Consumptive versus non-consumptive use of sea turtles? Stakeholder perceptions about sustainable use in three communities near Cahuita National Park,Costa Rica

The decline in populations of sea turtles has heightened controversy between two contrasting strategies for their sustainable management: consumptive use versus non-consumptive use. This study investigates perceptions held by individuals in three communities bordering a marine protected area in Costa Rica about consumptive and non-consumptive use of sea turtles on nesting beaches to determine how best to achieve sustainable management of the species. Face-to-face interviews (n=48 community members and n=8 key informants) were conducted in three communities (Cahuita Town, Hone Creek, and Playa Negra) during April and May 2009. The research found that in each community, residents' perceptions about consumptive and non-consumptive use were divided into four categories: norm-activated pro- and anti-environmentalism; and rationally self-interested pro- and anti-environmentalism. Given this perceptual diversity, it seems clear that no single management strategy would work successfully across all three communities, but that customised management measures were required to manage sea turtle populations in each area. The wider implication of this study is that there is no simple panacea for dealing with declining populations of sea turtles: each situation is sui generis, requiring measures tailored exclusively to its particular circumstances.     

Protected areas in marine resource management: another look at the economics and research issues

This paper reviews the research to date that relates to the economics of marine protected areas (MPAs). A special effort is made to examine the evidence on the benefits and costs of MPAs in terms of consumptive and nonconsumptive marine resource interests. General observations are made regarding the net effects of MPAs on these two stakeholder categories and the potential institutional costs of MPA implementation are highlighted. In general, the review finds that the empirical research on the economics of MPAs is limited and that there are several issues that might merit further investigation. The researchable topics are suggested as a way to better understand the socioeconomic impacts of MPAs and the potential response of stakeholders to proposed protected areas.     

Mechanisms to capture economic values of marine biodiversity: The case of Tubbataha Reefs UNESCO World Heritage Site,Philippines

This paper examines the use and non-use values of coral reefs as applied to the Tubbataha Reefs UNESCO World Heritage Site. Results from various studies indicate that economic benefits/values from conservation far exceed the costs of conservation. Mechanisms on how such economic values have been and can be captured are discussed. It is noted that non-use values could provide huge capturable economic values.     

Introduction: An empirical framework for deconstructing the realities of governing marine protected areas

Debates surrounding governance strategies for marine protected areas (MPAs) have to date largely focused on top-down, bottom-up or market-based approaches. Whilst co-management approaches for governing MPAs are widely accepted as a way forward for combining these three strategies, many interpretations of this concept exist and it is applied in many different ways in MPAs in different contexts. This study aimed to explore governance through a case-study approach based on a specifically developed empirical framework – the marine protected area governance (MPAG) analysis framework – to increase understanding of how to combine the three governance approaches. A dialogue with MPA practitioners in 20 case studies helped shape the MPAG analysis framework as it developed, and an international workshop was held on ‘Governing MPAs’, bringing the practitioners together to compare results and further develop the framework. This paper provides an overview of the topic and research methodology and briefly introduces the case studies further explored in this special issue.     

A new typology of benefits derived from marine protected areas

Global decline of marine resources has triggered a worldwide demand for changing the way ocean resources are managed. Ecosystem-based management approaches have emerged using marine protected areas (MPA) as the main tool. Several classifications of marine protected areas benefits have been made, but all have focused only on the benefits to humans, neglecting many important benefits accrued to nature. This paper presents a new comprehensive classification of MPA benefits that will provide scientists and managers with an inclusive framework to accurately identify and account for all possible benefits derived from MPAs. The paper also analyses the methods available for valuing these benefits. A total of 99 benefits were identified within nine main categories: fishery, non-fishery, management, education/research, cultural, process, ecosystem, population and species benefits. These categories are arranged in two main divisions (direct and indirect benefits), which, at the same time, fall within the realms of benefits to humans and to nature.     

A clash of values and approaches: A case study of marine protected area planning in Mozambique

Many developing countries are expanding their network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to meet ambitious marine conservation targets set globally and to develop tourism nationally. This study explores the human dimensions of MPA planning in Mozambique by engaging local resource users in a series of structured discussions about marine resource use, pressures on marine resources, ways to address such pressures, and the potential positive and negative impacts of MPAs on the management of marine resources and livelihoods, from a community perspective. Findings show that the groups and communities interviewed are at best ambivalent towards MPAs while at the same time supporting increased government regulation, including conventional fisheries management measures. The study suggests that without significant community involvement in the choice of marine conservation tools, the drive to establish MPAs to achieve biodiversity conservation and tourism development goals may be counterproductive, at least in terms of poverty alleviation and sustainable resource use. It argues that a wider range of marine conservation approaches and tools needs to be considered in addition to MPAs, taking into consideration local views and institutional capacities.     

