Improved Management Effectiveness of a Marine Protected Area through Prioritizing Performance Indicators

The management success of a marine protected area (MPA) is essentially a social construct because people have differing views on what defines success. Conflicting opinions between stakeholders need to be identified and resolved to ensure these factors do not interfere with successful functioning of MPAs. This study looked at developing and prioritizing performance indicators for Maria Island Marine Nature Reserve (MIMNR), Australia. Performance indicators were developed for MIMNR based on an expert-led, structured framework and then prioritized using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), with respect to input from key informants of stakeholder groups. Results showed that all stakeholder groups agreed that management of MIMNR should first focus on “abundance and size of native species,” and that managers, fishers, and environmental nongovernmental organizations place a significantly higher priority on ecological over socioeconomic and governance performance indicators. Researchers placed even emphasis across all priorities. Results suggest that MIMNR should first focus on monitoring “abundance and size of native species” and demonstrates the capacity of the AHP to increase management effectiveness and improve the decision-making process. Furthermore, by identifying where discrepancies in preferences exist, the outcomes of this research can be used to enhance collaboration among stakeholders.     

An Overview of Spatial Management and Marine Protected Areas in the East China Sea

Marine ecosystems of the East China Sea are rich in biodiversity, with 12,933 species of which approximately 47.7% are endemic. As anthropogenic impacts are intensifying, fishery resources and biodiversity in the East China Sea are under threat from overfishing, habitat loss, pollution, and biological invasions. Marine protected areas (MPAs) and other spatial management measures are believed useful tools to protect and restore biological resources. Seventeen nature reserves, seven special marine reserves, and three fishery resource conservation zones covering a combined area of 102,156 km² have so far been established in the Chinese East China Sea in order to protect fishery resources, biodiversity, and marine landscapes. This article provides a review and inventory of MPAs in the Chinese East China Sea as implemented by the People's Republic of China.     

Sanctuary Advisory Councils: Involving the Public in the National Marine Sanctuary Program

Scientists work with marine protected area (MPA) managers to design MPAs that will protect marine resources, maintain biodiversity, promote tourism, and enhance biological production. It has become increasingly clear that scientific input is not the only requisite for ensuring establishment of these areas. Understanding the political institutions and management systems that govern these areas is as important for establishing MPAs as understanding the natural resources in the area. Recent studies have found that the success of establishing and managing MPAs can be attributed to increased public participation in the management process. This article looks at the public's involvement in the management of the U.S. equivalent of MPAs, the National Marine Sanctuaries. In particular, Sanctuary Advisory Councils are examined as one mechanism through which the public can participate in the management of marine sanctuaries. The article concludes with comments on the evolving role of these councils in marine resource management.     

Performance Indicator Importance in MPA Management Using a Multi-Criteria Approach

Much has been written about the usefulness of marine protected areas (MPAs) as a management tool. Their performance has been measured using biological and ecological indicators. However, objectives of management also include economic and social responsibilities. As such, stakeholder objectives in MPA management are frequently incompatible. This has been attributed to the variety of stakeholders with an interest in how MPAs are managed. This article considers the development of a performance indicator hierarchy for the Egadi Islands Marine Reserve, and a multi-criteria approach implemented to define compromise positions between stakeholders in decision-making. Data was obtained from a pairwise comparison survey using the analytic hierarchy process to investigate preferences of stakeholder groups for performance indicators in evaluating marine protected area management. The analysis showed that although there are five key stakeholder groups, none are homogenous in prioritizing performance indicators and that none are clear with respect to what the MPA means for them.     

Caught in a Maelstrom: Implementing California Marine Protected Areas

The first attempt to implement the 1999 California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) ended contentiously in 2002. The initial MLPA process is examined by a statutory analysis and an analysis of stakeholder network relationships and beliefs. The failure of the initial MLPA process can be understood by a combination of factors: (i) Insufficient financial support from the California State government; (ii) Unclear, unranked and inconsistent statutory objectives; (iii) The application of a science-based process that excluded affected stakeholders; (iv) Implementing officials who lacked expertise in designing and managing political processes; and (v) A community of stakeholders who were polarized into coalitions of proponents and opponents of MPAs. The article concludes by discussing limitations of its methods and analysis and by offering strategies for learning from policy failures.     

