You can explore MPAs directly in Google Earth by zooming around the world. As you zoom closer in, more MPAs will appear, represented by the icon, and (where we have the data) a white line that shows the boundary of the MPA. Hover your mouse over the icon and the MPA boundary will be highlighted. Click on the icon to open the popup window for that MPA, and see what"s there! If you took photos or videos in an MPA, and would like to contribute it to our Google Earth layer, or if you notice any gaps or errors in the MPA data that you can correct, you can provide this information using our quick and easy-to-use interactive MPA (iMPA) pages. Just click "More" or "Add Photos and Videos" and you will be taken directly to the iMPA page for that MPA.

You can also use the iMPA pages on www.protectplanetocean.org to explore the world"s MPAs in more detail, to upload your own multimedia (photos, videos, and stories), to add or correct MPA site information, and add new MPAs that are not currently listed.

If you need further assistance, please contact impas@protectplanetocean.org.

There are two types of search available: Simple and Advanced

Simple Search:

• Type in one or more words (in any order) for an MPA that you would like to find.
• Note that the search currently runs an EXACT word match only, i.e. you must spell the words exactly as they are stored in our datastore.
• The search facility is not case-sensitive
• The search can also search for non-latin characters (e.g. Japanese, Russian, Arabic)
• Fields searched include name, location, designation type, designation status, no take status, and IUCN management category.

• Glover
• Glover"s
• overs

• Glovers
• gLoVers
• glovers
• Reef marine
• Glovers reserve

Advanced Search

If you have difficulty finding the MPA of interest to you, you may wish to do an Advanced Search. Currently this allows you to specify the location / country that the MPA occurs within (by selecting from a drop down list) AND specify search terms (using the same rules as are used in the simple search). If you still can"t find the MPA, it is possible that it is currently not in our datastore, and you need to add it (see How to add a new MPA)

If you need further assistance, please contact impas@protectplanetocean.org.

In order to submit any information to the iMPA pages for an MPA, you need a Google Account to log in to the iMPA editing system. If you are only providing multimedia content (photos, videos, or stories), this is all you need. However, if you wish to add or delete an MPA, or edit site information (basic or in-depth) for an MPA, we will ask you for a small amount of additional information about yourself (your name, affiliation, and contact details) so that we may contact you if necessary for data quality control purposes. We will only use this information to contact you if we need clarification on the edits you submit to the iMPA pages.

To make changes, simply click the appropriate editing link ("+ Add images", "+ Add videos", "edit", "+ Add stories", etc). Make the changes you wish to make, then click "Save". When editing site information, field definitions can be obtained by clicking the icon next to that field.

If you need further assistance, please contact impas@protectplanetocean.org.

If you cannot find the MPA you are looking for using BOTH the simple AND advanced search facilities, then you can add a new MPA. On the search results page you will see:

"Unable to find the MPA you were looking for? Add it."

Click Add it and this will bring you to a blank MPA page to complete. Note that we require various pieces of information in order to add a new MPA, which are indicated with a red asterisk (*). You will also be asked to confirm that the MPA meets IUCN"s minimum requirements for protected areas. In brief, these are (for more information, see our Minimum Data and Information Requirements for MPAs document):

• Spatially delineated area
• Must include area below the mean high water mark
• Protected through any one or combination of legislation, non-statutory agreements, traditional, customary, or voluntary arrangements
• Site has been created for "long-term conservation": it is (or is intended to be) in place "permanently" - for at least 5 years, with objectives of conservation and/or sustainable use of the environment, and/or enjoyment of the marine environment.

If you need further assistance, please contact impas@protectplanetocean.org.

While we have done all we can to assure the quality of the data we present through this layer, there are still enormous challenges associated with ensuring the currency and accuracy of MPA data, particularly in certain locations around the world. As such, the MPA data currently displayed in the Google Earth layer are the best available. However we cannot guarantee that there are no errors in the data and occasionally there will be sites listed that should not be (for example, they may be coastal but not marine, they may be duplicate entries, or they may not actually exist). If this is the case, click 'Edit' in the site information box, scroll to the bottom of the page, then click the "Delete" button. This submit an email request to the administrators to delete the site. You will probably  be requested to explain why they site should be deleted. This request will be reviewed by the PPO team and the deletion subsequently implemented.

If you need further assistance, please contact impas@protectplanetocean.org.