“Lessons for marine conservation planning: A comparison of three marine protected area planning processes”

Various approaches have been used to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in different countries. In this paper we compare and review three processes to establish MPAs within the United States and Australia. These two countries share many similarities in their cultures, but their approaches to managing marine resources differ considerably. Each of these efforts to establish or review MPAs was motivated by concern about declines of targeted marine species or habitats. However, the government actions varied because of differences in governance, planning process including public input, and the role of science. Comparing these processes highlights effective approaches for protecting marine ecosystems and gaining public support.     

Public willingness to pay for alternative management regimes of remote marine protected areas in the North Sea

Despite increasing attention paid to the value of marine resources, in particular marine protected areas (MPAs), their economic valuation focuses mainly on use values of ecosystem services such as fishery and tourism. Furthermore, most MPA related studies are carried out for coastal ecosystems, especially tropical coral reefs. The valuation of remote marine ecosystems is rare. The main objective of this paper is to estimate public willingness to pay (WTP) for alternative management regimes of a network of offshore MPAs in the North Sea under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). In a baseline valuation study carried out just before the adoption of the MSFD, beach visitors and a random sample of coastal and non-coastal residents were asked for their preferences for two alternative management options of three remote, ecologically sensitive areas with multiple use conflicts. Despite the lack of public awareness and familiarity with the offshore marine areas, a majority of 70% is willing to pay extra tax for their protection. Using a conservative value elicitation procedure, Dutch households are willing to pay on average maximum 0.25% of their annual disposable income to ban access and economic use. This serves as an indicator of what a network of remote MPAs in the MSFD is allowed to cost according to the Dutch tax payer.     

‘Doing the right thing’: How social science can help foster pro-environmental behaviour change in marine protected areas

Managers of marine protected areas (MPAs) are constantly challenged to encourage positive user behaviour to minimise impacts on marine ecosystems while allowing recreational use. Yet, some marine users continue to act in ways that diminish conservation values of the area. Drawing on social psychological theories, this paper presents a case for informed behaviour change strategies to reduce problem behaviours in MPAs and contribute to conservation efforts. Social psychological drivers of behaviour are explained and applied to an MPA context to demonstrate how they can inform strategies for predicting and changing behaviour using persuasive communication. As behavioural and persuasive communication theories are seldom invoked and almost never rigorously applied to MPAs, the review offers new theoretical and practical insights into how they can assist MPA management to target and shift specific behaviours that ultimately support marine park values.     

The matrix revisited: A bird's-eye view of marine ecosystem service provision

The marine environment provides a range of ecosystem services and benefits for society. A previous study in Marine Policy (Potts et al., 2014) [1] advocated a matrix approach to demonstrate the relative degree of ecosystem service provision from habitats and species within UK Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), but excluded seabird species in its assessment. Despite the number of existing UK MPAs designated specifically for individual seabird species and/or seabird assemblages, and the fact that seabird species have long been used as policy-relevant indicators for the monitoring and management of the marine environment, as yet little research has focussed on the direct role of seabird species in the provision of ecosystem services and how these are captured for marine spatial planning purposes in the context of MPAs. Building on the matrix approach, this paper develops and populates a matrix to illustrate the relationship between key UK breeding seabird species and their relative contribution to the delivery of intermediate ecosystem services and goods/benefits. The original matrix approach has been strengthened to include the development and testing of a set of rules for combining multiple matrices. Confidence scores relating to the underlying evidence base are built into the matrix to provide an illustration of the current understanding and to identify current gaps in evidence. Following a sense check by external seabird experts the matrix is applied in the context of four existing UK MPA case study sites. Further developments and applications of the seabird matrix are discussed within the context of wider marine management.     

Commercial fisheries closures in marine protected areas on Canada’s Pacific coast: The exception,not the rule

No-take marine protected areas (MPAs), where all fishing is prohibited, have been shown to provide benefits that include greater productivity of fish stocks due to increased densities, average sizes, and reproductive output. A critical component of this success is the effective management of MPAs to ensure that only those activities deemed permissible, are allowed to occur. As of 2008, 161 MPAs had been designated on the Pacific coast of Canada by federal, provincial or municipal authorities. The objective of this study was to discover how many of these MPAs are intended to provide full protection to habitats and species from commercial fishing and whether management measures were put in place to actualize this conservation intent. The comprehensive spatial dataset was built illustrating commercial fisheries closures and this was overlaid with MPA locations in a GIS. The majority of MPAs were designated as IUCN Strict Nature Reserve (Type Ia), Wilderness Area (Type Ib), and National Park (Type II) marine reserves, which are intended to be free from exploitation. It was found that 160 of the 161 MPAs are open to some commercial harvesting within their bounds. One small municipal MPA and portions of three other MPAs are not open to commercial harvesting. The incongruence between management intent and fisheries permitted suggests a management failure between designation of MPAs and implementation of fisheries management regulations.     

