Two possible networks of MPAs were presented to delegates negotiating the first every high seas conservation treaty at the UN last week. The maps, generated using biological and oceanographic data and the Marxan programme, showed potential reserves covering 30% or 50% of the high seas. The options presented were those the researchers thought offered the best protected for biodiversity with the fewest trade-offs. Two other teams are also working on possible scenarios but taking different approaches. A scenario of either 10 and 30% coverage of the High Seas by MPAs or, instead of recommending protecting a certain percentage of the high seas, dividing the entire ocean into 50km blocks and ranking them by conservation value. The researchers hope their maps will encourage nations to be ambitious as the UN works to finalise the treaty next year.

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