Effective Public Participation is Fundamental for Marine Conservation—Lessons from a Large-Scale MPA

The Representative Areas Program (RAP) was, at the time, the most comprehensive process of community involvement and participatory planning for any environmental issue in Australia. The RAP was a key component of the widely acclaimed rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and although completed in 2003, many lessons learned are still relevant today. This paper provides an analysis of the comprehensive public participation program that significantly influenced the final planning outcome. It provides insights into a fundamental component of effective marine planning, assessing what worked well and what did not in terms of public engagement. Some aspects of the public participation program were innovative, and some were more effective than others. The outcome was one-third of the Marine Park was declared as highly protected no-take zones in 2004, with the remainder of the park also zoned to provide lower levels of protection. The methods used to engage the public and the 25 lessons discussed in this paper should be of interest for practitioners, policy makers and academics elsewhere aiming for “good practice” approaches to achieve environmental conservation.     

Community Participation in Marine Protected Area Management: Wakatobi National Park,Sulawesi, Indonesia

Coral reef areas are threatened worldwide by growing populations, tourism development, and use of poison and dynamite in fishing in areas adjacent to the reefs. The designation of marine protected areas is one strategy for addressing these problems. Wakatobi National Park, established in Eastern Indonesia in 1996, contains approximately 50,000 ha of coral reefs and a resident population of Sama-Bajo people whose traditions and current livelihoods tie them closely to the sea. The present research, using participatory rural appraisal methods, focused upon the impact of the designation of the Marine Park on their lives and investigated the potential for public participation in park planning and management. The Wakatobi Park Management Plan does not address the needs and interests of local people. Priority should be placed on adaptation of park zoning and protection regulations to accommodate the livelihood requirements of indigenous communities.     

Marine Protected Areas in the Canadian Pacific: Do They Fulfill Network Criteria?

As a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Canada has committed to establishing a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) that effectively conserves at least 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020. Research shows that the most effective MPAs are large, well enforced, no-take, and designed as part of a network. Canada's Pacific MPAs, designated site-by-site, cover approximately 3% of Canadian Pacific waters. We investigated how these MPAs could effectively contribute to Canada's national network by analyzing the implementation of management intent through the application of fisheries closures and conducting a preliminary assessment of their size and spacing relative to scientific guidelines. Fisheries closures outside of MPAs were similarly assessed. Results showed that 90% of existing MPAs were intended to exclude commercial fishing, yet only 2.5% fully or partially met this goal, therefore management intent was not achieved. Further, existing MPAs were small, 75% less than 10 km² in size, but were reasonably spaced, from one to 50 km apart. While a suite of fisheries closures may be better suited to effectively contribute to a network than MPAs without fisheries closures, they would require permanent designations and management plans to meet network inclusion criteria.     

Papahānaumokuākea: Integrating Culture in the Design and Management of one of the World's Largest Marine Protected Areas

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is one of the world's largest marine protected areas and was designated the first mixed conservation site in the United States due to its natural and cultural importance. It is also the world's first cultural seascape, being recognized for its continuing connections to indigenous people. As the westernmost place in the Hawaiian universe, many believe these islands and seas are the pathway that Native Hawaiians travel after death, returning to pō (night; realm of the gods). This intimate kinship has profound implications for contemporary management. Current management emphasizes integration of science, policy, cultural knowledge, traditions, and practices to create successful management strategies appropriate for both natural and cultural resources. This management is based on Native Hawaiian values and practices that incorporate observation and understanding of the natural world, indigenous principles and philosophies, cultural norms, community relationships, and unique epistemologies deeply imbedded in and formed by relationships of people with place. A cornerstone of this effort has been the direct involvement of cultural practitioners in policy, management, education, and research. This biocultural approach has led to more effective management of the monument and serves as a model for conservation around the world.     

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.     

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.     

Development of a Model for Enhancing Justice in MPA Designation and Zoning and its Application to Taiwan’s South Penghu Marine National Park

Abstract

Multi-purpose marine protected areas (MPAs) are prevalent world-wide as institutional mechanisms deployed in the marine environment to manage multiple uses, conserve resources and protect ecosystems. Yet some people may experience disadvantage following the implementation of new MPAs. One understudied aspect of MPAs is the distribution of advantages and disadvantages and how best to address the “justice” concerns that they raise. This article identifies a framework of principles, methods and tools to address these concerns. It devises a “MPA justice model” and demonstrates its applicability to a Taiwanese case study. In 2014, Taiwan proclaimed its first multiple-purpose MPA, the South Penghu Marine National Park and the case study shows ways that the MPA’s socio-economic sustainability could have been better accomplished. The article focuses on future MPA establishment that incorporates distributional fairness and procedural legitimacy into MPA site designation and zoning design - but might also be adapted to use retrospectively in MPA review processes.     

A Systematic method of public use zoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park,Australia

Abstract

This paper is an abridged version of a report on the application of a land‐use planning method developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to the task of providing a zoning scheme for a portion of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The approach involves the development of guidelines for making zoning decisions, the development of methods for measuring whether a scheme satisfies these guidelines, and the use of a computer‐aided technique to create successive schemes for evaluation against these guidelines.     

