A shared ambition to coordinate and leverage existing efforts to strengthen the effective management of Marine Protected Areas

Recognizing that we manage some of the world’s largest and most diverse maritime areas, we acknowledge our shared interest in strengthening the management effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs), addressing common MPA management challenges and opportunities related to financing, monitoring, surveillance, governance and innovation.

We emphasize the importance of strengthening the qualitative management of MPAs, thereby contributing to our commitment to Ocean conservation and sustainable use. Ensuring that MPAs are effectively managed, adaptive, well connected and adequately resourced is essential to deliver their full environmental, social and economic benefits.

Building on our long-standing experience with diverse governance and finance models as well as strong scientific, technical, institutional and dissemination capacities, we highlight the value of enhanced cooperation and knowledge-sharing among G7 members and our partners. Discussions held during the 2026 French G7 Presidency underlined that the development of an experience-sharing forum on MPA management, would be useful to provide a shared understanding of the challenges, lessons learned, best practices and opportunities for effective MPA management, including at the local, regional, and global levels. This would further contribute to identifying effective management approaches based on the best available scientific evidence, in order to achieve environmental protection while supporting socio-economic development related to MPAs. This work would also contribute to the efforts undertaken by public authorities and other partners and stakeholders in implementing relevant national and international frameworks.

In this context, we identify five key structural opportunities to further enhance the effectiveness and benefits of MPA implementation and management:

Catalysing innovative and sustained financing for MPAs;
Supporting robust and long-term scientifically based monitoring;
Strengthening surveillance and enforcement capacities;
Sharing innovative and successful governance models, relying on the involvement of all relevant stakeholders and partners, including scientific actors and the private sector;
Supporting innovative and environmentally sound approaches and technologies in MPA management.

We recognize that cooperation and exchange of best practices and lessons learned among MPA authorities and relevant stakeholders and partners, including other levels of government, regional bodies, the academic and private sectors, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and civil society, are important to advance together on these opportunities and to promote effective management and tools.

Launch of the MPA management Alliance

To advance this shared ambition, we establish an MPA Management Alliance, a framework for strengthened cooperation aimed at intensifying our common efforts towards effective MPA management. Through this Alliance, we will pursue a long-term cooperative approach to collectively address the five opportunities mentioned above. The Alliance will operate on the basis of the following guiding concepts.

First, we will enhance the exchange of best practices and innovative approaches related to MPA management, by building on our experiences and learning from contributions of G7 members as well as other partners, initiatives, structures and organizations, including regional bodies, with relevant expertise on this matter.

Second, we are determined to step up efforts to leverage new technologies and private-sector engagement especially through public-private partnerships in support of MPA management. Building on the various scientific works on the Ocean, including within the framework of the G7 Future of the Seas and Ocean Initiative (FSOI), we will promote the use of advanced observation and monitoring technologies. We will also seek to engage with philanthropic organizations and investors in the private sector and others, in order to mobilize resources and foster innovative financing approaches.

Third, we will raise the profile of effective MPA management and promote the work of the Alliance through a proactive outreach approach. The Alliance will seek to engage with partner countries, relevant initiatives and international and regional organizations whose objectives align with those set for the Alliance, to disseminate best practices and support concrete cooperation actions on MPA management without duplicating efforts.

The Alliance will regularly review progress and identify gaps in strengthening the management effectiveness of MPAs. We will work, by the end of 2026, on strategic guidance as necessary to steer the Alliance action and ensure its alignment with our national and international commitments as well as our collective responsibility for Ocean conservation and sustainable use.

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Source: Ministères de l'Aménagement du territoire et de la Décentralisation, des Transports, de la Ville et du Logement

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	Please send comments to: g7@utoronto.ca This page was last updated April 24, 2026.