Conservation and community in the new South Africa: A case study of the Mahushe Shongwe Game Reserve

The idealization of natural landscapes and peoples during colonialism, coupled with the popularity of sustainable development in the postcolonial era, has contributed to the expansion of conservation planning throughout the African continent. Concerns surrounding the promotion of national and international conservation agendas at the expense of local livelihood needs have generated interest in community conservation projects that attempt to include local participation and knowledge in natural resource management. The early excitement associated with community conservation has waned in light of recent assessments that it has been unsuccessful in meeting its ecological and social goals. This parallels other research that suggests communities are understood in generic or homogenous ways that influence how these initiatives are understood. Using a case study of the Mahushe Shongwe Game Reserve, this paper evaluates how rural households access environmental and economic resources to produce livelihoods, and how these access patterns impact their views of the project. It is argued that there are significant livelihood variations within the community that shape the ways households engage with, and benefit from, conservation planning. Rather than strictly viewing Mahushe Shongwe as a constraint to environmental resource access or site for limited employment, community members identify a number of benefits from its existence including education and development opportunities. Additionally, transformations in governance systems in the region impact community views of the project since younger residents are less likely to engage with the Matsamo Tribal Authority, which participates in managing the reserve. The consequence is that conservation has various impacts and meanings within a specific community that remain tied to the livelihood and governance systems being renegotiated in the post-apartheid era.     

Conservation as disturbance: Upheaval and livelihood diversification near Tarangire National Park,northern Tanzania

Recent studies have identified poverty reduction near parks and protected areas, findings that challenge an extensive literature on the social burdens associated with protected areas. These studies move the discussion on the social dynamics of conservation forward, however, they do not offer insight into the underlying mechanisms that shape household-level outcomes such as income and wealth. By focusing on protected areas as centers of uncertainty, upheaval, and disturbance, this study examines the character and incidence of livelihood diversification within communities near Tarangire National Park in northern Tanzania compared to communities far from the park. Livelihood diversification is well understood as a coping and/or risk mitigation strategy pursued in response to various types of shocks, and uncertainty more generally. This study draws on mixed methodologies to construct multivariate statistical models to estimate the effect of proximity to the park on measures of livelihood diversification. The results indicate that proximity to park is strongly correlated with livelihood diversification, suggesting that households near the park are adapting to opportunities and constraints and may be seeking to reduce variance in income and wealth in response to disturbances and uncertainty associated with the park.     

Marine conservation challenges in an era of economic crisis and geopolitical instability: The case of the Mediterranean Sea

In the Mediterranean Sea, socio-economic drivers may accelerate the process of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) declarations. Despite the challenges, the EEZ declarations may provide important opportunities for leveraging change to national policy towards the development of large-scale conservation of marine ecosystems and biodiversity in this zone. Using the Mediterranean Sea as a case study, we aim to highlight a set of best practices that will maximize the potential for the development of large-scale marine conservation initiatives. These include a range of approaches, such as using surrogates to fill the many biodiversity data gaps in the region, further the development of consistent and open access databases, and the utilization of technological developments to improve monitoring, research and surveillance of less accessible and under-explored marine areas. The integration of Mediterranean-wide and local conservation efforts, the facilitation of transboundary collaboration, and the establishment of regional funds for conservation will further enhance opportunities for marine conservation in this region.     

Expanding coastal urban and industrial seascape in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area: Critical need for coordinated planning and policy

Coastal freshwater and tidal wetland habitats are being transformed as a result of increasing demand for commercial, residential and tourism activities. The consequence is a habitat seascape complex, comprising a mosaic of natural and engineered coastal features. This study used the freely available mapping tool (Google Earth) to define the extent of coastal engineering structures in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBR; Australia), a marine ecosystem of global biodiversity and cultural significance. Continuing threats to the heritage estate concomitant with expanding urban and industrial developments has raised concerns directed at the future conservation and resilience of the reef ecosystems, along with maintaining expected human lifestyles and livelihoods it provides. The data here shows that break walls and pontoons/jetties dominate development, contributing to approximately 10% (equivalent) of the coastline linear length. Most (60%) development occurs along the coastline or within the first few kilometres upstream along estuaries. While conservation and protection of natural coastal habitats is still preferred for the objective of fisheries production and biodiversity, managers must consider seascape implication/benefits more broadly when approving new marine infrastructure rather than a case-by-case approach which further contributes to an ad hoc mosaic seascape of natural and engineered habitats. Not only within the GBR heritage estate, but more broadly, coastal managers need to regard wider seascape connectivity processes during the assessment of any new development. There is an urgent need for policy and planning instrument reform that is inclusive of accumulative impacts of urban and industrial development in this heritage estate. Opportunities to include eco-friendly (green engineering) solutions, in the repair and revitalisation of existing artificial structures, is necessary in any new proposed urban and industrial development and expansion.     

Marine reserve establishment and on-going management costs: A case study from New Zealand

While there is considerable international research focused on the conservation outcomes of marine protected areas (MPAs) and marine reserves (MRs) there is little information on the economic cost to establish and manage these protected areas. This study estimated the MR pre-establishment and establishment costs for the Taputeranga Marine Reserve (TMR) in New Zealand (NZ) and determined the annual management costs for this reserve and four further NZ MRs. Finally, the cost to local rock lobster fishers resulting from the displaced fishing effort once the TMR had been established was estimated. This research found that the TMR pre-establishment cost was approximately NZ$508,000, and the establishment process cost was approximately NZ$353,000. The annual management costs across the five reserves ranged between NZ$43,200 and NZ$112,500 between 2008/09 and 2010/11. The annual fishers displacement cost at TMR was approximately NZ$22,000 per annum. This research showed that on a unit area basis, small MRs in NZ are just as expensive to maintain as large MRs. This study also highlighted how volunteer effort helped to considerably reduce the monetary cost of the MR pre-establishment process. This research increases our understanding of establishment and management costs, and supports future planning of MRs both within NZ and internationally.     

