Exploring leadership dynamics in community-based marine protected areas

Abstract

The biological outcomes of marine protected areas (MPAs) have been variable and considering social outcomes in MPA policy is crucial to improve this trend. Stakeholders’ perceptions of MPA benefits and their distributional equity influence MPA success, and research in community settings has linked perceived benefits to perceptions of trust in leadership. However, leadership dynamics are complex, and strong leadership does not necessarily equate with an alignment between perceptions of leaders and followers. The analysis in this paper builds on research conducted in the Philippines that showed people’s trust in leaders influenced perceived benefits of community based MPAs. A scoring methodology is presented to quantitatively compare the alignment of perceptions of residents and leaders regarding MPAs and tourism using survey data from 19 villages with associated MPAs in Siquijor. This study aimed to 1) quantify the degree of alignment between the perceptions of residents and their leaders regarding MPAs and tourism development, and 2) assess the relationship between the residents’ trust in their leaders and alignment scores. The results showed high alignment in most villages, but with notable, contextual variations between questions and villages. A positive correlation between alignment scores and trust was found, suggesting that people are likely to trust leaders who share their views. The qualitative data suggested that perceived equity in the distribution of MPA benefits might be influencing residents’ trust in their leaders. This approach could contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how to best harness a positive role for leadership in MPA policy and outcomes.