• Background/General Information
• MPA Programs
• Research Tools
• MPA Special Topics
• News Sources
• Training
• Conferences and Workshops

Background/General Information

Definitions, terms, classification systems, Executive Order 13158, Federal MPA legislation, National MPA Center, FAQs

• About the National MPA Center


• All About MPAs - The Basics


• Executive Order 13158 of May 26, 2000 - Marine Protected Areas


• A Functional Classification System for Marine Protected Areas in the United States


• "Introduction to MPAs" theme bin in the MPA Virtual Library


• Federal MPA Legislation


• Frequently Asked Questions (about MPAs)


• Glossary (terms related to U.S. MPAs)


• Protect Planet Ocean web site's "Introduction" page*

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
marine parks and reserves - classification
marine parks and reserves - definitions
marine parks and reserves - Law and legislation
National Marine Protected Areas Center

MPA Programs

Federal, State, Commonwealth, Territory, International

• Federal Programs
• MPA Federal Programs


• MPA Federal Advisory Committee


• MPA Virtual Library's "Institutions and Organizations" page -
  select "Federal / National" section

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
Federal Advisory Committee
Federal agencies
Federal jurisdiction
marine parks and reserves - systems
marine parks and reserves - United States

• State/Commonwealth/Territory Programs
• States, Commonwealths, and Territorial Marine Managed Area Programs


• MPA Virtual Library's "Institutions and Organizations" page -
  select "State" or "Multistate" sections

Or search names of States of interest in the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library

• International Programs/Projects
• "International MPA Efforts" page of National MPA Center web site


• "International" Theme Bin in the MPA Virtual Library


• IUCN (The World Conservation Union)-Global Marine Programme Web site*


• MPA Virtual Library's "Institutions and Organizations" page - select "International" section


• MPA Global - A database of the world's MPAs*


• Protect Planet Ocean web site*


• WCPA (World Commission on Protected Areas)-Marine Biome*

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
international cooperation
international law
(also browse keywords for names of individual organizations, U.N. sub-agencies, names of international treaties, etc.)

Research Tools

MPA Virtual Library, NOAA Libraries' Catalog, journals/contents alerts, subject guides, databases

• "Databases and Article Searching" page of NOAA Central Library Web site
  (some free, some restricted to NOAA staff)


• Journal publishers' contents alerts - Register to set up contents alerts for marine science journal titles on publishers' web sites, for example:
  
  • Informaworld (Taylor & Francis journals)
  • ScienceDirect
  • SpringerLink
  • Wiley Interscience
  
  
• MPA Virtual Library
  (Searchable database of publications, institutions/organizations, conferences, and web sites)


• MPA Virtual Library Theme Bins
  (Browseable, subject-based theme bins providing access to the MPA Virtual Library by topic)


• NOAA Central Library E-Journals
  (some free, some restricted to NOAA staff)


• NOAA Libraries' Catalog
  (search the words "MPA document" as a title search, to retrieve all records tagged as MPA-related publications)


• Protect Planet Ocean web site's "Resources" page*
  (search experts, topics, etc.)


• WINDandSEA (Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Internet Locator)
  (a NOAA Central Library subject guide to oceanic and atmospheric science and policy web sites organized by topic)

MPA Special Topics

Cultural resources, Education, Enforcement, Fisheries, GIS tools, Marine Managed Areas, MPA Science, U.S. National System, Regional information, Social Science

• Cultural/Historic MPA Resources
• "Cultural and Historic MPA Resources" page of the National MPA Center web site


• "Cultural Resources" Theme Bin in the MPA Virtual Library


• Marine Cultural and Historic Newsletter (National MPA Center archived publication)


• "Submerged Cultural Resources" page of the Social Science Methods for MPAs web site of the NOAA Coastal Services Center

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
cultural property - protection
historic preservaton
national parks and reserves
shipwrecks
submerged cultural resources
underwater archaeology
world heritage areas

• Education and Public Awareness
• "Education & Public Awareness" Theme Bin in the MPA Virtual Library


• Information Exchange for Marine Educators
  (NOAA Office of Education-supported newsletter)


• National MPA Center Web site's "Education & Training" page


• Protect Planet Ocean web site's "Get Involved" page*

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
citizen participation
education
marine parks and reserves - Study and teaching
public awareness
training

• Enforcement
• "Enforcing U.S. Marine Protected Areas: Synthesis Report"
  (a National Marine Protected Areas Center publication)
• "Enforcement" Theme Bin in the MPA Virtual Library

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
effectiveness
enforcement
marine parks and reserves - management - evaluation
monitoring

• Fisheries issues
• "Fisheries" Theme Bin in the MPA Virtual Library


• NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service


• Office of Protected Resources of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service


• Office of Sustainable Fisheries of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
fishery conservation
fishery management
larvae - dispersal
sustainable fisheries

• GIS/Remote Sensing Tools
• "GIS/Remote Sensing" page of National MPA Center web site


• Google Earth Outreach KML (Keyhole Markup Language): Marine Protected Areas*


• "Interactive MPA pages" (iMPA) of Protect Planet Ocean web site*


• "An Inventory of GIS-Based Decision Support Tools for MPAs"
  (a National MPA Center publication)


• Marine Protected Areas Inventory (U.S.)