The value of marine biodiversity to the leisure and recreation industry and its application to marine spatial planning

The incorporation of the ecosystem approach into marine planning requires that all aspects of value associated with marine biodiversity are incorporated into the decision making process. An ecosystem services approach to valuing marine biodiversity is recognised as a framework by which economic, ecological and social values may be incorporated into the decision making process. There are sectors of the marine leisure and recreation industry (sub-aqua diving, sea angling and wildlife watching), which depend on the presence of natural marine resources in order to carry out their activity. Estimating the value of this direct use can provide an evidence base for the sustainable use of marine biodiversity when set against other competing economic interests in marine spatial planning. In the case study area of Lyme Bay, the marine leisure and recreation industry has been valued using both monetary and non-monetary methods. The results show that the leisure and recreation industry is dependent on the diversity of sites (many of which are currently unmanaged) and that the industry is of economic significance and an area which has recently been closed to trawling activity enables the protection of some of the most valuable sites but has limited benefits for protecting the full resource base upon which this local industry depends.     

Classifying levels of protection in Marine Protected Areas

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an important tool for the conservation of marine species and ecosystems. Yet despite the significant differences between marine and terrestrial systems in terms of their critical ecological processes, stresses, and relationships with cultural systems, methods used to characterize levels of protection for biological diversity in MPAs are all derived from schemes developed for terrestrial systems. A new system designed to classify levels of protection in MPAs is proposed, based on criteria specifically relevant to marine systems. MPAs are characterized by each of the seven criteria: designated use, quality of natural character, extent of protection throughout the year, extent of zoning into sub-areas for multiple uses, public access, extraction of resources, and size with respect to supporting critical ecological processes. Five levels of protection are defined, labeled I-V: Wilderness Management Area (Level I), Research Management Area, Ecological Management Area, Human Recreation Management Area, and Sustainable Resource Management Area (V). A level is assigned to an MPA based on the level that matches the largest number of categories across all seven criteria. The uses and benefits of this system of classification relative to existing systems are discussed and examples of its application are illustrated using data on 83 MPAs in California (USA) and 10 globally.     

A conceptual framework for the integral management of marine protected areas

A general conceptual framework for the management of marine protected areas (MPAs) was developed. The driver-pressure-state-impacts-response (DPSIR) framework was used to determine the elements affecting MPAs. The developed evaluation framework helped to select an appropriate suite of indicators to support an ecosystem approach, an assessment of the MPAs functioning and policy decisions. Gaps derived from the management and policy responses in the MPAs were also outlined. It was concluded that the DPSIR framework can help to simplify the complexity of MPA management. This document is a tool for policy makers, scientists and general public on the relevance of indicators to monitor changes and MPAs management.     

A regulation-based classification system for marine protected areas: A response to Dudley et al.

Dudley et al. [9] commented on our paper [11], arguing that the current IUCN objective-based categorization of protected areas, which is also used in marine protected areas (MPAs), should not be abandoned and replaced by the new regulation-based classification system [11]. Here we clarify that we do not advocate replacing the current IUCN categories, but highlight the benefits of using both the objective-based IUCN categories and the new regulation-based classification when applied to MPAs. With an increasing number of MPA types being implemented, most of them multiple-use areas zoned for various purposes, assessing ecological and socioeconomic benefits is key for advancing conservation targets and policy objectives. Although the IUCN categories can be used both in terrestrial and marine systems, they were not designed to follow a gradient of impacts and there is often a mismatch between stated objectives and implemented regulations. The new regulation-based classification system addresses these problems by linking impacts of activities in marine systems with MPA and zone classes in a simple and globally applicable way. Applying both the IUCN categories and the regulation-based classes will increase transparency when assessing marine conservation goals.     

