Coastal Marine Conservation
A study finds that locally managed marine protected areas within Fiji are playing an increasingly important role in the nation’s efforts to protect marine habitats. Researchers from a coalition of groups, including MacArthur grantee Wildlife Conservation Society, estimate that locally managed marine protected areas will effectively protect between 12-18 percent of all coast and inshore marine habitats in Fiji by the year 2020. Through local and grassroots management alone, Fiji is on target to achieve approximately half of the national governmental goal to protect 30 percent of the country’s inshore habitats.