Sea Cucumber Moratorium and Livelihood Diversity in Papua New Guinea

Livelihood diversity factors such as flexibility within fisheries, geographical mobility, reallocation of fishing effort into the broader economy, and the non-material benefits that fisheries provide are important areas of research in marine policy. We use two small-scale fisheries related socio-economic surveys of communities in the Tigak Islands of Papua New Guinea. The first conducted 5 years before a ban on the harvesting of sea cucumbers was imposed and the second from the present day, 5 years after the initiation of the ban—with the objectives of exploring changes in household fishing strategies (types and numbers of species targeted) and to identify any important socioeconomic factors that help explain those changes. Fishing's contribution to total household income has increased significantly (p = 0.019) up from 61% in 2004 to 73% in 2014 with the percentage of female residents living in a household now positively and significantly (p = 0.018) associated with fishing income. The average number of species categories targeted per household increased insignificantly while households with more women are significantly (p = 0.018) less likely to target more species than households with more men. Moreover, customary management practices contribute to this difference. Together, these results show that households are not worse off financially 5 years after the ban on sea cucumber harvesting and that gendered seascape use has implications for the role of livelihood diversity as a marine policy tool.     

Impacts of the 2004 Tsunami on Surin Marine National Park,Thailand

The impacts of the tsunami in 2004 on the reefs in Surin Marine National Park, Thailand, varied with the location and exposure of the reefs. Channel areas between islands were severely damaged. Areas with steep reef slopes were damaged by sand slides or coral collapse more than areas with low slopes. Massive, sub-massive, and encrusting corals were more resistant and resilient to the direct impact of the tsunami than branching, tabulate, and foliose life forms whereas the latter were more tolerant of temporary coverage by sand. Sub-massive corals were the most tolerant overall and survived sand coverage, breakage, and overturning. Live coral cover measured three months after the tsunami was significantly greater than immediately post-tsunami as broken, moved, or sand-covered corals, recorded as impacted in the initial survey, had survived and were regenerating. Low turbidity, lack of pollution, and mild currents possibly contributed to rapid recovery and limited long-term effects of the tsunami. Impact assessment shortly after a major disturbance may give an initial measure of damage but subsequent surveys must be undertaken to identify long-term effects. Understanding patterns of reef damage can help to formulate reef zoning and protection strategies in response to catastrophic events, but also in advance of such events to improve likely resilience of the marine park to disturbance.     

Marine Protected Area Costs as “Beneficial” Fisheries Subsidies: A Global Evaluation

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are now generally accepted as important tools in the protection of coastal biodiversity. It is also likely that they play a positive role in enhancing fisheries. Yet currently, less than 1% of the global oceans are protected, although international agreements have targets ranging from 10–30% coverage. Despite its minuscule size, we consider the current MPA “network” to be beneficial to fisheries, and its running or maintenance cost, therefore, to be a positive contribution to the sustainability of fisheries, or a “beneficial” subsidy (“harmful” subsidies enhance fishing capacity and effort). A method was derived from data in Balmford et al. (PNAS, 101: 9694–9697) to estimate the annual cost of maintaining MPAs as a function of their size, and of the degree of development of the country in question. We provide national costs of the 53 countries that jointly contribute 95% of global fisheries catch and, assuming that this type of subsidy, in a given country, cannot exceed 15% of the ex-vessel value of its fisheries catches, estimated a global MPA subsidy to fisheries of 870 million US$. Given that total subsidies to fisheries currently range from 30–34 billion US$ annually (without MPA costs), this amounts to only 2.5–2.8% of total subsidies to fisheries being devoted explicitly to the maintenance of the biodiversity that sustains them.     

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.     

Initiatives in Philippine Coastal Management: An Overview

Standardized and free-format questionnaires on the state of coastal management were fielded to coastal management practitioners during three workshops and a national feedback and recommendation workshop. The most commonly cited responses were identified for each of 13 political regions and overall trends were identified. Management frameworks frequently included research, community organizing, education, livelihood, resource enhancement, resource protection, regulation, and networking components. Gender issues, documentation, and infrastructure investment were rare. The most commonly perceived environmental problem was illegal/ destructive fishing and its associated overfishing and low fish catch. The most commonly cited socioeconomic problem was the inadequacy of law enforcement. The best monitored variables were usually those related to environmental management: status and change of habitats, resources, and degree of enforcement/patrolling activities. The most common nonregulatory enhancement, aside from environmental education (which is the most popular), was mangrove reforestation. In terms of regulations, the majority of the respondents have reportedly formulated an integrated coastal management plan. In practice, regulating destructive and illegal fishing practices and then the establishment of fish sanctuaries are the next most implemented. The most popular quality-of-life enhancement strategies focused on the improvement of sustainable fishing as a livelihood and on a variety of supplementary livelihoods. The most usual institutional intervention being implemented was the setting up of local community people's organizations. Major factors which may influence success or failure of coastal management and recommendations on research, community organizing and livelihood, legislation and policies, implementation and coordination, and networking are also summarized.     

