As the world races to protect 30 percent of its oceans by 2030, conservationists are exploring bold strategies to meet this ambitious target. One way is establishing large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPA). The Philippine Rise Ocean Conservation Area (PROCA) stands out among the LSMPA that can put Asia in the lead towards achieving the Global 30x30 campaign.

Spanning approximately 150,000 square kilometers, PROCA is part of the Philippine Rise (formerly Benham Rise) underwater plateau east of Luzon that is potentially Asia’s largest LSMPA.

“With Asia hosting some of the world’s richest marine biodiversity, the region has a pivotal role in reaching the 30×30 goal,” said Laure Katz, executive director of the Blue Nature Alliance (BNA), during an LSMPA workshop it co-organized in Iloilo City.

“The movement for large-scale protection with comprehensive solutions both nearshore and offshore has started in Asia with governments, particularly in the Philippines and Indonesia, taking bold steps in turning commitments into action,” added Katz.

A global ocean conservation partnership, BNA brings together major environmental organizations, funders, governments, indigenous peoples, scientists and other partners to create, expand, strengthen and sustain protected and well-managed marine areas around the world. Together with the Zoological Society of London-Philippines (ZSL), Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Fisheries Management Area 1, BNA implements the PROCA.

According to Edwina Garchitorena, country director of ZSL Philippines, MPA has long been at a much smaller scale and the organization is helping in the shift to creating LSMPA.

The workshop, where government, academe and civil society representatives participated, showed that large-scale marine protection is increasingly feasible when grounded in science, policy, community participation and global collaboration.

Delegates from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives, Vietnam, the Solomon Islands, and the Philippines also joined the workshop, exchanging lessons on policy alignment, governance, climate impacts, illegal fishing, and transboundary protection, all critical challenges to achieving the 30×30 target.

The workshop focused on strengthening science-policy-community linkages, developing a roadmap for large-scale protection, and preparing the foundations for an Asia Regional LSMPA Community of Practice.

Also co-hosting the workshop was Big Ocean, the only peer-learning network created ‘by managers for managers’ (and managers in the making) of LSMPAs. Since its inception in 2010, its network has grown from six to 17 sites, all focused on developing and enhancing the professional standards of practice, and long-term, effective management of LSMPAs