Marine mammals play a crucial role in marine ecosystem function, providing valuable ecosystem services. However, many continue to be adversely impacted by human activity and are often underrepresented in Area-Based Management Tool (ABMT) management plans, including Marine Protected Areas (MPA) , commonly as a result of low capacity and lack of resources to effectively implement management plans.

To address this, the Marine Mammals Management Toolkit was designed and created to develop the technical capacities of managers, policy makers and marine practitioners for the inclusion of marine mammals into ABMTs, facilitating and guiding their effective management whilst also supporting countries in the implementation of international agreements including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.