announcing ICRS MPA review
Leah Bunce
Leah.Bunce at noaa.gov
Thu Jun 28 16:22:18 EDT 2001
I am forwarding the following announcement from Charles Ehler,
Vice-Chair of the IUCN World Commission of Protected Areas-Marine
regarding the recent publication of findings from MPA presentations at
the 9th ICRS...
Dear MPA Colleagues,
The World Commission for Protected Areas-Marine is pleased to announce the
electronic publication of "Designing Effective Coral Reef Marine Protected
Areas" by Dr. Michael B. Mascia. This special report synthesizes the
findings from MPA presentations given at the 9th International Coral Reef
Symposium (Bali, Indonesia) and identifies select policy and management
implications of this research. The report is available online at:
<http://wcpa.iucn.org/theme/marine/marine.html#publications>.
The executive summary follows.
With kind regards,
Charles Ehler
Vice-Chair
IUCN World Commission of Protected Areas-Marine
Designing Effective Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas
A Synthesis Report Based on Presentations
at the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium
Bali, Indonesia October 2000
Michael B. Mascia, Ph.D.
Special Report to:
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas-Marine
April 2001
Executive Summary
Coral reef ecosystems provide direct and indirect benefits to millions
of people around the world. The long-term sustainability of these
benefits is threatened, however, by human activities that impact reefs
and reef ecosystems. Traditional efforts to manage human activities and
protect coral reefs have proven inadequate, spurring calls for a more
ecosystem-oriented approach. Central to this ecosystem-oriented
approach to coral reef management is the establishment of marine
protected areas (MPAs), a family of spatially-explicit marine management
systems that includes underwater parks, fishery reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries.
The promise of MPAs as a management tool has yet to be fully realized,
in part because the science underlying effective MPA development and
management is poorly understood. At the 9th International Coral Reef
Symposium (ICRS) in Bali, Indonesia, dozens of scientists and
practitioners presented cutting edge research on coral reef MPAs. This
report synthesizes the findings from seventy-four ICRS presentations on
MPAs and identifies select MPA policy and management implications from
this natural and social scientific research.
Presentations at the ICRS underscored the scientific uncertainty that
surrounds the biophysical design of MPAs, but provided some basic "rules
of thumb" for MPA policymakers. There was general consensus that MPAs
should be designated in high quality habitats, either in the midst of
ocean gyres or in 'upstream' locations. Results gave little substantive
guidance regarding the proper size for a functional MPA, though some
interesting hypotheses did emerge. Researchers indicated that MPAs are
more likely to function as relatively independent units than
interdependent ecological systems, especially over large spatial scales.
Biological performance was not correlated with the spatial extent of
coral reef MPAs, suggesting that bigger is not necessarily better.
ICRS presentations provided valuable insights into the sociopolitical
characteristics of effective coral reef MPAs. Presenters stressed that
MPAs are not a panacea, but rather dependent upon the larger matrix of
coral reef management initiatives. If adjacent areas are not well
managed, MPAs will likely be insufficient to maintain productive coral
reef ecosystems. Presenters demonstrated that devolving authority for
MPA development and management to local governments, user groups, and
nongovernmental organizations spurs MPA establishment and enhances MPA
management effectiveness. Collaborative MPA management structures,
however, appear to offer the greatest potential for linking national
resources with local interests and knowledge.
Presentations regarding MPA regulatory systems identified emerging "best
practices". One of the most contentious debates at the ICRS was whether
MPAs should be "no-take" or permit limited extractive use. Though there
was no resolution on this point (the answer seems to be "it depends on
the situation"), presenters did agree that the rules governing resource
use within coral reef MPAs must be clear, easily understood, and easily
enforceable. Likewise, internal and external MPA boundaries must be
easily recognized by resource users and by enforcement personnel.
Presenters generally agreed that MPA decisionmaking must be an adaptive
and broadly participatory process. Such processes permit social
learning, build on diverse sources of knowledge, build trust, and
enhance the legitimacy of MPA rules and regulations. Exactly how and
when participation should occur was a matter of contention. MPA
advisory committees were viewed as one appropriate mechanism for ongoing
stakeholder participation in MPA development and management. Presenters
emphasized that mechanisms must be established to ensure that
stakeholder representatives are accountable and responsive to their
constituents. Finally, presenters noted that differences among
stakeholders with respect to their beliefs (i.e., perceptions of how the
world works), values (i.e., perceptions of what is good, desirable, or
just), and interests (i.e., desired outcomes) often hinder MPA
development and management, reflecting the need for decision-makers to
agree on process before trying to decide outcomes.
Discussion of the management and administrative dimensions of MPAs was
limited at the ICRS. Presenters noted that devolution of authority for
enforcement could enhance capacity, and stressed the need to design
enforcement systems that promote accountability among enforcers and
appropriate (not draconian) penalties for noncompliance with MPA rules
and regulations. Presenters suggested that clear management goals and
objectives, as well as environmental education and outreach initiatives,
facilitate effective MPA management. Research and monitoring were seen
as critical components of MPA management, and speakers stressed the
importance of monitoring both biological and social performance
indicators. Speakers also stressed the importance of collecting baseline
data, and sampling at multiple spatial and temporal scales, in order to
inform site development, measure change over time, and provide the basis
for adaptive management. Finally, speakers noted that enlisting
stakeholders in the collection and analysis of research and monitoring
data educates participants and builds capacity and trust.
During the ICRS, special emphasis was placed upon the role of no-take
MPAs in supporting sustainable coral reef fisheries in Southeast Asia.
Community participation, sustainable financing, enforcement, planning
and design, and adaptive management were identified as five critical
challenges to the development and management of MPAs in the region. At
an evening workshop sponsored by NOAA, IUCN, and The Nature Conservancy,
participants identified priority actions that would enhance MPA
management across the region. These priority actions included training
in community-based management, a regional inventory of experiences with
sustainable financing, the development of model legislation and policy
frameworks for decentralized enforcement, a regional assessment of
priority sites for no-take MPAs, and the development of adaptive
management pilot projects.
Readers of this report should recognize its limitations. The scientific
synthesis presented herein is based on the notes of nine volunteers and
the author, who used a standard form to characterize seventy-four ICRS
presentations most relevant to MPA development and management. The
author synthesized these notes into the report summary, and derived
policy implications from the report summaries and his personal knowledge
of the natural and social scientific literature. These methods may have
introduced uncertainties or biases into the report. Furthermore,
neither the research upon which this report is based nor this report
itself has been peer-reviewed, and therefore this report does not merit
the same level of confidence as refereed research.
~~~~~~~
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