Mind the gap: Addressing the shortcomings of marine protected areas through large scale marine spatial planning

A blind faith in the ability of MPAs to counteract loss of biodiversity is fraught with risk, especially when MPAs are poorly planned and when the consequences of establishing MPAs are not adequately thought out. MPA shortcomings are categorized as one of five main types: (1) MPAs that by virtue of their small size or poor design are ecologically insufficient; (2) inappropriately planned or managed MPAs; (3) MPAs that fail due to the degradation of the unprotected surrounding ecosystems; (4) MPAs that do more harm than good due to displacement and unintended consequences of management; and (5) MPAs that create a dangerous illusion of protection when in fact no protection is occurring. A strategic alternative, which fully utilizes the strengths of the MPA tool while avoiding the pitfalls, can overcome these shortcomings: integrating marine protected area planning in broader marine spatial planning and ocean zoning efforts.     

Developing a framework for displaced fishing effort programs in marine protected areas

As marine protected areas (MPAs) continue to be established, measures to address displaced effort are likely to become increasingly relevant. Recent experiences of displaced fishing effort programs for MPAs and recreational fishing reserves in Australia, together with two examples from the United States, are described. A practical framework for addressing displaced fishing effort is developed, which explores the likely displaced-effort scenarios and options when planning spatial commercial fishing closures for an MPA.     

Effective ecosystem-based management must encourage regulatory compliance: A Gulf of California case study

The Northern Gulf of California is an area important for small-scale fisheries in terms of economic activity and food security, but widespread non-compliance with fisheries regulations impedes effective management of resources and conservation efforts. Where a previous study evaluated quantitatively a theoretical situation in which all regulations are perfectly followed, this article compares a suite of recently proposed ecosystem-based management (EBM) policies against the expected benefits of full enforcement of current regulations. Policies evaluated include no-take marine protected areas (MPAs), breeding period closures, changes in hook size and fishing effort, and gear-specific spatial closures. No-take MPAs yield ecological benefits over a wide range of MPA sizes and characteristics, but do not increase overall catch. Seasonal closures are effective at reducing overfishing for the depleted leopard grouper (Mycteroperca rosacea); changing the hook size of artisanal longlines does not increase catch of either the target species or the assemblage, and gear-specific fishery closures for crab traps near Puerto Peñasco are effective at reducing overfishing of blue crab (Callinectes bellicosus and C. arcuatus). In general, full enforcement of existing regulations outperforms these EBM policies in terms of conservation benefits, but it may be less palatable to stakeholders as it requires major reductions in catch.     

Evaluating the social acceptability of Marine Protected Areas

Q methodology provides a novel, quantitative approach to reveal stakeholder perspectives and was used to assess social acceptance of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) with fisheries and conservation management goals using the Devon & Severn region, UK as a case study site. Participants sorted a set of statements (n=42) into a forced-choice frequency distribution and centroid analysis revealed three factors for interpretation: (1) ‘pro-conservation’, characterised by views that conservation should be prioritised over commercial and economic interests; (2) ‘pro-fisheries’ who saw fishing as the priority and expressed concerns over the uncertainty of management measures and the number of planned MPAs; and (3) ‘win–win’ who felt that the current approach to marine management using MPAs would allow both fisheries and conservation goals to be met. Despite some differences in opinion, social acceptability of MPAs was identified across all three discourses, but was limited by the knock-on effects of the exclusion of stakeholders from the implementation of MPAs and the development of management measures. This resulted in disenfranchisement and uncertainty over the future of their activities. The results suggest that social acceptability of MPAs is generated by effective and ongoing stakeholder engagement, transparency and honesty relating to the costs and benefits of designations and a certainty that once sites are in place the resources exist for their effective management. Understanding social acceptability will guide adaptive management and increase the chances of MPA success and the meeting of global targets.     

Methods of social assessment in Marine Protected Area planning: Is public participation enough?

Addressing social and economic considerations is crucial to the success of Marine Protected Area (MPA) planning and management. Ineffective social assessment can alienate local communities and undermine the success of existing and future MPAs. It is rare to critique the success of methods used currently to incorporate social and economic considerations into MPA planning. Three Australian MPA planning processes covering three states and incorporating federal and state jurisdictions are reviewed in order to determine how potential social impacts were assessed and considered. These case studies indicate that Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is under-developed in Australian MPA planning. Assessments rely heavily on public participation and economic modelling as surrogates for dedicated SIA and are followed commonly by attitudinal surveys to gauge public opinion on the MPA after its establishment. The emergence of issues around public perception of the value of MPAs indicates the failure of some of these proposals to adequately consider social factors in planning and management. This perception may have potential implications for the long term success of individual MPAs. It may also compromise Australia's ability to meet international commitments for MPA targets to gazette at least 10% of all its marine habitats as MPAs. Indeed, this is demonstrated in two of the three case studies where social and economic arguments against MPAs have been used to delay or block the future expansion of the MPA network.