A new report from WWF and Sky Ocean Rescue shows European seas remain in a poor state and significantly lack appropriate biodiversity protection, with 19 of 23 marine EU Member States falling behind on developing management plans for their Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The finding comes just a year before the 2020 deadline of international agreements to effectively protect 10% of the ocean (Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi target 11 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14). 

Marine Protected Areas are tools designed to protect specific species or habitats in marine ecosystems, but in order to provide effective protection for biodiversity, they must be properly managed. The report finds that only 1.8% of the EU marine area is covered by MPAs with management plans, despite 12.4% being designated for protection. This effectively makes them Paper Parks.

According to the research carried out by WWF, eleven EU Member States have not reported any management plans for their MPAs and eight have management plans for less than 10% of their marine area.