From design to implementation: Lessons from planning the first marine protected area network in Canada

The social-ecological outcomes of marine protected areas (MPAs) can be amplified when sites are designed in networks that function cooperatively and synergistically. From 2015–2024, seventeen First Nations, the Province of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada collaboratively developed a Network Action Plan to establish an MPA Network for the Northern Shelf Bioregion (NSB). The NSB is a diverse and complex social-ecological region in British Columbia that spans an area of 102,000 km 2 from Northern Vancouver Island to the Alaska border. Here, we describe the MPA Network planning process and the transition from Network planning to implementation. We discuss key elements of success that enabled the Network Action Plan’s collaborative development and lessons learned to inform and improve regional MPA Network implementation and global MPA Network planning and implementation. All phases of the planning process, including governance, development, engagement, design, and analysis, were guided by the following principles: collaborative governance, multiple ways of knowing, participatory engagement, and adaptation to new information. The Network Action Plan’s dynamic design process resulted in innovative approaches and tools to protect conservation objectives throughout the NSB. As the NSB MPA Network process transitions from planning toward implementation, collaborative governance, network monitoring, and ongoing participatory engagement processes will play a central role in advancing the goals and objectives articulated in the Network Action Plan and ensuring equitable social-ecological outcomes. Overall, the NSB MPA Network planning process provides a model for collaborative design of MPA Networks and can inform co-governance and co-management processes throughout the world. • The proposed Network spans 30 % of the Northern Shelf Bioregion and 357 zones. • Indigenous, local, and western knowledge informed MPA Network planning. • The proposed Network protects ecologically and culturally important species, habitats, and features.