The IUCN has approved a motion submitted by Loro Parque Fundación to establish a large-scale marine protected area (MPA) in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic, with 96.5 per cent of votes in favour. The motion was adopted during the 2025 World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi.
The proposed ‘Macaronesia Sanctuary’ will cover the waters of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. It is designed to safeguard vital habitats and migration routes for whales and dolphins while promoting international scientific collaboration across the region. Loro Parque Fundación says the project represents more than forty years of conservation work in the area.
‘The Macaronesia Sanctuary represents a shared aspiration between science, institutions, and society,’ said Wolfgang Kiessling, president and founder of the Loro Parque Group. ‘Its approval by the IUCN demonstrates that international cooperation is the most effective way to safeguard the biodiversity of our oceans.’
Macaronesia is a marine biodiversity hotspot characterised by the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME), one of the largest upwelling systems in the world. A 2023 draft proposal by the IUCN highlighted the need for a transboundary marine biodiversity conservation area covering the four archipelagos.
The region is home to 32 species of cetaceans – representing about 84 per cent of those found in the North Atlantic – which are under substantial threat from transatlantic shipping and industrial fishing. Loro Parque Fundación said the motion’s approval marks a turning point in Atlantic biodiversity protection.
‘This approval is an international milestone that reinforces our commitment to ocean conservation,’ said Javier Almunia, scientific advisor to Loro Parque Fundación. ‘The overwhelming support from the scientific and environmental community gathered at the IUCN inspires us to continue working with the governments of Spain, Portugal and Cape Verde to bring this protected area into effect.’
The sanctuary would join existing marine mammal-focused protected areas such as the Ligurian Sea Cetacean Sanctuary, located in the Mediterranean off the coast of northeastern Italy, and could set a precedent for region-wide conservation measures in the North Atlantic. Similar sanctuaries have helped improve research coordination and limit ship strikes and noise pollution in other ocean basins.
Loro Parque Fundación began campaigning for the sanctuary in the 1980s, led by Kiessling and marine biologist Petra Deimer, a pioneer in marine mammal protection. The foundation said the IUCN vote endorses a project long championed by science, institutions and society alike.
‘Accelerating international cooperation is key to conserving ocean biodiversity,’ said Kiessling. ‘The creation of this sanctuary shows what can be achieved when nations and scientists work together for a shared goal.’
With the motion passed, attention now turns to the governments of Spain, Portugal and Cape Verde to implement the sanctuary and establish governance, monitoring and enforcement frameworks. The IUCN’s approval does not create the MPA directly, but it strengthens the political mandate for future protection.