Exploring Public Knowledge,Attitudes, and Perceptions of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument

With the increase in development of large marine protected areas (LMPAs) worldwide, there have been calls from social scientists to gather better empirical information about the human dimensions of LMPAs. Of the social research done on LMPAs to date, most has focused on the perceptions of stakeholders closely connected to their implementation, and little research has explored the general public's response. This paper presents the results of a phone survey conducted in the US territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to assess residents' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument—a LMPA designated offshore in 2009. The survey was administered in 2012 to 500 randomly-selected residents from each territory. Findings suggest: (1) public awareness of the Monument prior to the survey was low; (2) residents generally supported designation of the Monument; (3) most residents did not believe that the Monument would affect them or their community; and (4) knowledge and perceptions of the Monument varied between fishing and non-fishing households. This research illustrates that awareness and views differ between stakeholders and those of the general public, which should be used to inform social research on LMPAs and outreach for LMPA managers.     

Assessment and Promotion of the Great Barrier Reef's Human Dimensions Through Collaboration

Increasingly, natural resource managers see the marine protected areas that they are responsible for as linked social-ecological systems. This requires an equal focus on managing for both natural and human dimensions of the protected estate. Consequently, identification of indicators that represent the human dimensions of Large Scale Marine Protected Areas (LSMPAs) such as the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is critical if these values are to be properly considered as part of standard management practice. Assessment and monitoring of the human dimensions of LSMPAs requires a replicable, collaborative process, rolled out at local scales but comparable across vast, socially and geographically diverse areas. This paper explores the application of a process for the development, assessment, and monitoring of the GBR's human dimensions. The process includes (a) development of a conceptual framework that links indicator sets to the desired state of the GBR's human dimensions; and (b) a collaborative approach including ten practical steps to implement assessment, monitoring, and benchmarking of the human dimensions of an LSMPA. We conclude with examination of challenges and opportunities for implementing this process in the GBR context, specifically with respect to the targets and objectives of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan.     

Toward More Integrated Ocean Governance in Massachusetts: A Progress Report

The U.K. government is committed to establishing a coherent network of marine protected areas by 2012 and the recent Marine and Coastal Access Act, 2009 will designate marine conservation zones and provide wider access rights to the coast. To fulfill these goals, this article argues the need for a clearer, shared understanding of the social value of protected areas in creating new designations and managing existing ones. Although marine and coastal environments attract many people and are vitally important in terms of realized and potential social value, the majority of the public in the United Kingdom lacks understanding and awareness regarding them. Combined with this, the social value of marine and coastal protected areas (MCPAs) have been largely ignored relative to conservation and economics, with the latter invariably taking precedence in environmental policymaking. Social value reflects the complex, individual responses that people experience in a given place. Many reasons determine why one area is valued above another, and this research investigates the social value of MCPAs from a practitioner's perspective through a series of interviews. Understanding why we “socially” value MCPAs will ultimately equip managers with an informed understanding of these spaces, influence management decisions, and, potentially, policymaking. This article defines social value in the context of MCPAs in England and Wales from a practitioner perspective, explores key concepts, and suggests possible improvements in decision-making.     

