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The Arafura and Timor Seas (ATS) comprise both near pristine and highly threatened marine ecosystems. There are four littoral nations (Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Australia, and Papua New Guinea), which have independently established Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). We design the first resilient MPA network for the entire region to protect critical habitats and species by considering transboundary features (i.e., connectivity of fisheries, rare, threatened, and protected species), uses and threats (i.e., fishing and climate change). We used Geographic Information System processing to identify gaps in the regional network based on existing and proposed MPAs and Areas of Interest (AOIs: previously identified as potential new MPAs) in each country, followed by systematic conservation planning to identify new AOIs for establishing MPAs to fill these gaps. The ATS MPA Network design (301,055 km2) has been endorsed by all four countries and includes all 93 existing (265,405 km2) and proposed (6,264 km2) MPAs, 13 previously identified AOIs (14,773 km2), and seven new AOIs identified in this study (14,613 km2). Of the new AOIs, three have been incorporated in Indonesia's national MPA network plan, one is in a new MPA currently being developed in Timor-Leste, and Australia is considering two as potential areas for new MPAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tropical Arafura and Timor Seas (ATS) region lies on the edge of the Coral Triangle, located at the intersection of two major Large Marine Ecosystems, the Northern Australian Shelf and the Indonesian Sea. Under the influence of the Indonesian Through Flow current and Pacific-Indian Ocean exchange, the ATS also lies at a major 'cross-road' of global ocean circulation and climate regulation. The 'semi-enclosed' ATS is characterized by diverse seascapes, pronounced ecological connectivity (marine biodiversity, shared fisheries, land-sea interactions), extensive coastal wetlands and shallow-water ecosystems, and globally-significant marine biodiversity (particularly corals reefs, mangroves, seagrasses, and populations of marine megafauna). Complex oceanography, bathymetry and large-scale, tidal and monsoon-driven circulation, and localized, seasonal upwellings are major features across the region, driving patterns of ocean productivity, reef biodiversity and sustaining rich pelagic ecosystems. With some of the most extensive, productive and near-pristine tropical coastal ecosystems in the world, the waters of the ATS are a global marine biodiversity 'hotspot' and play a crucial role in maintaining regional/global tropical marine biodiversity. Including providing major migration corridors, critical habitats and a regional/global refuge for some of the world's most threatened marine megafauna and wildlife populations (particularly sea turtles, sharks/rays, sawfish/river sharks, whales, dolphins and dugongs). Coastal habitats in the ATS also provide a range of ecosystem services of fundamental importance to human well-being, including climate change; with climate-resilient coral reefs and some of the largest and intact, tropical wetlands (mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrasses) in the world, the ATS region is a recognized global blue carbon hotspot. The characterization and assessment of key ecosystems and processes in the ATS in this study provide the basis for protecting these resources through the Arafura and Timor Seas Ecosystem Action Program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia is the largest archipelagic nation in the world with 17,504 islands, a coastline of 108,000 km and 15.8% (27,255 km2) of the world's coral reefs. This paper reviews the status of marine protected areas (MPAs) and networks of MPA in Indonesia, draws on lessons learned, and highlights what has been learned from the design of a network of MPAs for Fisheries Management Area (FMA) 715 across six eastern provinces as an example of how such work can be adapted for other parts of the country and elsewhere. Nationally, the 235,622 km2 of MPAs are mostly large (average 2,380 km2) with use zones and small no-take areas (<15 percent). MPAs are implemented by provincial governments or one of 2 national agencies. The design of a network of MPAs across FMA 715 began with 14 MPAs covering 1,977,276 ha or 4% of the marine waters of FMA 715 in 2016. Now there are 48 MPAs covering 3,062,206 hectares in the planning area, and the design process identified an additional 44 Areas of Interest required to establish new MPAs to augment the existing MPAs in FMA 715 to achieve the objectives of enhancing fisheries, protecting biodiversity, adapting to climate change while supporting community livelihoods and traditional practices. Issues identified in the process are that the scale and complexity of science and management needed is beyond what most stakeholders can easily comprehend; that implementation cuts across multiple jurisdictions with a still-new formal mandate for planning and managing the large network area; and, that the present process could only be possible with outside facilitating expertise. Finally, since the national conservation agency is currently finalizing legal guidelines for the planning and implementation of sub-national networks of MPA, this process has educated many and the result will lend legal and governance support to the continued planning and implementation of the FMA 715 MPA Network and for other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]