NASSAU, Bahamas: Members of the Bahamas Protected project team submitted a Marine Protection Plan to the Government for expanding marine protected areas in the country in an effort to protect future jobs, safeguard the environment, and help protect food sources for The Bahamas. This plan will help the government fulfil its pledge to protect 20 percent of the country’s seabed by 2020.

One of the major issues this Marine Protection Plan helps solve is the decline in our marine resources from a variety of negative impacts including climate change and poaching. Fishers and others from around the country have been seeing declining fish stocks and noticing that they are catching less than before, and this plan aims to increase fish numbers throughout the country. 7,355 people have signed a petition in support of marine protected areas and these signatures were submitted along with the Marine Protection Plan.

“This is how we help protect the future for the Bahamas” The Nature Conservancy’s Shenique Albury-Smith said. “Expanding and effectively managing our network of protected areas is one of the most important actions we can take to help protect our resources for the future and to help rebuild our marine environment. The plan we are presenting today, will help us to do this.”

 The Marine Protection Plan—backed by science along with on-the-ground evidence and extensive community consultations—identifies 43 areas that would create the most effective protection and enable the country to achieve its 20% goal.

The community and cross-organizational submission included input from many holding positions in government as well as citizens from across the archipelago. The Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture & Marine Resources, along with stakeholders such as fishers, tour operators, local business owners, and scientists were all involved in the consultative process to ensure that the plan incorporates the diverse opinions and interests of our people. The Bahamas Protected project hosted more than 20 local consultation meetings on 11 islands and over 40 scientists and conservation practitioners from 27 organizations helped to create this plan.

“The reason this protection is so critical for all Bahamians is that these islands are our identity,” said Bahamas National Trust Conservation Planner Lashanti Jupp. “If you don’t have a plan to protect what we have, we will have lost our unique character. From being on the ground we know the support is there for these areas and from the science we know that we will get the most diverse conservation from protecting these areas and safeguarding the future for all Bahamians. We didn’t operate in a vacuum, we went into these communities to find out what areas they thought were important to help guide our planning.”

The Bahamas Protected team is now urging the Government of The Bahamas to declare the full list of proposed areas as marine protected areas and to instruct the relevant agencies to complete the legal process for establishing them. Until that time, the team will continue its work with key government agencies to provide further information and support, as needed.  Raising public awareness about the importance of existing and proposed MPAs and working with communities towards their effective management also remains a focus.

“The country has been a leader in conservation for years,” stated BREEF Executive Director Casuarina McKinney-Lambert. “The fact that we signed onto this initiative to protect 20 percent of the nation’s marine resources is just further evidence of our commitment. We have a great opportunity right now to safeguard our environment for future generations. We are all citizens concerned about the decline in marine resources and we are here proposing a solution to the problem because we care about our country and our heritage,” McKinney-Lambert added.

The Bahamas Protected Project is a three-year initiative between The Nature Conservancy, The Bahamas National Trust and The Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation (BREEF) to support the government’s commitment to manage and expand marine protected areas around the country.  The Bahamas has always been a leader in the region and the world in protecting the environment. The Bahamas created its first marine protected area, the Sea Gardens in 1892, and the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park was established in 1958. Since the 1990s The Bahamas has been working to establish a network of marine protected areas to enhance protection of our marine environment and safeguard the environment, culture and economy of the islands.

Currently approximately 10 percent of the country’s marine and coastal environment is protected under the Bahamas National Protected Areas System (BNPAS). Under The Caribbean Challenge Initiative that the Bahamas joined in 2008, the Government of The Bahamas agreed to protect an additional 10 percent of its coastal and marine areas, as well as ensure that these areas are effectively managed.