A Participatory Approach to Marine Habitat Mapping in the Grenadine Islands

Increasing interest in implementing an ecosystem-based management approach has made stakeholder involvement vital and has highlighted the need for an effective participatory framework. In this study we used a participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) framework to collaboratively map the marine resources of the transboundary Grenadine Islands with a broad range of stakeholders from the two sovereign nations. We found the application of PGIS allowed the collective resolution of an appropriate mapping scale and a locally relevant habitat classification scheme that would not only serve the needs of resource managers, but could also be understood by resource users. Furthermore, multi-level stakeholder involvement in the mapping process captured resource use profiles and other fishing-related attributes, gave credibility to local knowledge and ownership of information, and was instrumental in building capacity to access and use the produced information. Lessons learned included the importance of investing considerable time early in the participatory process, which was later rewarded by stakeholder buy-in and led to financial and in-kind support. Furthermore, hosting the information in multiple formats on a project website has resulted in easy access and use by a wide range of stakeholders over a cross-country scale. We believe our experiences will be valuable to other practitioners considering using PGIS, particularly for those working in similar resource-limited, developing nation contexts.     

Seeking Consensus on Designing Marine Protected Areas: Keeping the Fishing Community Engaged

A community group was formed to consider establishing marine reserves within the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in southern California. Membership included representatives from resource agencies, environmental organizations, commercial and recreational fishing interests, and the general public. While the group agreed on several areas for fishing closures, members could not reach consensus on a specific network design. Several factors interfered with the group's effort in attaining agreement resulting in the endeavor subsequently being replaced by a "top-down" approach that lacks the support of the fishing community. Lessons learned from the project emphasize the need by marine protected area participants to recognize irreconcilable impasses early in the process and to seek solutions to maneuver around them. The importance of keeping the fishing community fully engaged is discussed.     

A Method for Evaluating Marine Protected Area Management

An assumption underlying the growing support for marine protected areas (MPAs) is that they meet conservation goals and provide economic benefits to fisheries and ecotourism. However, support for MPAs will be at risk if managers cannot assess whether various MPA objectives are being fulfilled. Current approaches to MPA management emphasize the need to evaluate performance criteria; however, there is little consensus on criteria and their evaluation. We propose a marine protected area evaluation model (MPAEM), based on and modified from a multidisciplinary approach used to assess the sustainability of fisheries, called rapid appraisal of fisheries (Rapfish). The application of the MPAEM was explored in a pilot study of 20 MPAs located in different regions of the world. Results indicate that the MPAEM can be used to evaluate MPA management effectiveness. However, the manner in which the evaluation attributes are scored and ways of engaging user groups should be explored before MPAEM can become part of the day-to-day management of MPAs.     

Modeling Coastal and Marine Environmental Risks in Belize: the Marine Integrated Decision Analysis System (MIDAS)

The livelihood of coastal communities is directly linked to the health of intertidal and marine ecosystems. Coastal zones and marine areas are rapidly changing and highly vulnerable to impacts from climate change, accelerating human development, and over-fishing. Quality of life and the benefits of coastal development can be greatly enhanced, and costs minimized, by projecting and comparing alternative policy outcomes before management decisions are made. This article describes the Marine Integrated Decision Analysis System (MIDAS), an interactive decision support tool designed to assist the users and managers of Belize's system of marine management areas (MMAs) in understanding the interactions among various ecological, socioeconomic, and governance conditions in a spatially explicit manner. MIDAS can simulate and visualize the likely effects of alternative management strategies and therefore provides an important tool for evaluating potential scenarios. We developed two MIDAS modules to address specific threats in Belize –spatial risk resulting from mangrove deforestation in coastal areas and the potential effect of an oil spill off the coast of Belize. Workshops conducted in Belize indicate that diverse user groups such as fishers, tourism operators, and public environmental agencies can successfully utilize MIDAS to understand MMA outcomes, and environmental risks.     

A Socioeconomic Perspective of Environmental Degradation at Kepulauan Seribu Marine National Park,Indonesia

Kepulauan Seribu was designated as a marine protected area to promote and protect a healthy marine ecosystem and its biodiversity. However, despite numerous efforts to protect the area, the park continues to be impacted by both external and internal factors. External factors include domestic sewage, vessel traffic, industrial effluent, and urban run-off from metropolitan Jakarta. Meanwhile, internal factors include the problems created by tourism development and the impacts of the economic activities of the park's residents. The ongoing political and economic crisis in Indonesia, which has plagued the country since 1997, has amplified the pressure on the resources and on the well being of the park. This study traces and analyzes the intrinsic causes of the internal problems using a socioeconomic perspective. We suggest that alleviation of poverty and marginality of the park's residents should be prioritized, and that park management should be based on consensus building and participation of all stakeholders.     

