List of largest protected areas in the context of "Northeast Greenland National Park"

A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources. Such marine resources are protected by local, state, territorial, native, regional, national, or international authorities and differ substantially among and between nations. This variation includes different limitations on development, fishing practices, fishing seasons and catch limits, moorings and bans on removing or disrupting marine life. MPAs can provide economic benefits by supporting the fishing industry through the revival of fish stocks, as well as job creation and other market benefits via ecotourism. MPAs can provide value to mobile species.

There are a number of global examples of large marine conservation areas. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, is situated in the central Pacific Ocean, around Hawaii, occupying an area of 1.5 million square kilometers. The area is rich in wild life, including the green turtle and the Hawaiian monkfish, alongside 7,000 other species, and 14 million seabirds. In 2017 the Cook Islands passed the Marae Moana Act designating the whole of the country's marine exclusive economic zone, which has an area of 1.9 million square kilometers as a zone with the purpose of protecting and conserving the "ecological, biodiversity and heritage values of the Cook Islands marine environment". Other large marine conservation areas include those around Antarctica, New Caledonia, Greenland, Alaska, Ascension Island, and Brazil.

Hawaii (/hə.ˈwaɪ.i/ hə-WY-ee; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi [hə.ˈvɐj.ʔi, hə.ˈwɐj.ʔi]) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago, the only state in the tropics, and one of the two U.S. states, along with Texas, that were internationally recognized sovereign countries before becoming U.S. states.

Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that make up almost the entire Hawaiian archipelago (the exception is Midway Atoll). Spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km), the state is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania. Hawaii's ocean coastline is consequently the fourth-longest in the U.S., at about 750 miles (1,210 km). The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi, after which the state is named; the last is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaiʻi Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the largest protected area in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world.

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) is located in the Republic of Kiribati, an ocean nation in the central Pacific approximately midway between Australia and Hawaii. PIPA constitutes 11.34% of Kiribati's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and with a size of 408,250 km (157,630 sq mi), it is one of the largest marine protected areas (MPA) and one of the largest protected areas of any type (land or sea) on Earth. The PIPA was also designated as the world's largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

The PIPA conserves one of the world's largest intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems, includes 14 known underwater seamounts (presumed to be extinct volcanoes) and other deep-sea habitats. The area contains approximately 800 known species of fauna, including about 200 coral species, 500 fish species, 18 marine mammals and 44 bird species. In total it is equivalent to the size of the state of California in the US, though the total land area is only 25 km (9.7 sq mi). To the north of the PIPA is the U.S. administered Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument that is currently the world's largest designated MPA.

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (pronounced [ˈpɐpəˈhaːnɐwˈmokuwaːˈkɛjə]; PMNM) is a World Heritage listed U.S. national monument encompassing 583,000 square miles (1.5 million km) of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was first created by President George W. Bush in June 2006 with an initial 140,000 square miles (360,000 km). President Barack Obama expanded the Monument in August 2016, increasing its area more than fourfold by moving its border to the limit of the exclusive economic zone, making it one of the world's largest protected areas.

The Monument is home to more than 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with some only found in the Monument itself. Only 5.8 square miles (15 km) of land remains above sea level, but it provides critical habitat for many terrestrial species. It also features ancient archaeological sites important to Native Hawaiians. The deeper waters are of interest to maritime historians, as it contains shipwrecks, submerged aircraft, and the remains of those who lost their lives in battles during World War II. As a protected area, the Monument is subject to a commercial fishing ban. President Joe Biden designated the marine areas of the Monument as the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary in 2025.

The Natural Park of the Coral Sea (French: Le Parc Naturel de la Mer de Corail), founded in 2014, is a marine park located in New Caledonia, a special collectivity of France. As of 2017 it is the fourth largest protected area in the world, encompassing 1,292,967 square kilometres (499217 sq miles). It includes the UNESCO World Heritage Site The Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems. The possibility granted to the government of New Caledonia to allow cruise ships to circulate there in the future has generated controversy.

The Coral Sea Marine Park (previously known as the Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is an Australian marine park located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland. The marine park covers an area of 989,836 km (382,178 sq mi) and is assigned IUCN category IV. It is Australia's largest single marine park and together with the French Natural Park of the Coral Sea (French: Parc Naturel de la Mer de Corail) form the largest protected area in the World.

The Coral Sea Marine Park lies directly adjacent to and east of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.