Chile, Costa Rica look to marine protected areas to mitigate climate change

Chile and Costa Rica are seeking to strengthen the role of marine protected areas (MPA) as a mitigation tool against climate change and have joined an alliance with the UK, US and France that aims to have at least 30% of the global ocean under protected status by 2030.

In the case of Costa Rica, the country currently has less than 3% of its maritime exclusive economic zone under protected status, but authorities aim to increase that figure to 30% by the end of the current government’s term next year, the country’s environment and energy minister, Andrea Meza, said during a webinar presenting the International Partnership on MPAs, Biodiversity, and Climate Change, hosted by the US-based Wilson Center. 

This would involve expanding MPAs that already exist in the country, such as Coco Island (2,034km2, pictured), as well as creating new protected areas in “critical zones,” Meza explained, while also expressing her wish for more countries to join the alliance. 

“If we just create one protected area here, but there are other countries that are not creating protected areas themselves, then this wouldn’t work. We know that everything is interconnected,” she said.

On the other hand, 43% of Chile’s economic exclusive zone is included in 41 MPAs and the country is now seeking to adapt these protected areas to climate change through the new alliance.

“We can identify and implement cost-effective strategies towards a global effort in ocean-based solutions,” Chilean environment minister Claudia Schmidt said during the event.

One of the main focus of the alliance is the concept of MPAs as carbon-capture zones, as excess CO2 emissions are absorbed into the ocean, triggering impacts such as increases in water temperatures and rising sea tides, the latter of which are becoming an increasing concern in Chile. 

Aside from this, it states that an MPA network could also reinforce storm protection and erosion control, food production, employment opportunities, and recreation and tourism for coastal areas.