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    Species Coverage by Marine Protected Areas

    Measures the extent to which marine species are included within protected aquatic zones. This statistic is critical for evaluating the effectiveness of MPAs in safeguarding marine biodiversity, particularly vulnerable or endangered species. It highlights how these protected areas comprehensively encompass essential marine life habitats, including breeding grounds, feeding areas, and migratory routes.

    Understanding this metric helps identify where gaps in protection exist, allowing for targeted enhancements in MPA design and management. Expanding and effectively managing MPAs to increase species coverage is essential for conserving marine ecosystems. Such efforts are crucial not only for protecting marine biodiversity but also for maintaining the health of ocean ecosystems that provide vital services such as carbon sequestration, coastal protection, and sustaining fisheries, which are crucial for global food security and economic stability.

    The higher the score, the better the country ranks for this parameter.

    The table is sorted from the highest score to the lowest:

    Rank Country Score Change
    1
    Albania    		 100 None
    1
    Antigua and Barbuda    		 100 None
    1
    Azerbaijan    		 100 None
    1
    Belgium    		 100 None
    1
    Belize    		 100 None
    1
    Bosnia and Herz.    		 100 None
    1
    Bulgaria    		 100 None
    1
    Cameroon    		 100 None
    1
    Canada    		 100 None
    1
    Dominican Republic    		 100 None
    1
    East Timor    		 100 None
    1
    Ecuador    		 100 None
    1
    Estonia    		 100 None
    1
    Finland    		 100 None
    1
    Gabon    		 100 +45
    1
    Georgia    		 100 None
    1
    Germany    		 100 None
    1
    Greece    		 100 None
    1
    Honduras    		 100 +38
    1 Italy 100 None
    1
    Latvia    		 100 None
    1
    Lithuania    		 100 None
    1
    Marshall Islands    		 100 None
    1
    Nicaragua    		 100 None
    1
    Norway    		 100 +77
    1
    Poland    		 100 None
    1
    Portugal    		 100 None
    1
    Congo    		 100 None
    1
    Romania    		 100 None
    1
    Seychelles    		 100 None
    1
    Slovenia    		 100 None
    1
    Spain    		 100 +61
    1
    Sweden    		 100 None
    1
    Turkmenistan    		 100 None
    1
    Ukraine    		 100 None
    36
    Fiji    		 98 +2
    37
    Costa Rica    		 98 None
    38
    Australia    		 98 -4
    39
    South Africa    		 98 +3
    40
    Oman    		 98 +1
    41
    Bangladesh    		 98 -6
    42
    Comoros    		 98 -6
    43
    Maldives    		 98 -3
    44
    Colombia    		 97 +1
    45
    Saudi Arabia    		 97 +4
    46
    Philippines    		 97 +2
    47
    Bahrain    		 97 -3
    48
    Kuwait    		 97 -1
    49
    Peru    		 96 +9
    50
    Algeria    		 96 +1
    51
    El Salvador    		 96 +3
    52
    Eritrea    		 96 +3
    53
    Kenya    		 96 +2
    53
    Sudan    		 96 +5
    55
    Lebanon    		 96 +2
    56
    Cyprus    		 96 -4
    57
    Mexico    		 94 +8
    58
    Egypt    		 94 -5
    58
    Haiti    		 94 +5
    60
    Malaysia    		 94 +4
    61
    Saint Lucia    		 94 +5
    62
    United States    		 94 -12
    63
    Venezuela    		 94 +4
    64
    Madagascar    		 93 -4
    65
    Vanuatu    		 93 +4
    66
    Malta    		 93 +2
    67
    Cuba    		 92 +10
    68
    Croatia    		 92 +2
    69
    Equatorial Guinea    		 92 +2
    70
    Papua New Guinea    		 92 +2
    71
    Panama    		 91 +2
    72
    Brunei    		 91 +1
    73
    Sierra Leone    		 91 +1
    74
    Solomon Islands    		 90 +5
    75
    Bahamas    		 90 None
    76
    Tunisia    		 90 +4
    77
    Japan    		 89 +5
    78
    Indonesia    		 89 +3
    79
    Sri Lanka    		 89 +8
    80
    Guinea    		 88 +4
    81
    Chile    		 88 +2
    81
    Turkey    		 88 +6
    83
    Jamaica    		 88 +1
    84
    Pakistan    		 88 +25
    85
    Tonga    		 87 +6
    86
    Qatar    		 87 +4
    87
    Brazil    		 87 +2
    88
    Guatemala    		 87 +5
    89
    Cambodia    		 86 +3
    90
    Senegal    		 86 +6
    91
    Guinea-Bissau    		 86 +3
    91
    St. Vincent and the Grenadines    		 86 +3
    93
    Suriname    		 85 +4
    94
    Namibia    		 84 +4
    94
    Sao Tome and Principe    		 84 +6
    96
    Vietnam    		 84 +5
    97
    France    		 83 -96
    98
    Iran    		 83 +5
    99
    Djibouti    		 83 +3
    100
    Thailand    		 83 +4
    101
    Ireland    		 82 +4
    102
    Mozambique    		 82 +4
    103
    Netherlands    		 81 -17
    104
    Morocco    		 81 +24
    105
    Montenegro    		 81 +2
    106
    Samoa    		 80 +2
    107
    Denmark    		 80 +13
    108
    United Arab Emirates    		 79 +2
    109
    Myanmar    		 78 +10
    110
    Uruguay    		 76 +3
    111
    Cape Verde    		 76 +1
    112
    Gambia    		 75 +2
    113
    Taiwan    		 74 -2
    114
    DR Congo    		 74 +1
    115
    Iceland    		 73 +2
    116
    Grenada    		 73 None
    117
    Ivory Coast    		 73 +17
    118
    Mauritius    		 73 None
    119
    Israel    		 71 -21
    120
    Trinidad and Tobago    		 70 +2
    121
    Liberia    		 70 None
    122
    Mauritania    		 68 +2
    123
    United Kingdom    		 68 -122
    124
    Angola    		 68 -1
    125
    Barbados    		 66 +1
    126
    Jordan    		 66 +1
    127
    New Zealand    		 64 -66
    128
    Nigeria    		 62 None
    129
    Russia    		 61 -4
    130
    Ghana    		 61 +4
    131
    Dominica    		 60 -1
    132
    Argentina    		 47 -1
    133
    India    		 39 +1
    134
    Kiribati    		 14 -1
    135
    Benin    		 0 -1
    135
    Guyana    		 0 -1
    135
    Iraq    		 0 -1
    135
    Kazakhstan    		 0 -1
    135
    Micronesia    		 0 -1
    135
    Singapore    		 0 -1
    135
    South Korea    		 0 -1
    135
    Togo    		 0 -1

    Source and Calculation

    Marine Protected Area shapefiles are sourced from the World Database on Protected Areas through Protected Planet. Shapefiles of marine species’ extent of occurrence are sourced from the IUCN Red List, and used to create country lists of marine species. Global Red List assessments are sourced from the IUCN Red List.

    The proportion of each country’s threatened marine species that are covered by at least one marine protected area is then calculated. A minimum score is given to a country that has 50% or less its threatened species represented in marine protected areas, whereas a maximum score is awarded to a country that has achieved 100% coverage of its threatened species by marine protected areas.

    *Different sources offer varying data, as datasets may be subject to changes due to recent updates and revisions.