Chapter 6 - The role of coastal communities in the sustainable management of marine protected areas

Abstract

The success of marine conservation depends on the interaction between its activities and the social, economic and political context which surrounds it. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), as a tool to deliver marine conservation goals, face many challenges, including securing public support and being effectively financed and managed. One of its main failures to date has been in securing the interactive participation of local people. Ultimately the barriers for MPAs’ effectiveness are the same ones in the way of sustainable development as a whole; there are larger-scale, systemic barriers which need to be tackled to change the narrative of conservation being a cost to society – rather than a benefit. Building on a number of existing examples from around the world, this chapter presents key principles to support a new approach to MPAs, as an opportunity to deliver a better future for coastal communities, challenging those systemic barriers in practical and inclusive ways.