Using compliance data to improve marine protected area management

Measuring the ‘level of compliance’ has emerged as a key performance indicator for MPA success internationally. Accurate interpretation of quantitative and qualitative compliance data is critical for determining which compliance activities contribute to specific management outcomes. To demonstrate the value of enforcement data in effective MPA management, more than 5000 enforcement actions from 2007 to 2013 from five New South Wales (NSW) Marine Parks were analysed. Specifically, it was tested whether through time: (i) the number of enforcement actions standardised by surveillance effort declined-indicating that ‘general deterrence’ was being achieved; (ii) the number of repeat offenders decreased-indicating that ‘specific deterrence’ was being achieved; (iii) the number of ‘local community’ enforcement actions standardised by surveillance effort declined-indicating growing support for marine parks was being achieved at the community level; and (iv) the percentage of young offenders (<25 yr) had declined-indicating that education programs targeting young adults were successful. Results indicated that general deterrence was not being achieved, with offence rates being relatively stable between years. In contrast, compliance measures were achieving individual deterrence, with the percentage of repeat offenders being very low (0.13–0.83%). Although compliance strategies may be making some progress in improving local compliance in some marine parks, the overall offence rate of local communities was concerning. The data suggested that there were major differences in compliance rates among age groups of offenders over time, although the percentage of young offenders declined over time in three marine parks. Over the six-year data collection period, there was no discernable improvement in compliance rates in most NSW Marine Parks. Overall, the significant value of collecting and analysing information on enforcement activities for MPAs was demonstrated, an often neglected aspect of their management world-wide.     

Why local people do not support conservation: Community perceptions of marine protected area livelihood impacts,governance and management in Thailand

Conservation success is often predicated on local support for conservation which is strongly influenced by perceptions of the impacts that are experienced by local communities and opinions of management and governance. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are effective conservation and fisheries management tools that can also have a broad array of positive and negative social, economic, cultural, and political impacts on local communities. Drawing on results from a mixed-methods study of communities on the Andaman Coast of Thailand, this paper explores perceptions of MPA impacts on community livelihood resources (assets) and outcomes as well as MPA governance and management. The area includes 17 National Marine Parks (NMPs) that are situated near rural communities that are highly dependent on coastal resources. Interview participants perceived NMPs to have limited to negative impacts on fisheries and agricultural livelihoods and negligible benefits for tourism livelihoods. Perceived impacts on livelihoods were felt to result from NMPs undermining access to or lacking support for development of cultural, social, political, financial, natural, human, physical, and political capital assets. Conflicting views emerged on whether NMPs resulted in negative or positive marine or terrestrial conservation outcomes. Perceptions of NMP governance and management processes were generally negative. These results point to some necessary policy improvements and actions to ameliorate: the relationship between the NMP and communities, NMP management and governance processes, and socio-economic and conservation outcomes.     

The management performance of marine protected areas in the North-east Atlantic Ocean

In the North-east Atlantic Ocean there are 550 inshore and offshore MPAs established to accomplish a high diversity of objectives, which can be classified into 24 different types of MPA designations. Only 153 of these MPAs have a management plan (MgP) --the basic tool required for an effective management. Amongst these, only 66 are actually managed, i.e. they have the staff and resources required to operate the plan. A common characteristic of these MPAs is the lack of standardized indicators of their performance. In order to address this issue, an alternative approach was developed based on the assessment of management performance using the expert knowledge and perceptions of managers operating MPAs, a universal source of information that could allow overcoming the usual gaps due to the restrictions in coverage of scientific monitoring and assessments. MgPs showed differences among countries but were homogeneous within each country, reflecting the usual top-down approach in the establishment of MPAs. Compliance with the qualitative objectives present in MgPs was higher than compliance with quantitative ones (87% versus 50%), and the MPAs that most successfully achieved their objectives were those with regular monitoring. This analysis also shows that beyond these objectives, the establishment of an MPA and the activities developed as a consequence of its creation have a positive socio-economic impact on the local human community.     