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
acoustic sensing
decision support systems
geographic information systems
remote sensing

• Marine Managed Areas
• "Case Studies of State-Level Marine Managed Area Systems"
  (a National MPA Center publication)


• The Locally-Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Network (Asia-Pacific practitioners)*


• "Marine Managed Areas: Best Practics for Boundary Making" - a NOAA Coastal Services Center publication


• "Marine Managed Areas" Theme Bin in the MPA Virtual Library

• MPA Science & Analysis
• "Marine Reserves: A Guide to Science, Design and Use," by Jack Sobel and Craig Dahlgren
  (search for descriptive record in MPA Virtual Library)


• "MPA Science" Theme Bin in the MPA Virtual Library


• "Science & Analysis" page of National MPA Center web site


• "The Science of Marine Reserves" - booklets by PISCO, the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans*

• MPA Systems and Networks  (See also "U.S. National System of MPAs" further below)
• "Establishing Resilient Marine Protected Area Networks - Making It Happen"*
  (an IUCN WCPA publication)


• "Roadmap to Recovery: A Global Network of Marine Reserves"*
  (a Greenpeace publication)


• "Towards a Coherent Network of Marine Protected Areas Conference"*
  (a Natural England publication)


• "Towards Networks of Marine Protected Areas: The MPA Plan of Action for IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas"*

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
marine parks and reserves - networks
marine parks and reserves - systems
(select 'controlled keywords list' to browse keywords for other areas of interest)

• Regional Information
• National MPA Center Web site's "Institutions and Organizations" page
  (Select for example "State" or "Multistate")


• Protect Planet Ocean web site's "Regions" page*


• "West Coast Pilot: A Regional Partnership to Advance Ecosystem Approaches to Marine Protected Areas" page of the National MPA Center web site

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
Caribbean area
Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Mexico
regional planning
(select 'controlled keywords list' to browse keywords for other areas of interest)

• Social Science Methods
• National MPA Center Web site's "Social Science" page


• "Social Science/Economics" Theme Bin in the MPA Virtual Library


• Social Science Methods for Marine Protected Areas Web site


• "Social Science Research Strategy for Marine Protected Areas"
  (a National MPA Center publication)

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
anthropogenic factors
marine parks and reserves - Sociological aspects
sociocultural aspects
social science
socioeconomic aspects
stakeholder participation

• U.S. National System of MPAs  (See also MPA Systems and Networks further above)
• "About the National System of Marine Protected Areas" page of the National MPA Center web site


• "The Framework for the National System of Marine Protected Areas" informational page of the National MPA Center web site


• "Framework for the National System of Marine Protected Areas of the United States of America" (full document)
  (a National MPA Center publication)


• "MPA Systems and Networks" Theme Bin in the MPA Virtual Library

Or search the 'keywords' field of the MPA Virtual Library for terms such as:
marine parks and reserves - networks
marine parks and reserves - systems
marine parks and reserves - United States

News Sources

Newsletters, news alerts, blogs, press releases

• Google Alerts* (set up an alert for "marine protected areas" news)


• Information Exchange for Marine Educators (NOAA Office of Education-supported newsletter for marine educators)


• Marine Cultural and Historic Newsletter (National MPA Center archived publication)


• Marine Ecosystems and Management* (quarterly newsletter on marine ecosystem-based management)


• MPA Connections (periodic newsletter of National MPA Center)


• MPA News* (international news and analysis newsletter)


• MPA Virtual Library's "Web sites" page - "Online Newsletters and Journals" section


• Nexis.com* (individual subscribers may set up news alerts for "marine protected areas" news)


• NOAA Coral Reef News


• NOAA press releases about MPAs


• "The Official MPA Blog" section of Protect Planet Ocean web site*

Training

MPA information and management training courses

• "Education and Training" page of National MPA Center web site


• Managing Vistitor Use in Coastal and Marine Protected Areas - NOAA Coastal Service Center training

Conferences and Workshops

Sources of information on MPA conferences and workshops

• "Marine Protection Buzz - Events" section of Protect Planet Ocean Web site*
  (Scroll to "Marine Protection Buzz" text box, and select "Events")


• MPA Virtual Library's "Conferences and Workshops" page


• See the conference listings which appear regularly in newsletters such as MPA Connections; Marine Cultural and Historic Newsletter; and NOAA Coral Reef News; and those which appear periodically in MPA News.
  (See "News Sources" category in this research guide.)

Visit the "Marine Protected Areas of the United States" Web site often, for current information on the effective use of science, technology, training and information in the planning, management, and evaluation of the nation's developing system of marine protected areas:

Marine Protected Areas of the United States Web site
http://mpa.gov/

MPA Virtual Library
Search MPA titles, authors, subjects and terms of interest in the MPA Virtual Library:
http://www3.mpa.gov/mpa_lib/virtual_library.aspx

For reference help with the MPA Virtual Library, contact:
mpalibrary@noaa.gov