Small-Scale Sicilian Fisheries: Opinions of Artisanal Fishers and Sociocultural Effects in Two MPA Case Studies

Marine resource management and related stakeholder conflicts have been clearly defined in recent decades as pressing issues worldwide. This article provides a comparative study of the management regimes of the Gulf of Castellammare Fishery Reserve and the Egadi Islands Marine Reserve in Sicily, Italy. What managers in these two reserves have neglected to include in management is a social science evaluation scheme to ensure the development of more effective overall management. This is a significant problem in both Italy and the rest of the Mediterranean, where few sociocultural and economic studies have been conducted. Using data collected with standard anthropological field methods, analysis was conducted on how artisanal fishers are impacted by reserves, the extent of their knowledge regarding regulations, their opinions on management, and demographics. The results indicate that while fishers in the two case studies are all aware of the marine reserves where they fish, most fishers are not well informed of the associated regulations. Fishers feel alienated from the management process, and would feel more comfortable with reserve managers and regulations if they were involved in management. The article concludes by showing how such data could help to develop more useful and practical management practices in both these and other MPAs with similar problems.     

Studies on emergency evacuation management for maritime transportation

Marine transportation is a vital component of the world’s economy and transportation network. The number of people using passenger ships around the globe is increasing worldwide. Similar to other transportation systems, passenger safety is critical in maritime shipment. As emergency evacuation processes for ships are highly different from and more complicated than those for buildings and other vehicles, many researchers have published a vast range of documents related to this peculiar research area. However, there is a tangible lack of sufficient literature review studies that investigate marine emergency evacuation (MEE). That being the case, the potential of marine transportation and the effect of emergency evacuation operation on life safety have inspired the proposal of this study. This paper offers a review of the available literature on MEE modelling, analysis and planning during the period from 1973 to 2017 using a systematic approach. After reviewing relevant academic journals, peer-reviewed conference papers, and technical reports of agencies, relevant literature is analysed. In addition, the literature review is extended by means of proposing a framework methodology which considers different possible conditions and situations during MEE. Finally, insights for ship managers and policymakers are discussed and potential future research directions are identified.     

Testing the Effects of Constraints on Climate Change–Friendly Behavior among Groups of Australian Residents

This study explores the relationship between Australian's attitudes toward climate change impacts on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). We hypothesize that general attitudes toward climate change, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predict intended and reported behavior, and that attitude negatively influences constraints on adopting ERB. The moderating effect of residential condition (urban vs. rural contexts) was tested across these hypothesized relationships. We randomly selected 200 individuals from eight regions: Five within 50 km of the GBR Coastline and three from the Statistical Metropolitan Areas in Australia. We yielded 1,623 surveys by telephone interviews. Findings confirm our hypotheses and suggest the most important predictor of intentions is perceived behavioral control. The two groups of respondents (urban vs. rural) illustrate different relationships. This study offers insight on how managers of the GBR can effectively shape residents' behavioral tendencies that minimize human impacts on the natural environment.     

