Property rights and marine protected areas

Property rights in the marine environment differ from those on land and this difference has an impact on the legal framework for marine protected areas. The Site of Special Scientific Interest designation, which underpins terrestrial nature conservation in the UK, is only relevant at sea for intertidal sites and a few subtidal extensions. Legislation for Marine Nature Reserves, based on that for terrestrial National Nature Reserves, was unworkable because of government reluctance to designate sites in the face of stakeholder opposition. Regulations for the protection of European Marine Sites were made to implement the European Habitats Directive which covers very few marine habitats or species. The lacuna in legal protection was filled by the creation of the Marine Conservation Zone designation but the emphasis on features of particular value detracts from the objective of wider ecosystem protection. Protection for all types of marine protected areas is constrained by the need to consider the socio-economic consequences of regulation. The new pilot Highly Protected Marine Areas in England could tip the balance in favour of conservation but the rejection of two out of five candidate sites on the basis of the socio-economic concerns does not augur well for the future.