Marine Park Design Principles

To ensure that South Australias network of multiple-use marine parks meets both

community and environmental needs, 14 design principles have been devised.

These principles will guide the design of the marine parks network, which is

due to be released for public comment in late 2008.

The Governments Scientific Working Group and Marine Advisory Committee worked

with the Department for Environment and Heritage to develop the design principles,

which are based on national guidelines and are designed

to meet the objectives of the Marine Parks Act 2007.

The 14 design principles are:

1. The Precautionary Approach: plan, anticipate and
take action early to safeguard against possible impacts.
2. Comprehensiveness: cover the full range of habitats
and species.
3. Adequacy: be certain protection is effective.
4. Representativeness: the system must reflect the
variety of our marine life.
5. Connectivity and Linkages: provide for sharing of
plants, animals and materials between sites.
6. Resilience and Vulnerability: protect features that are
more sensitive to change.
7. Ecological importance: include important and unique
features.
8. Seek synergies with existing protected areas:
establish links between land and sea, eg align
marine parks and national parks.
9. Seek to complement existing land and marine
management practices: eg international conventions
and current management under fisheries, aquaculture
and natural resources management plans.
10. Give consideration to the full diversity of marine
uses: eg commercial and recreational fishing.
11. Respect indigenous interests and culture:
eg significant sites and Native Title.
12. Give consideration to cultural heritage:
eg World Heritage sites and historic shipwrecks.
13. Ensure ease of identification, compliance and
enforcement: eg align boundaries with visible features
on the shoreline and consider boundary shape and
methods for defining them.
14. Provide for education, appreciation and recreation:
eg ensure marine parks are accessible and suitable for
community use.
The process of designing a network of multiple-
use marine parks is complex and involves careful
consideration of each of the design principles.
The successful application of these design principles is
an important step towards the common goal of a healthy,
protected marine environment that supports community
use and enjoyment into the future.

For more information visit:

www.marineparks.sa.gov.au
or call 1800 006 120