marine conservation institute and blue parks
The Blue Park Standard: Raising the Bar for the Blue Planet
In 2026, the Marine Conservation Institute's Blue Parks initiative is partnering with MPA Day to raise awareness and support for marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world.
MPAs can deliver powerful benefits to people and the planet. They safeguard biodiversity, improve food security by enhancing fish populations, and mitigate climate change impacts by increasing blue carbon storage and building ecosystem resilience.
But not all MPAs are created equal. Evidence shows that they only achieve their intended conservation outcomes when they are well-designed, well-managed, strongly protected, adequately funded, and enforced. As the international community pushes to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, quality must keep pace with quantity – biodiversity conservation, the target's underlying objective, is only achieved if that 30% is well protected.
That’s why Marine Conservation Institute launched the Blue Parks initiative: to close the critical gap between MPAs that exist on paper and those that deliver lasting ecological, socioeconomic, and climate benefits. Endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade, Blue Parks guides, incentivizes, elevates, and accelerates high-quality MPAs, advancing global biodiversity goals.
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The Blue Park Standard
At the center of the Blue Parks initiative is the Blue Park Standard, a globally relevant benchmark for effective marine protection. In collaboration with more than 150 international marine conservation scientists, we synthesized the large body of interdisciplinary MPA effectiveness literature and operationalized it for real-world conservation efforts. The comprehensive Blue Park Standard identifies six key components of effective marine protected areas:
1. Location and Design for Biodiversity Conservation
2. Equitable and Durable Governance
3. Protection from Harmful Activities
4. Evidence-based Management Planning
5. Comprehensive Compliance Strategy
6. Capacity for Implementation
Each of the six components of the Standard includes specific criteria and indicators. You can download and explore the Blue Park Standard here: https://marine-conservation.org/blueparks/standard/
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Celebrating Excellence: The Blue Park Awards
We don’t just set the bar - we elevate MPAs that meet it. The international Blue Park Awards are presented annually at high-level meetings to recognize MPAs that achieve the rigorous criteria of the Blue Park Standard and showcase these models of success. These awards confer prestige and motivate governments and local communities to achieve the benchmark and strive for conservation excellence.
To date, 34 protected areas across 24 countries and Indigenous groups covering over 3.5 million km² of ocean have earned Blue Park Awards – and the network continues to grow! Marine Conservation Institute is excited to announce the 2026 Blue Park Award winners in June at the 11th Our Ocean Conference hosted by Kenya. Stay tuned for event updates on Marine Conservation Institute’s website (https://marine-conservation.org/) and social media channels (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook).
Expanding the Blue Park Network
The Blue Park Standard and Awards are making an impact – governments, community leaders, and managers are working toward achieving the Standard. Many of these MPAs are the ‘Blue Sparks’ that will be tomorrow’s Blue Parks. However, to succeed in revitalizing ocean ecosystems and conserving marine biodiversity, Blue Parks needs to grow.
Every country with a coastline needs Blue Parks, and we need to implement Blue Parks on the high seas.
Together, we can build a global network of Blue Parks that will stand as a legacy of life for generations to come.
If you know of an exceptional MPA that should be recognized with a Blue Park Award, submit your nomination here: https://blueparks.org/nominate/