Warming Seas in the Coral Triangle: Coral Reef Vulnerability and Management Implications

The highest diversity coral reefs in the world, located in the Coral Triangle, are threatened by a variety of local stresses including pollution, overfishing, and destructive fishing in addition to climate change impacts, such as increasing sea surface temperatures (SSTs), and ocean acidification. As climate change impacts increase, coral reef vulnerability at the ecoregional scale will have an increasingly important influence on conservation management decisions. This project provides the first detailed assessment of past and future climatic stress, thermal variability, and anthropogenic impacts in the Coral Triangle at the ecoregional level, thus incorporating both local (e.g., pollution, development, and overfishing) and global threats (increasing SSTs). The development of marine protected area (MPA) networks across the Coral Triangle is critical for the region to address these threats. Specific management recommendations are defined for MPA networks based on the levels of vulnerability to thermal and local stress. For example, coral reef regions with potentially low vulnerability to thermal stress may be priorities for establishment of MPA networks, whereas high vulnerability regions may require selection and design principles aimed at building resilience to climate change. The identification of climate and other human threats to coral reef systems and ecoregions can help conservation practitioners prioritize management responses to address these threats and identify gaps in MPA networks or other management mechanisms (e.g., integrated coastal management).     

Arctic shipping scenarios and coastal state challenges

The Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum of the eight Arctic states, is currently embarked on a comprehensive assessment of Arctic marine activity in the 21^st century — the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA). One of the challenges for theAMSA study team has been to identify the major uncertainties that will be central to shaping the future of Arctic marine use in 2020 and 2050. Using scenario planning, AMSA has identified two primary drivers and uncertainties: (A) Resources and trade; and, (B) Governance. Four scenario narratives have been developed with these two, key uncertainties as the framework elements. The main arguments focus on the fact the Arctic has experienced globalization early in the century and that the global maritime industry has already ventured into the Arctic Ocean. Marine access in the Arctic Ocean is also changing in unprecedented ways and the extraordinary transformation Arctic sea ice is undergoing — thinning, extent reduction, and a reduction in the area of multiyear ice in the central ocean — has significant implications for longer seasons of navigation. However, the high prices of global commodities such as oil, gas, and hard minerals (for example, copper, nickel and zinc) have generated high levels of demand for Arctic natural resources. The Arctic states are challenged by an overall lack of maritime infrastructure to adequately support current and future levels of Arctic marine operations; ports, communications, environmental monitoring, search & rescue, incident response, aids to navigation, and coastal charting, to name a few, require substantial and timely investment by the coastal states and marine operators. A second challenge is the ongoing development of an integrated system of rules and regulations governing Arctic navigation that will enhance marine safety and ensure marine environmental protection throughout the basin. These challenges will require historic levels of cooperation among the Arctic states and broad engagement with the many, non-Arctic stakeholders and actors within the global maritime industry.     

Stakeholder Perceptions of Seaport Resilience Strategies: A Case Study of Gulfport (Mississippi) and Providence (Rhode Island)

Climate change is having and will continue to have a range of negative impacts on social–environmental systems. Many ports, with their coastal locations and essential roles in regional and national economies, face particular exposure to storm impacts that may worsen with climate change. Currently in the United States port resilience planning falls primarily on port operators. Engaging a wider range of stakeholders in long-term seaport functioning may reduce risks from disruptive and potentially irreversible impacts of climate change. This study uses empirical data gathered through two case studies of highly exposed U.S. ports, Gulfport (MS) and Providence (RI), to identify strategies that port planners and external stakeholders consider feasible for enhancing their port's resilience. This article categorizes these resilience strategies and suggests the potential role that different stakeholders could play in facilitation and implementation.     

Monitoring Human Activity in an Area Dedicated to the Protection of the Endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal

Mediterranean monk seal populations have declined dramatically and survive in subpopulations scattered throughout their original distribution. The National Marine Park of Alonnisos, Northern Sporades is the first marine protected Area dedicated to the protection of the species in the Mediterranean. A Monitoring and Awareness Project has been carried out in the area from 1993 to 2000, the results of which have produced a detailed profile of the human usage pattern of the Park and indicated a significant reduction of illegal activities in the area. The pattern of human usage has enabled the monitoring team to adjust their efforts in the Park over time and provided essential baseline data for future management. The combined monitoring and awareness efforts have contributed significantly to the conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal by successfully protecting pupping sites and reducing human-induced mortality of the species in the area.