Suchergebnisse

Thank you to all the participants in this study and to Dr Sophie Elliot and Dr Joanne Clark for assistance in facilitation. Thank you to the reviewers of this manuscript for their insights. This research was supported and funded by ClimateXChange (referenceno:A10431853). ClimateXChange is a collaborative initiative between Scottish research and higher education institutes and is funded by the Scottish Government. The participant workshop was supported by a MASTS Small Grant SG215. ; Peer reviewed ; Postprint

Non-compliance with marine protected area (MPA) regulations is a problem worldwide, and this is being addressed through community programmes. Park service and fisheries department personnel, and fishers living adjacent to three parks were studied to determine their perceptions of MPAs. The hypotheses that positive perceptions towards the management of fisheries exclusion and gear-restricted areas would increase with the wealth, education, age and years of employment of the person, the history of community participation and the age of the MPA were tested. The strongest factor was employment, with fishers having significantly less positive perceptions towards areas closed to fishing than government managers, although all groups agreed area management benefited the nation. Government personnel thought that fishers and their communities benefited from area management, while most fishers did not share this view. Increasing wealth or community participation were not significant factors, but secondary education was associated with more positive perceptions of area management. Fishers adjacent to the oldest MPA held significantly more positive perceptions than fishers living adjacent to the newest MPA, although only a slight majority agreed that they and their communities benefited. The results point to a need for patience in expecting change in resource users' perceptions, adopting an approach in which there is more communication between fishers and managers, so that both are more aware of MPA functions, particularly closed areas and the indirect benefits.

Converting assemblages of marine protected areas (MPAs) into functional MPA networks requires political will, multidisciplinary information, coordinated action and time. We developed a new framework to assist planning environmental representativity in a network across the marine space of Portugal, responding to a political commitment to protect 14% of its area by 2020. An aggregate conservation value was estimated for each of the 27 habitats identified, from intertidal waters to the deep sea. This value was based on expert-judgment scoring for environmental properties and features relevant for conservation, chosen to reflect the strategic objectives of the network, thus providing an objective link between conservation commitments and habitat representativity in space. Additionally, habitats' vulnerability to existing anthropogenic pressures and sensitivity to climate change were also scored. The area coverage of each habitat in Portugal and within existing MPAs (regionally and nationally) was assigned to a scale of five orders of magnitude (from 10%) to assess rarity and existing representation. Aggregate conservation value per habitat was negatively correlated with area coverage, positively correlated with vulnerability and was not correlated with sensitivity. The proposed framework offers a multi-dimensional support tool for MPA network development, in particular regarding the prioritization of new habitats to protect, when the goal is to achieve specific targets while ensuring representativity across large areas and complex habitat mosaics. It requires less information and computation effort in comparison to more quantitative approaches, while still providing an objective instrument to scrutinize progress on the implementation of politically set conservation targets. ; Agência financiadora Número do subsídio Oceanic Observatory of Madeira M1420-01-0145-FEDER-000001-OOM national funds through FCT UID/BIA/00329/2013 UID/Multi/04326/2013 Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia ...

The management ofsmall scale fisheries and of marine protected areas (MPA's) are both hot topics olcurrent marine policy development in Vietnam. Commonalities exist between these two policy areas, and MPA's are viewed as providing good opportunities to model approaches for co-management involring coastal fishing comm unities. There has been considerable effort made to capture the essence of successful resource management interventions in order to develop appropriate fisheries co-management models for Vietnam's unique context over the last decade. One of the most significant questions arising from this collation of experience is how to maintain commitment and involvement of all people in the process, from different levels of government to the local community? Against this backdrop of macro-policy change sits the position of Vietnamese small scale coastal fishers, who are often perceived as unwilling to invest in alternative future livelihood opportunities. Lack of long term resource access security access to capital and declining fisheries resources are all potential reasons for this lack ol confidence in future investment resulting in unwillingness to change. Limitations of rural locations, lack of infrastructure, low education and limited life experience outside of the small scale fishing way of life all complicate the transformation of fishers' lives and livelihoods, and impact on the success of interventions seeking behavioural and livelihood-related change.For participatory interventions to be successful amid this complexity requires the commitment, and not just involvement of local people. For this commitment to evolve, local people need to perceive some benefits from participation. But how can this commitment be maintained when the process itsell is long term and the resulting benefits may take even longer to manfest? Although the form of benefit may be different for higher level stakeholders, its role as a key driver is equally important. These issues will be explored with reference to one island MPA case study in central Vietnam. Cu Lao Cham MPA project com menced in October 2003 and the MPA was formally established in December 2005. The population of around 3000 people is concentrated on the largest island in the Cham islands group, with around 80% of the population dependant on fishing. The island's size, restrictions on forest use and its military importance also limit land availability for expansion of agricultural or urban development. The islands' people, fishing seasons and tourism are also impacted by the typhoon season which can limit boat traffic and cut transport between Cu Lao Cham and the mainland for long periods. The last 12 months of the MPA Authority's operation have focused strongly on community development interventions around alternative livelihood activities, targeting households determined to be most affected by the MPA regulations. Management of household waste has also been addressed during recent years through community participation processes. This presentation will explore the evolution of participatory activities through these experiences, focusing on the key themes of model development and implementation, the involvement and commitment of local people, and the connections to benefit that have arisen.