The Bay of Bengal is one of the world’s sixty-four Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), and includes the coastal waters of the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Coastal and marine resources play a critical role in these eight countries, and more than 400 million people in the region depend upon this 6.2 million km2 marine ecosystem for their food, livelihoods and security. Ensuring the health of this Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) will have direct bearing upon the ability of both current and future generations to meet their needs.
This study was produced as part of the ongoing UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) Programme. This study reviews the status of marine protected areas (MPAs) and fish refugia in the Bay of Bengal and recommends priority interventions. One of the goals of MPAs is to enhance and sustain fisheries productivity and maintain marine biodiversity. By conducting the first regional review of MPAs across the eight Bay of Bengal countries, this study seeks to (1) provide baseline information necessary to build support for a more comprehensive approach to the establishment and management of MPAs across the region and (2) where possible, discuss current and potential linkages between MPAs and fisheries management in hopes of one day more effectively linking food security and conservation objectives.