A decade and a half of learning from Madagascar's first locally managed marine area

Charlie J Gardner,Katrina Dewar,Charlotte Gough,Liz Prémesnil Day,Shawn Peabody,Alasdair Harris,Garth Cripps,Gilde Tahindraza

doi:10.1111/csp2.298

Abstract

AbstractWhile the participatory management of small scale fisheries has been widely promoted, we have limited understanding of the factors influencing its effectiveness. Here, we highlight lessons learnt from the implementation of Madagascar's first locally managed marine area (LMMA), drawing on our insights and experiences as staff of a comanaging nongovernmental organization (NGO). We describe the LMMA's context and history, and highlight aspects of our approach that we feel underpin its outcomes, including: (a) comanagement rather than community‐management; (b) the permanent field presence of a supporting NGO; (c) a management focus on locally important natural resources; (d) the implementation of poverty alleviation initiatives aimed at reducing barriers to management; (e) decision‐making by resource users rather than scientists; (f) a diversified, entrepreneurial funding model; and (g) an emphasis on monitoring and adaptive management. We also highlight several challenges, including: (a) the inability to influence fishery supply chains; (b) promoting participation and good governance; (c) promoting rule application; (d) standing up to outsiders; (e) promoting environmental management in the long term; and (f) maintaining funding. Our experiences suggest that small scale fishers can be effective natural resource managers in low‐income contexts, but may need extended support from outsiders; however, the role of supporting NGO is nuanced and complex.

Highlights

Local resource users have been increasingly integrated into the management and governance of natural resources over recent decades, at least partly in response to the failures of top-down governance systems and the lack of state capacity in low-income countries (Brooks, Wayle, & Mulder, 2012; Miller, 2014)
Numerous forms of participatory fisheries management have evolved over this period, which we group under the umbrella term locally managed marine areas (LMMAs)
In conservation terms the impact of the LMMA is not known, but fish biomass in the five permanent reef reserves increased by 189% six years after implementation (Gilchrist, Rocliffe, Anderson, & Gough, 2020)

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

Local resource users have been increasingly integrated into the management and governance of natural resources over recent decades, at least partly in response to the failures of top-down governance systems and the lack of state capacity in low-income countries (Brooks, Wayle, & Mulder, 2012; Miller, 2014) This trend is prevalent in smallscale fisheries (Blythe et al, 2017; Evans, Cherrett, & Pemsl, 2011), which directly and indirectly support several. Over 50 variables have been identified which may influence the sustainability of such social-ecological systems (Blythe et al, 2017; Ostrom, 2007, 2009) This information has been drawn largely from empirical case study analyses and large-scale quantitative studies and, as a result, there has been little focus on the insights and experiences of practitioners involved in the implementation of management initiatives. We highlight seven aspects of our approach that we feel contribute relevant lessons for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers globally, and discuss six challenges that have contributed to constraining intended impacts

| METHODS

Findings

| DISCUSSION