Marine protected area is an effective tool for conservation and sustainable management of resources in the ecosystem. Aichi biodiversity targets from Convention of Biodiversity calls for the conservation of at least 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020. Total area under protection is frequently used to track conservation progress. Indian MPAs contributes to the 5% of the protected area network of India and less than 0.3% of the total area of India which is a smaller area than Aichi Biodiversity targets 11. From 1967 to 2015, 131 marine protected sites with an area of 9800.685 km2 were established. Over the time, size class distribution of MPAs shifted towards larger MPAs (> 100 km2). The overall MPA size increased from 172.16 km2 (1965-70) to 1843.04 km2 (2011-2015). MPAs of 1000-10000km2 size cover about 49% of the total MPA area. The protection level of Indian MPAs varies from Category II and Category IV. None of the Indian MPAs has been classified under any of IA, IB, III, V and VI Categories. Nearly, 89% of the MPAs belong to category IV. There has been almost no growth in the area within Category II after 1991-1995. The given study has found that Indian MPA network needs to have a greater number of large size MPAs to enable protection and sustainability of marine resources. Further, attention is required on research on the trend in management effectiveness, connectivity and pressures on the MPA network.
Keywords: Protection, Progress, Management, MPA