Status of the marine protected area network across the English channel (La Manche): Cross-country similarities and differences in MPA designation,management and monitoring

Recent international policy developments require states to conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas by creating effectively managed and ecologically coherent networks of protected areas in the marine environment. In the framework of the PANACHE project, the current status of designation, management and monitoring of the network of marine protected areas (MPAs) of an important environmental, social and economic marine area: the English Channel (the Channel) was examined. Currently 224 MPAs exist belonging to 12 different designation categories and covering 17 440 km², or approximately 20.3% of the project area in the Channel. International protection targets in the marine environment are thus met at this regional scale, although the individual contributions of the UK and France are considerably different, with French MPAs accounting for nearly 80% of the total area protected. Differences between countries are also found regarding MPA designation categories (11 in France, 6 in the UK, 1 in the Channel Islands) and management structures (with more actors involved in the UK) and approach, whereas the monitoring techniques used are similar, although more standardised in the UK. Pending challenges include greater within-country and cross-country MPA designation, monitoring and management simplicity, integration and coordination as well as the assessment of management effectiveness and ecological coherence of the Channel network of MPAs.     

Understanding the cost of establishing marine protected areas

While the recurrent cost of managing marine protected areas (MPAs) has been documented and estimated, there has been virtually no attempt to quantify the cost of establishing MPAs in the first place. This lack of attention is likely the result of the complexity of the process, involving often uncoordinated efforts of a multitude of governmental and non-governmental entities over a protracted period of time with no clear start and end-point. Using information gathered from a representative subset of MPAs worldwide, this paper presents the first attempt to identify and describe the various components, and explore potential predictors of the total funds spent in the course of establishment. The thirteen MPAs studied vary in size (from <1 to >360,000 km²), location (including near- and offshore in both developed and developing countries), objectives and degree of protection. Variation in MPA start-up costs is shown to be most significantly related to both MPA size and the duration of the establishment phase. Development of a method to estimate the potential cost of establishing proposed MPAs should play a crucial role in the conservation planning process.     

Differences in livelihoods,socioeconomic characteristics,and knowledge about the sea between fishers and non-fishers living near and far from marine parks on the Kenyan coast

The socioeconomic conditions in nine communities of the Kenyan coast were examined to test the hypotheses that socioeconomic characteristics and knowledge about the sea differ for: (1) fishers compared to non-fishers; and (2) fishers living adjacent to parks compared to fishers living away from parks. Compared to non-fishers, fishers were poorer, had higher occupational diversity, more participation in community decision-making, and higher scores on six dimensions of knowledge about marine resources. Fishers living adjacent parks had lower occupational diversity, higher fortnightly expenditures, greater knowledge of the effects of land-based pollutants and market demands than non-park fishers. These relationships may, however, be a result of urbanization near Kenya's marine parks, rather than the marine parks’ effect on fishers’ knowledge and livelihoods. Consistent with studies from other parts of the world, this study finds that there are aspects of Kenyan fishers’ socioeconomic conditions and knowledge about the sea that characterize them as distinct from non-fishers. Initiatives designed to improve the socioeconomic conditions of fishers or to manage fishery stocks need to understand and account for these differences.     

Challenges in developing China's marine protected area system

Since the 1980s, there have been continuous increases in the coverage of marine protected areas (MPAs) in China, and a total of 158 MPAs have been declared. The MPA system in China is characterized by (1) decentralised designation and management with reduced control from the central government; (2) a dominance of de jure fully protected MPAs that are often implemented as de facto multiple-use areas; and (3) a lack of objective evaluation processes. To improve China's MPA system requires an appropriate integration of fully protected and multiple-use MPAs, and an approach that balances the advantages of top-down and bottom-up approaches.     

The missing layer: Geo-technologies, communities, and implications for marine spatial planning

The assessment and management of marine resources is an increasingly spatial affair dependent upon emerging geo-technologies, such as geographic information systems, and the subsequent production of diverse layers of spatial information. These rapid developments are, however, focused on biophysical processes and data collection initiatives; the social landscape of the marine environment is undocumented and remains a “missing layer” in decision-making. As a result, the resource areas upon which stakeholders and communities are dependent are neither mapped nor integrated into planning processes. We report on a participatory method to map the presence of fishing communities at-sea. The lessons learned concerning the spatial representation of communities informs not only fisheries, but other sectors struggling to incorporate similarly the human dimensions of the marine environment in assessment and planning.     

