Abstract
Marine conservation design and fisheries management are increasingly integrating biophysical, socio-economic and governance considerations. Integrative approaches are adopted to achieve more effective, equitable, inclusive, and robust marine policies and practices. This paper describes a participatory process to co-produce biophysical, socio-economic, and governance principles to guide the design and management of marine reserves in three regions of Mexico: the Pacific region of the Baja California Peninsula, the Gulf of California, and the Mexican Caribbean. The process of co-producing the principles included convening a coordination team, reviewing the science, convening multi-stakeholder workshops, developing and communicating the principles with key practitioners and policy makers, and supporting uptake and application to policy and practice. Biophysical principles were related to: habitat representation and risk spreading; protecting critical, special and unique areas; incorporating connectivity; allowing time for recovery; adapting to changes in climate and ocean chemistry; and considering threats and opportunities. Socio-economic principles focused on: integrating the social context, local aspirations, and human-environment interactions; considering economic and non-economic uses, promoting an equitable distribution of costs and benefits, and respecting and maintaining cultural identity and diversity. Governance principles prioritized establishing and ensuring legitimacy and institutional continuity; implementing collaborative and adaptive management; and, promoting effective management. The paper also examines early efforts to implement the principles, next steps to promote further uptake and application in Mexico, and lessons learned from the process. Thus it provides insights into a practical process and a set of principles that are valuable to inform marine conservation and fisheries management processes elsewhere.
Highlights
Past marine conservation and fisheries management decisions were often driven primarily by ecological objectives and information (Punt and Smith, 2001; Leslie, 2005; Anderson and Seijo, 2011; Cornu et al, 2014)
We present an overview of the process and outcomes of a multi-year effort to produce and apply a set of biophysical, socio-economic and governance principles to marine conservation and fisheries management in Mexico
We are beginning a critical decade for fisheries management and marine conservation
Summary
Past marine conservation and fisheries management decisions were often driven primarily by ecological objectives and information (Punt and Smith, 2001; Leslie, 2005; Anderson and Seijo, 2011; Cornu et al, 2014). Marine conservation and fisheries management processes around the globe are integrating biophysical, socio-economic, and governance considerations developed through participatory processes. Examples of more integrative and participatory approaches to marine design and fisheries management abound. As a result of this increased interest and application, many integrative processes, principles and indicators for marine conservation and fisheries management have been developed (Garcia, 2003; Cicin-Sain and Belfiore, 2005; Ban et al, 2013; Anderson et al, 2015; Long et al, 2015; Stephenson et al, 2017; Alexander et al, 2018). This paper presents the results of one such participatory process that focused on the development of principles and their application to marine conservation and fisheries management in Mexico (Figure 1)
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