, and less emphasis should be placed on the proving the benefits of reserves as compared with other management strategies (Ibid). In particular, the legislation also needs to be expanded to explicitly mandate the creation of more reserves towards a 10% goal.
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