To mark UN World Oceans Day (8 June), an infographic examines the development of marine protected areas and the dynamics of their growth. According to data from the 'Protected Planet' initiative, 28.05 million square kilometres of ocean and coastal waters were declared protected marine areas worldwide in 2021. This equates to approximately 7.7% of the total area of oceans and coastal waters. Despite stepped-up measures starting from 2010, the goal to have 10% of waters protected by 2020 was not reached. Looking to the future, the UN-led initiative – 30x30 – which aims to achieve 30% protection by 2030 (plus 30% on land), gained the support of around 190 countries at the COP15 meeting in December 2022.

As shown in the infographic, efforts to declare marine areas as needing protection have only gathered pace in the 21st century.

Progress in this regard was slow from 1990 to 2005, and during this period less than one million square kilometres were declared as protected marine areas.

The largest jump was observed between 2016 and 2017. By the end of 2017, the area of protected territories had become more than five million square kilometres larger than the previous year.