Fishers' perception of a multiple-use marine protected area: Why communities and gear users differ at Mafia Island,Tanzania

This study examined the perceptions of fishers from two fishing communities with differing use histories and involvement in the long-standing (16 yr) multiple use Mafia Island marine protected area (MIMP), Tanzania. A randomly distributed questionnaire indicated that 94% of fishers believed that without the MIMP, there would be overfishing, dynamite use, destroyed habitats, and few fish. Fishers were more positive about core zones (no-take fishery closures) than general use zones (areas allowing selective fishing) as a consequence of increases in fishing pressure. Those that reported increased catches and sizes of fish since the creation of the MIMP were more likely to agree with present zone locations and more positive in general about fisheries and conservation planning. Most thought that fish size and gear restrictions were preferable to permanent closures. Perceptions differed among communities and gear users. Community and gear type explained 46% of the variance in responses about the perception that fisheries and conservation are compatible goals. Somewhat surprisingly, these effects were more important than catch increases or involvement in MIMP-related activities. The differences in perception between communities may be partly attributed to different fishing histories. Multiple-use zoning provides a means to identify and resolve conflicts and achieve what are likely universal objectives for fisheries sustainability and conservation.     

Marine protected area networks in China: Challenges and prospects

With over 30 years’ experience of managing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), China has established more than 250 MPAs in its coastal and marine areas, but the overall management effectiveness is unimpressive [46]. Recently, China has made commitments to expand the MPA coverage in its waters ([7,52,53]) and develop an “ecological barrier” along the coast by connecting MPAs and islands by 2020 (The State Council 2015). In this context, this study reviews major challenges in current MPA practices in China, including the lack of systematic and scientific approaches, inadequate laws and regulations, ineffective governance mechanisms, conflicts between conservation and exploitation, limited funding, and inadequate monitoring programs. Four scenarios for developing China's MPA networks are developed and analyzed based on a literature review of experience in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union and the Philippines, as well as a set of interviews with Chinese MPA experts. These scenarios include: 1) creating a national system with an inventory of MPAs, 2) developing social networks, 3) developing regional ecological networks, and 4) developing a national representative network. The first two scenarios focus on the enhancement of the governance system through connecting individual MPAs as a social, institutional, and learning network, which could provide opportunities for creating an ecologically coherent network, while the latter two emphasized ecological connectivity and representativeness. Given different focuses, they can be applied at different stages of implementation and combinations of scenarios can be used depending on China's needs.     

Fishing industry and related perspectives on the issues raised by no-take marine protected area proposals

In the face of growing calls for no-take marine protected areas (NTMPAs), the views of fishing industry representatives in south-west (SW) England on related issues are analysed. Only 23% thought NTMPAs were the way forward and a range of concerns were expressed, e.g. that the ‘terrestrial’ protected areas approach and related biodiversity conservation objectives will be extended to the seas, and that fish yield reductions from the loss of access to NTMPAs are very unlikely to be compensated for through spillover/export. Some interesting approaches to ameliorating these concerns emerged, such as being open and honest that NTMPAs are primarily intended to achieve biodiversity conservation benefits, reducing uncertainty concerning the potential for any secondary fisheries spillover/export benefits, justifying NTMPAs on an objective, rational basis rather than on a subjective, precautionary basis, and the quid pro quo streamlining of wider fisheries management approaches. This research reveals a more diverse range of perspectives amongst fishing industry representatives on the issues raised by NTMPA proposals than is often assumed.     

Aligning public participation with local environmental knowledge in complex marine social-ecological systems

The incorporation of local and traditional knowledges into environmental governance regimes is increasingly recognised as a critical component of effective and equitable conservation efforts. However, there remain significant barriers to integration of community-based knowledge within mainstream environmental governance. This paper explores community-based knowledge in the context of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a widely-used governance tool designed to predict and manage the impacts of development. Drawing on a social survey and interviews, the paper documents local community knowledge of environmental changes associated with dredging and the construction of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants in a large industrial harbour located in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, and compares this knowledge with public consultation opportunities offered throughout the project lifecycle, including during assessment and after project approval. The findings highlight a misalignment between community knowledge of environmental change, which is acquired largely after impacts become apparent, and the public participation opportunities afforded through EIA, which generally occur before construction or dredging is undertaken.     