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.     

The implications of MARPOL Annex V on the management of ports and coastal communities

Abstract

The passage of the Marine Plastics Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (MPPRCA), which codified Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), has encompassed every commercial and recreational shipping and boating facility in the United States. As a group, these ports, harbors, and marinas form a significant, although proportionately small, portion of the coastline of the country. More important, the economic benefits derived from the complex shoreside infrastructures required for international ocean trade, commercial and recreational fishing, and pleasure boating indicate just how critical it is for these facilities to be in conformance with effective and prudent coastal zone and environmental management practices.     

Applying the Value-Belief-Norm Theory to Marine Contexts: Implications for Encouraging Pro-Environmental Behavior

Encouraging pro-environmental behavior among protected area visitors and other stakeholders has become a priority for marine resource managers. However, there exists a lack of understanding of the human dimensions of resource management regarding the perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders. Using the value-belief-norm theory of environmentalism (VBN) as a framework, the purposes of this investigation were to: 1) test a model of variables that influence stakeholders' intentions to adopt pro-environmental behavior in two marine protected areas (i.e., the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary); and 2) using the relevant literature and information gleaned from the model, suggest techniques that managers can use to encourage pro-environmental intentions. Acceptable goodness-of-fit indices for both of the structural equation models (one for each protected area) provided empirical support for the usefulness of the VBN framework to guide both research in marine contexts and marine protected area management efforts to encourage stakeholders' intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Specific suggestions include increasing stakeholders. knowledge about impacts via environmental education strategies, increasing their awareness of their impacts and their efficacy in mitigating those impacts (e.g., workshops), and developing interpersonal relationships among managers and stakeholders (e.g., implementation intention and follow-up strategies).     

User Fee System for Marine Ecotourism: The Tubbataha Reef Experience

The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Marine Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea, Philippines, is an offshore marine protected area well known throughout the scuba diving community for its coral reefs and marine diversity. To address the perennial problem of park financing, the Tubbataha Management Board developed a fee collection and permit system in cooperation with the diving community. A willingness-to-pay survey conducted among divers in 1999 showed that the average diver was willing to pay U.S.$41 per visit. Using these results, a two-tiered pricing scheme was developed for foreign and local divers. After two years of fee collection, the total fee collected amounted to U.S.$65,000, which covered 28% of the annual recurring costs and nearly 41% of the core costs to protect Tubbataha. The experience shows the contribution of willingness-to-pay surveys in instituting user fees for long-term sustainable financing.     

The U.S. national marine sanctuary program: An analysis of the program's implementation and current issues

Abstract

The U.S. National Marine Sanctuary Program was established in 1972 by Title III of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. §1431 et seq.). In this article, we discuss the development of the sanctuary concept, and the original intent of Congress, and analyze how it was applied by the sanctuary program. Differences in interpretation of the program's purpose are examined, including discussion of the multiple‐use management concept, an important but controversial management technique used in the sanctuaries. The continuing efforts by Congress and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to clarify the program's purpose are investigated. The program's administrative history is explained and the current sanctuaries and active candidates are briefly described. In light of the 1988 reauthorization of the Marine Sanctuary Act, the current issues facing the program are analyzed. Finally, we draw conclusions and make recommendations for the program's future.     

Developing MPA Effectiveness Indicators: Comparison Within and Across Stakeholder Groups and Communities

Shared expectations about marine protected areas (MPAs) might be expected to enhance their effectiveness. This study determined whether members of local communities had common or divergent views about the objectives and indicators of MPA effectiveness. In the central Philippines we used unconstrained and constrained methods to interview people in five stakeholder groups (elders, fishers, leaders, women, and youth) associated with each of 10 community-based no-take MPAs that had been protected between 0 and 21 years. Respondents identified multiple MPA objectives, the most frequently mentioned of which was restoring and sustaining fish populations. The results suggest that MPA age accounts for the greatest level of variation across communities. When unconstrained, progress in enforcement was identified as a key indicator among respondents from younger MPAs while respondents from older MPAs identified increased fish abundance and catch. Although consensus can be reached more easily under constrained conditions, the results derived from unconstrained methods are more revealing of the needs and aspirations of communities. These are likely to contribute more to the search for appropriate management interventions, particularly given that MPAs evolve over time. Hence, the development of MPA effectiveness indicators must be an iterative community-informed process to ensure timely and relevant management interventions.     

一种水下网具钢丝绳切割装置的设计

针对长江口长期存在的大量非法定置网捕捞问题,依托渔业执法船,文章研究了一种操作方便、高效便捷、安全的小型化定置网网具取缔装置,并在海上试验中取得了非常理想的效果。通过钢丝绳剪切器能够快速准确地破坏非法网具钢丝绳,并且具有使用方便、安全可靠等特点,特别适合近海的执法活动。研究结果为近海的非法网具清理装备以及环境保护提供了研究依据和基础。