A new study published in Conservation Letters finds that protection of marine habitats is lagging far behind that of terrestrial areas. While 12 percent of the world's lands are protected, only 4 percent of the world's coastal waters fall within "marine protected areas," a conservation tool used around the world to preserve ocean resources.

"Unfortunately, we found that great swathes of the world's coastal waters are unprotected, meaning coastal livelihoods, incomes and food supplies are all at risk as fish stocks fall and coastlines erode," said Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist at The Nature Conservancy and lead author of the study. "The good news is that marine protected areas can be a powerful tool to ensure that ocean habitats remain healthy and productive for future generations - but we need to expand and strengthen protection efforts now."

The study was a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy (TNC), UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. As part of this study, spatial analysis was conducted at UNEP-WCMC using the marine classification system of coastal ecoregions (developed by TNC, the World Wildlife Fund and other partners) and a global marine protected areas dataset. The study examined the protection status for each of the world's varied coastal ecoregions (geographically and scientifically similar areas), but also expanded its vision out to the open oceans.

To read more about this study please see the press release

The marine protected areas dataset used in this study is now part of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), hosted and managed by UNEP-WCMC. A joint project of UNEP and IUCN, the WDPA is the most comprehensive global spatial dataset on marine and terrestrial protected areas available, see www.wdpa.org.

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On Monday 6th October 2008, The Conservation Commons Secretariat organized an alliance workshop at the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Barcelona, Spain to address barriers to data sharing. The workshop was organized in collaboration with Conservation International, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, IUCN, National Geographic Society, The Getty Research Institute, The Nature Conservancy, and UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

The purpose of this workshop was to draw attention to the barriers faced by the conservation community which limit access to biodiversity data and information, and to identify efforts to collectively address these challenges. The workshop supported the "Safeguarding the Diversity of Life" Stream of the Forum.

Speakers and participants from sectors both within and outside the traditional conservation community were asked to consider key questions in relation to accessing biodiversity data or information; legal and technical data standards; and cultural challenges often faced in accessing the best available data and information. The audiences were challenged to think beyond current limitations and paradigms in order to develop innovative solutions to these challenges. The workshop concluded after a short open discussion.

For more information about Conservation Commons visit: www.conservationcommons.org

For background materials, presentations and full report of the meeting see the Conservation Commons Workspace: http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/commons