Globally, 18,000 marine protected areas, covering around 30 million square kilometers of coastal waters, were listed in 2023, or 8.2% of the surface of oceans and seas, according to a study recently reported by Le Monde . A figure which, however, was still far from the objective set by the international community of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030 to restore biodiversity. The study also concluded that only a third (36%) of these marine areas were under high or full protection and would be truly effective. In addition, the authors noted that many countries (including: Brazil, United Kingdom, France, South Africa, Australia, United States) established a significant proportion of these protected areas in remote areas or overseas territories. -sea.
As our graph based on World Bank data indicates, France and its overseas territories are among the territories where the share of protected marine territorial waters is the highest: 96% in New Caledonia and in Saint-Martin (French Antilles) in 2022, and almost 50% in total for France (mainland and overseas). France was thus narrowly ahead of Germany and Australia, where the share of protected marine territorial waters was between 44% and 46% that year. Apart from the microstates of Palau and Monaco (100% or almost), only Kazakhstan, which protected a little more than half of its coastal waters in the Aral Sea, came first. Globally, 18% of territorial waters (over which the sovereignty of coastal states is exercised) were protected. However, World Bank statistics do not detail the proportion of these marine areas under high or full protection.