Correct application of the IUCN protected area management categories to the CCAMLR Convention Area

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has been working to develop and implement a system of marine protected areas (MPAs) for over 10 years. Within CCAMLR there is a long-held belief that the area covered by the CCAMLR Convention is equivalent to a category IV protected area as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This belief was founded upon a comparison of the central objective of CCAMLR as defined by the CCAMLR Convention with the IUCN definition of a category IV MPA. This advice was accepted by the CCAMLR Scientific Committee but to date there has not been any analysis of this advice within CCAMLR, IUCN or in the literature. This paper critically analyses that advice, and finds that the CCAMLR Convention area does not meet the IUCN definition of an MPA and thus the CCAMLR Convention Area cannot be considered equivalent to a category IV MPA.     

Fortress conservation at sea: A commentary on the Chagos marine protected area

The world's largest no-take Marine Protected Area in Chagos is examined in light of the Convention on Biological Diversity's provisions on Access and Benefit Sharing, as well as terrestrial experiences with fortress conservation. It is acknowledged that this closure presents a unique opportunity to preserve an ecologically 'pristine' area. However, the means by which the political process unfolded are brought into question. In particular, the fact that the UK proceeded with designating the area whilst the European Court of Human Rights was deliberating the right of native Chagossians to return to the island is questioned. In addition it is argued that the scale of the area poses significant management and enforcement challenges, which are not necessarily taken into consideration in the rush for large, no-take Marine Protected Areas.     

Marine protected areas in Japan: Institutional background and management framework

Information on the location and area for all MPAs in Japan was collected through a comprehensive survey targeting government officials and local stakeholders. It was verified that at least 1161 MPAs exist in Japan. Of these, 1055 are implemented in conjunction with fishery regulations in the form of no-take zones. More than 30% of the individual MPAs in Japan were established by self-imposed instruments agreed by members of fishery co-management organizations. It was suggested that the autonomous MPAs are not a product of simple altruism, but rather are logical extensions of the tenure system guaranteed by the government legal system.     

Monitoring benthic biodiversity restoration in Lyme Bay marine protected area: Design,sampling and analysis

Long-standing concerns about the effects of scallop dredging and demersal trawling on high diversity mudstone reef and cobble habitats in Lyme Bay, southwest England, were addressed by the exclusion of bottom towed fishing gear from a 206 km² area in July 2008. A consortium led by Plymouth University Marine Institute was funded by the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to design and implement a study (initially funded for 3 years) to examine the effects of the closure on both nekton and epibenthos. This paper provides a detailed account of the methodology employed from survey design to data analysis to provide a protocol for future MPA monitoring programmes. Information on historical fishing effort, substrate distributions and current and previous closure boundaries was overlaid using GIS to locate suitable monitoring sites. Non-destructive and cost-effective techniques, including a towed high-definition video array and static baited video, were used to quantify changes in relative abundances of epibenthos and nekton over three years at sites previously fished but now closed to bottom towed fishing compared to both fished and un-fished reference sites. The monitoring programme as described provides a model for robust, cost-effective evaluation of the efficacy of policy instruments for feedback into the adaptive management cycle.     

Equity, justice and power issues raised by no-take marine protected area proposals

In the face of growing calls for no-take marine protected areas (NTMPAs) and the development of a UK legal framework for them, fishing industry and related perspectives on the equity, justice and power issues raised by such designations are explored. Whilst these reveal growing concerns about the political and geographical marginalisation of the fishing industry, they also reveal a significant potential for the constructive participation of industry representatives in discussions and decisions concerning NTMPAs. These findings support the argument that this potential should be realised, as the environmental coherence of our seas need not be achieved through the social and economic isolation of our fishing industry.     

Habitat continuity effects on gradients of fish biomass across marine protected area boundaries

Marine protected areas (MPAs) could be useful as fisheries management tools for the exportation of pelagic eggs, larvae and adult fish. A decreasing gradient of fish biomass across MPAs boundary may indicate export. We determine whether gradients of decreasing biomass of fish assemblage occurred in Tabarca Marine Reserve over two habitats with different continuity across the boundaries, to test if the patchy nature of the marine environment might act as a barrier for the fish export. In general, significant decreasing gradients in total fish biomass and biomass of some species were observed on P. oceanica and rocky substrates, independently of their different continuity through the reserve boundaries. Changes in the multivariate structure of the fish assemblage were correlated with the distance from integral reserve. All of these results support the hypothesis that the exportation of adult fish from Tabarca Marine Reserve occurs, and this process may influence the surrounding fished areas.     

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.     

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.