Navigating the evolution of marine policy in Panama: Current policies and community responses in the Pearl Islands and Bocas del Toro Archipelagos of Panama

Recent changes in marine policy in Panama are closely related to sustained expansion of the Panamanian economy in the past ten years. Important drivers of economic growth such as the Panama Canal expansion, tourism, and real estate development directly involve marine and coastal areas. Therefore, maintaining the quality of these environments, as well as the sustainability of the human communities that depend on them, calls for the implementation of adequate management and planning policies. In light of a complex history of marine and coastal policy in Panama, current institutional restructuring processes, and a growing recognition of the importance of marine and coastal geographies, the authors aim to document the current status of, and community response to, marine and coastal policy in Panama, analyzed in terms of three important cross-cutting sectors: tourism, fishing, and conservation. To do so, the authors introduce two case studies: one in the Pearl Islands Archipelago and one in Bocas del Toro, each with varying degrees of participation or involvement in each sector, to illustrate the range of adaptations to change occurring in coastal communities. Based on an in-depth policy analysis and the case studies, the authors suggest that there are important administrative and structural gaps in the legislation and institutions that enforce them, as well as a lack of integration across institutions. In particular, the authors highlight the lack of clear marine and coastal property regimes as an obstacle to the implementation of integrative marine policies in Panama.     

What makes a “successful” marine protected area? The unique context of Hawaii′s fish replenishment areas

In 1998, in order to combat the degradation of yellow tang populations on the west coast of Hawaii Island, fish replenishment areas (FRAs) were established prohibiting aquarium fishing along more than thirty percent of the coastline. Unlike other marine management approaches in Hawaii, which have largely been controversial, fraught with confusion over regulations, inadequately enforced, and lacking public support, these FRAs have been lauded as a marine conservation success, with wide-ranging support and evidence of rapid replenishment of the yellow tang population. In order to better understand the contextual factors contributing to the success of the West Hawaii FRAs, this research explores the following questions: (1) What factors documented in the literature on marine protected areas (MPAs) have been demonstrated to contribute to or inhibit MPA success internationally; (2) which of these factors do the FRAs of West Hawaii exhibit; and (3) are there additional factors that may have contributed to their wide acceptance and success? Common factors contributing to MPA success are determined through a synthesis of the literature. These include: level of community engagement, socioeconomic characteristics, ecological factors, MPA design, governance, and enforcement. The outcomes of West Hawaii′s FRAs are examined in the context of these factors. While the common factors agreed upon in the literature were key to the success of the FRAs, additional contextual factors such as the unique nature of the aquarium fishery and its social marginalization also played a vital role.     

Comprehensive Development and Utilization of Saline Lake Groups in Dingbian,Shanxi Province of China

正The Dingbian Saline Lake groups are in Dingbian County,northwest of Shaanxi province,and located on the border area of the Loess Plateau and Maowusu Desert in Northern Shanxi.It's altitude is more than 1300m.The     

From stormy seas to the doldrums: The challenges of navigating towards an ecologically coherent marine protected area network through England's Marine Conservation Zone process

There is an on-going process to establish Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in England, to form part of a coherent and representative network of marine protected areas under national and EU legislation. From 2009 to 2011, the MCZ process included strong participatory elements. Four regional multi-sector stakeholder groups developed MCZ recommendations collaboratively, in line with ecological guidance provided by the Government's nature conservation advisers. This guidance was based on Government policy principles, including that MCZs should be designated based on ‘best available evidence’. This paper analyses the multi-dimensional conflicts that emerged within the stakeholder group in south-west England, which were magnified by uncertainty about future MCZ management. In September 2011, after working through these conflicts through trade-offs and negotiations, the stakeholder groups jointly recommended 127 MCZs to Government. The process subsequently shifted to a top-down approach, with further stakeholder engagement limited to bilateral consultation. There was a concurrent shift in policy, from a broad-scale network-level focus towards single-feature conservation. A lengthy series of evidence reviews concluded that the existing evidence at the time was insufficient to progress with the designation of most sites, marking a clear departure from the policy principle of proceeding with the designation of a representative network based on ‘best available evidence’, and effectively undermining the work carried out by stakeholder groups. Though MCZ designation was originally timetabled for 2012, in November 2013 just 27 of the recommended 127 MCZs were designated in a first tranche. At the time, no clear timetable was in place for subsequent tranches.     

Defending community? Indigeneity, self-determination and institutional ambivalence in the restoration of Lake Whakaki

Conservation practitioners have scrutinized the credibility and effectiveness of community-based natural resource management, noting its romantic misconceptions about communities and their capacities. Early approaches failed to acknowledge the heterogeneity of collective agents, the synergy between decentralization and neoliberalism, or the need to affirm rural peoples’ entitlements to resources. A Maori community’s attempt to restore Lake Whakaki on New Zealand’s east coast confirms many of these critiques. The restoration confronts institutional ambivalence, obstructive forces from beyond the zone of Maori influence and non-correspondence between community and catchment dynamics. Fulfilment of the project requires exogenous resources and authority, but state conservation agencies are ambivalent towards local demands for self-determined development. Nonetheless, an uncommon degree of agency which is grounded within community aspirations for sovereignty suggests that the motivational characteristics of community retain their importance in debates about integrated conservation and development.