Conservationists push to protect marine areas.

Conservationists are increasing their efforts to establish a global network of marine protected areas in response to the deteriorating health of the world's oceans.

Marine "parks" that ban fishing, development, and other commercial activity to allow the recovery of fish populations and wild ecosystems have become popular strategies in recent years. More than one-third of marine ecosystems is seriously threatened by human activities, according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Currently, only some 0.08 percent of the world's oceans is protected, and 0.2 percent of the total marine area within national jurisdictions prohibits extractive industries.

To accelerate marine efforts, environmentalists recently announced priority regions to create marine protected areas (MPAs). Of particular concern is protecting high-value areas in the "high seas"--the 45 percent of the world's oceans that belongs to no single nation.

Governments are pledging to form a global MPA network by 2012. The international goals, however, are not likely to be met until at least 2060, based on the current trends, conservationists say. Other proposals include having industries perform environmental assessments prior to all activities on the high seas and switching to ecosystem-wide marine policies.

The illustrations for this Eye on Earth section were created by students in Glenna Lang's advanced illustration class at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

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