This Practitioner's Toolkit for Marine Conservation Agreements provides information regarding one strategy to address the increasing degradation and depletion of biodiversity in ocean and coastal waters.

The Practitioner's Toolkit for Marine Conservation Agreements (MCAs) was developed to help conservation organizations determine:

• What MCAs are
• When MCAs can help abate threats to ocean and coastal species, habitats, and ecosystems
• How to plan and proceed with MCA projects

Marine Conservation Agreements (MCAs) include any formal or informal understanding between two or more parties in which the parties obligate themselves, for an exchange of benefits, to take certain actions, refrain from certain actions, or transfer certain rights and responsibilities to achieve agreed upon ocean or coastal conservation goals (see figure below). MCAs can be entered into by governments, communities, private entities (including not-for-profit and for-profit), and private individuals. The definition of MCAs has evolved over the past several years due in part to the identification and assessment of several existing MCA projects throughout the world.

Elements and Variables of Marine Conservation Agreements
Mechanisms		Parties		Benefits		Examples
Formal	Informal	Grantor	Grantee	Incentive	Protection
• Purchase & sale • Lease • Easement • License • Permit • Concession • Contract	• Verbal • Hand- shake	• Private individuals • Private Companies • Local Govt. • State Govt. • Federal Govt.	• NGOs • Commu- nities • Ecotourism companies • Aqua- culturalists • Other for-profits	• Direct payments • Social services • Infra- structure jobs • Culture • Pride	• Ownership • Access • Harvest • Manage- ment	• Chile • Costa Rica • Ecuador • Mexico • Tanzania • Tropical Isl. • U.S.
Duration Defined or Undefined		Lead Implementer		• Behavior changes • Laws/regulations • Private MPAs • Community MPAs • State/Fed'l MPAs

Practitioners should note that MCA terminology is relatively new and, as such, the global marine conservation community may apply different terms to similar projects. MCAs have also been called and are often still associated with:

• Leasing and ownership in ocean and coastal waters
• Proprietary rights of submerged lands
• Marine market-based strategies
• Marine protected areas

The toolkit is organized primarily as a series of four steps that guide you from the initial step of investigating what MCAs are all about to the final step of implementing a project on the ground or in the water. For new users, we recommend that you begin with Step 1: Getting Started. However, the left-hand navigation menu can be used at any time to find information on specific phases, countries, states, and resources. See the Help link on the upper right of each page for more tips.

If you are short on time you can quickly download the toolkit’s postcard (pdf, 6,660k) or information sheets:

• Toolkit overview (download .pdf, 1,559k)
• Leasing and Ownership of Ocean and Coastal Resources (download .pdf, 264k)
• The Law & Policy of Conservation Leasing and Ownership (download .pdf, 673k)

The Nature Conservancy and several of our partners recognize the need to expand the tools we use to protect marine biodiversity. In light of this, we developed The Practitioner's Toolkit for Marine Conservation Agreements. The toolkit was originally launched in January 2008 and is continually being improved upon with new information. Without the aid of our partners, the toolkit would not be what it is today.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coastal Services Center, Roger Williams University, and the Coastal States Organization participated in legal and spatial data research for U.S. ocean coast states. The Conservation and Community Investment Forum and Conservation International helped refine the MCA process and also assisted with developing and hosting workshops. Several state chapters of the Audubon Society provided project-specific information as did numerous other project managers. Read more about The Nature Conservancy's efforts.

If you would like to conribute to the Toolkit, have comments or questions, or need further assistance, please Contact Us.

Step 1: Getting Started

Step 2: Decision Checklist

Step 3: Acquisition Checklist

Step 4: Implementation

Country Summaries

U.S. State Summaries

Case Studies

Resources