Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are spatially defined areas that seek to maintain or recover marine species, habitats and associated ecosystem services.
MPAs typically have set environmental protection objectives and may be termed ‘marine reserves’, ‘sanctuaries’, ‘locally managed marine areas’ or ‘no-take zones’. Evidence suggests that well-managed MPAs have positive ecological outcomes, including enabling an increase in fish biomass, recovery of threatened species and maintenance of habitat integrity.
The challenge
MPAs are increasingly promoted as tools for achieving both conservation and development objectives.
However, although ecological outcomes of MPAs are well-documented and largely positive, socio-economic outcomes are more complex. In most parts of the world, MPAs overlap with coastal communities, further complicating matters as ecological and socioeconomic outcomes are therefore inseparable.
Norad’s Department for Climate, Nature and the Private Sector asked us to conduct a rapid review of Marine Protected Areas to better understand where investments can yield highest socioeconomic and ecological returns and which factors can determine the success of MPAs to inform their future decisions on development aid.
Our role
Our review synthesises available evidence from the last 10 years to respond to the critical question:
Under what conditions can MPAs deliver positive outcomes for both marine ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them?
Our findings are organised thematically around:
- Ecological outcomes
- Fisheries
- Management
- Economy and livelihoods
- Gender and social equity
- Governance and institutions
- Conditions for effectiveness
Methods and approaches
This rapid review synthesises evidence from 140 sources – including academic reviews, reports and reviews from the World Bank and USAID, and NGO reports – published between 2015 and 2025.
Its focus is on Low-income and Lower-middle-income Countries, with an emphasis on topics of relevance to development aid outcomes, including:
- Poverty
- Inequality
- Livelihoods
- Food security
- Gender equity
- Governance.
The evidence was reviewed against the strength of findings, and the final report was peer reviewed before publication.
Our findings
- Ecological outcomes are substantially and consistently positive with active management, enforcement and resourcing.
- Socio-economic outcomes are highly variable and context dependent, with positive outcomes including resilient fisheries, women’s economic empowerment, and poverty reduction relying on deliberate, well-designed interventions. Conversely, inadequate resources, top-down governance, or neglect of equity can result in displaced fishers, exclusion of marginalised groups or ‘paper parks’ which do not deliver benefits.
- There is no universal MPA model – contextual factors, including geography, ecology, governance capacity, economic dependencies, cultural context and external pressures all shape outcomes.
- There is a wide gap between the designation of MPAs and effective implementation, largely due to inadequate resources and management capacity
- External pressures such as marine heatwaves, pollution and overfishing can negate protection benefits if not integrated within regional approaches and planning frameworks.