All audiovisual content must be stored on a web-based hosting service. We recommend that you upload your photos to Flickr or Panoramio. To sign up for an account, go to http://www.panoramio.com/signup/ or http://www.flickr.com/. Photo file format preferences are: PNG, JPG, or GIF, with 4x3 aspect ratio. Once photos are uploaded, click "+ Add images" in the Photos tab of the Multimedia box in the iMPA page for the MPA, and complete as follows:

• URL: right click on the photo, select "Copy Image Location", then paste into the URL box
• Caption: provide a brief descriptive caption for the photo - 60 character limit (including spaces)
• Credits: provide attribution for the photo - 60 character limit (including spaces)

See How to edit MPA site information and multimedia for more information.

If you need further assistance, please contact impas@protectplanetocean.org.

All audiovisual content must be stored on a web-based hosting service. We recommend that you upload your photos to YouTube. To sign up for an account, go to http://www.youtube.com/signup. We strongly recommend you use the same email address for your YouTube account as for your Google Account. Video preferences are: mpeg4, 640x480 resolution, with 4x3 aspect ratio and duration up to 1 minute. Once videos are uploaded, click "+ Add videos" in the Videos tab of the Multimedia box in the iMPA page for the MPA, and complete as follows:

• URL: copy the URL of the webpage that plays the video, and paste into the URL box
• Caption: provide a brief descriptive caption for the video - 60 character limit (including spaces)
• Credits: provide attribution for the video - 60 character limit (including spaces)

See How to edit MPA site information and multimedia for more information.

If you need further assistance, please contact impas@protectplanetocean.org.

Stories consist of three components:

1. a "snippet" or "headline" (required)
   • The snippet is a very short sentence that must make sense by itself, provide the main point of the story, and provoke interest in the user to read the longer story.
   • Maximum snippet length: 60 characters including spaces
2. the full story (required)
   • Maximum full story length: 600 characters including spaces
3. an URL to link to further information (optional)

Stories can describe ANY aspect of an MPA, for example:

• why the MPA was created
• what special features and/or species it protects
• international recognitions of the MPA (e.g. World Heritage, Ramsar, etc)
• what has changed in the MPA since protection (e.g. size and/or abundance of species)
• regulations that are applied in the MPA
• how compliance with the regulations is achieved
• the management model used
• the planning process used to design the MPA
• diving conditions in the MPA
• things to do and see in the MPA
• historical factoids about the MPA

To add a story, click "+ Add stories" in the Stories box on the iMPA page for the MPA, and complete at least the snippet and full story boxes, noting the character limits.

See How to edit MPA site information and multimedia for more information.

If you need further assistance, please contact impas@protectplanetocean.org.

MPAs can often be changed through the course of their history (through legislation, the management plan, or other means including community decisions). For example:

• they may be enlarged or diminished in size;
  
• their boundaries may change
• their designation type may change
• the regulations imposed in the area may change
• their name may change

In such cases, it is important to record these changes as 'historical changes' to the MPA, rather than as editorial corrections or updates to data that was previously wrong or missing. This will enable us to keep a full chronology of the MPA, rather than only storing data on the most recent configuration of the MPA. In order to do this, follow this general process:

1. Make AND SAVE all of the editorial/typographical corrections to the MPA first, so that you have a complete template of the 'earlier' version of the MPA.
2. Go back into edit mode of the MPA, and make ONLY those changes that pertain to the historical update (e.g. size increase/decrease, etc) - you MUST edit the 'date designated' to indicate the date at which the change was made.
   
3. Click Save
4. On the 'confirm' page - FIRST check the box (located below the summary of edits made) that states that the edits you are now submitting represent actual changes made to the configuration of the MPA rather than editorial or typographical correction to existing data.
5. Click Confirm change
   
6. When you return to the MPA page, you will now see in the 'In Depth' box that an historical version of the MPA has been created and that you can link to. This will show the MPA data as saved in step 1. The CURRENT version of the MPA will contain all of the same data as the MPA saved in step 1, PLUS the updates you made in step 2.
7. At any time, you can continue to make editorial/typographical corrections to either or both entries. It is simply more efficient to make all necessary typographical changes in Step 1, so that all the data is the same in both listings, except that which describes the actual formal/legal change that was made to the MPA.
   

If you need further assistance, please contact impas@protectplanetocean.org.