Overcoming challenges and identifying opportunities for marine protected area planning: Lessons from Brazil

The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) is a central strategy for achieving sustainability goals, but their planning is deeply shaped by local context. As such, the development of new MPAs is often contingent upon the presence of clear legal frameworks, institutional coordination, and the lack of political conflicts. When designed through an inclusive approach, the MPA planning process can foster greater legitimacy and compliance, but these participatory approaches might face challenges related to funding or power imbalances among actors. Here we conducted a content analysis of archival records related to 60 MPA proposals spanning nearly three decades along the Brazilian coast to examine the context in which challenges and opportunities to MPA establishment arise. We found that the challenges and opportunities faced by proposed MPAs depend on their intended management category and stage of development. MPAs proposed for strict protection tend to face more challenges than those for sustainable use. In particular, limited institutional capacity was a common issue, especially for MPA proposals in the early stages of planning. Social actors also frequently perceived the spatial configuration – such as the size or location of the proposed MPAs – as inadequate. Conversely, MPAs proposed for sustainable use exhibited a greater number of opportunities - such as heightened local perception of MPA benefits and increased political support - which became particularly important during the later stages of designation. Together, these results provide quantitative evidence of concurrent challenges and opportunities associated with proposed MPAs, highlighting improved ways of performing MPA planning globally.