Suchergebnisse

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an increasingly important tool for sustainable marine governance. However, their effectiveness is improved if designed to consider how people value and interact with coasts and marine resources designated for protection. This research critically examines the different perceptions of stakeholders towards the rezoning of Africa's oldest MPA, the Tsitsikamma National Park (TNP) MPA. In South Africa, MPAs created prior to 1994 under the Apartheid regime disregarded local communities' rights to the coast and in some cases removed or restricted access, with no consultation. In December 2016 the TNP MPA was rezoned from a 'no-take' MPA to a partially open protected area with the aim of readdressing historical exclusion and to provide managed access and benefits to adjacent communities. This thesis explores the perceptions of different stakeholders to the rezoning process and the underlying values, worldviews and beliefs that influence these perceptions. The research also examines the nature of participation in the rezoning process, including issues of representation, trust and legitimacy. Data collection is based primarily on 55 semi structured key informant interviews from the nine different communities adjacent to the Tsitsikamma MPA, scientists, NGO and government officials, as well as a focus group with eight representatives from South African National Parks. Data sources are supplemented with census and mapping information, field observations and a participatory film project. Findings from this research identified and examined the diverse perceptions of stakeholders about the re-zoning and highlighted how different groups have very different perceptions about the benefits of the rezoning for either marine conservation objectives or community economic, livelihood and wellbeing aspirations. What emerged clearly was that perceptions are influenced by values, worldviews and beliefs and that failure to recognize and incorporate these perceptions in planning, discussions and decision-making leads to ongoing contestation and conflict. The research thus highlights the challenge of balancing community rights and needs with conservation goals in a rapidly changing marine context, and highlights that understanding different perceptions and values that underlie these perceptions and providing the space to allow these different views to be shared is important for collaborative governance of MPAs in South Africa. Based on an enhanced understanding of perceptions, recommendations are made regarding the importance of recognizing and incorporating perceptions in planning and decision-making and promoting greater participation in governance.

"Multi-use marine protected areas (MUMPAs) are a commonly applied tool for marine conservation in developing countries, particularly where large no-take reserves are not socially or politically feasible. Although MUMPAs have produced benefits around the world, the persistence of moderate fishing pressure reduces the likelihood of achieving the primary objective of these areas, which is the conservation of ecosystems. In this study we used traditional and functional metrics to evaluate how fish assemblages changed through time in a MUMPA, including shifts in species responses and in ecological processes. We conducted visual censuses of fishes at Espíritu Santo Island, México (MUMPA; N =320; 24◦N, 110◦W) from 2005 to 2017 to assess fish richness, size-distribution and density. Three functional indices were calculated using six traits (size, mobility, period of activity, aggregation, position in water column and diet): functional richness (volume occupied by species), dispersion (complementarity between species) and originality (inverse of functional redundancy). We compared fish diversity among three management zone types (sustainable fishing, traditional fishing and no-take zones), through a 13-year period, assessing which species increased or decreased in occurrence, density, and biomass, and how indices respond over time. Despite a general increase in biomass and stability in density and originality, we detected a reduction in fish biodiversity in the form of declines in species and functional richness, which could imply the risk of local extinction and decrease in certain ecosystem processes. In addition, changes in functional dispersion showed that some functions are losing representation through time. Although no single cause is apparent, such factors as competitive interactions, habitat loss and persistence of fishing pressure potentially explain these decreases. The rise in biomass was associated with a general increase in the average size, rather than increased biomass of commercial species, as the latter remained stable during the study period. Expansion of no-take areas, enforcement of fishing regulations, and surveillance in core zones, should be implemented to reverse the decline in particular species and to promote conservation of fish functional diversity in this MUMPA."

Selecting the best mode of governance for marine protected areas (MPAs) especially in developing countries has generated considerable controversy in the academic and policy literature during the last 20 years. In this article, two modes - co-management (CM) and adaptive co-management (ACM) - are analysed in detail, and an examination is made of an attempt to put these modes sequentially into practice in the first (2003-2009) and second (2008-2013) management plans, respectively, of the Cayos Cochinos MPA (CCMPA) in Honduras. Extensive fieldwork was carried out during 2006-2010 in three communities dependent on the CCMPA (Rio Esteban, Nueva Armenia, and Chachahuate) including key informant interviews, focus group meetings, household surveys, and participant observation. The paper's findings are (1) that while the first plan implemented some CM principles (such as sharing responsibility between government, stakeholders and NGOs) it failed to deliver other CM principles (such as transparency and accountability); and (2) that while the second plan increased participation and transparency, and used a more adaptive approach, it still left many stakeholders out of the decision-making process, and its processes of experimentation, monitoring and social learning were very limited. The fact is that CM and ACM are laudable objectives, but very difficult to implement in full.