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Here we examine the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the Arnavon islands community marine conservation area (ACMCA). The aim is to conserve all species inhabiting the Arnavon Islands, but the primary inspiration for funding the work has been the presence of a large hawksbill turtle rockery on the islands.

Invasive alien species (IAS) are animals, plants or other organisms that are introduced into places outside their natural range, negatively impacting native biodiveristy, ecosystem services or human well-being. IAS are one of the biggest causes of biodiversity loss and species extinctions and are also a global threat to food security and livelihoods. IAS are compounded by climate change. Climate change facilitates the spread and establishement of many alien species and creates new opportunities for them to become invasive. IAS can reduce the resilience of natural habitats, agricultural systems and urban areas to climate change. Conversely, climate change reduces the resilience of habitats to biological invasions. It is essential that IAS be incorporated in to climate change policies. This includes biosecurity measures to prevent the introduction of IAS to new regions as a result of climate change, and rapid response measures to monitor and eradicate alien species that may become invasive due to climate change.

When the government of Australia created the Great Barrier Reef Region (346,000 km2) in 1975 and subsequently declared parts as sections of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the protected area greatly surpassed all existing marine protected areas (MPAs) in both scope and scale. Yet it would be nearly 30 years before a second LSMPA or areas greater than 150,000 km2 (see Box 1) was declared. Established as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve in 2000, the new site was the first truly remote LSMPA. In 2006, the area was slightly expanded and recognised as the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (362,074 km2), and expanded again in 2016 (1,508,870 km2) to become the largest MPA globally

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas of the ocean set aside for long-term conservation aims.| MPAs support climate change adaptation and mitigation while providing other ecosystem services.| Currently 6.35% of the ocean is protected, but only just over 1.89% is covered by exclusively no-take MPAs.| Most existing MPAs do not have enough human and financial resources to properly implement conservation and management measures.| Increased political commitments can help boost the governance of and resources available to MPAs.