Sustainable tourism capacity building for marine protected areas

Abstract

Marine protected areas and networks can safeguard natural and cultural resources and foster collaborative learning to address a number of biodiversity-related goals. Sustainable nature-based tourism can aid biodiversity protection, while offering local communities opportunities for social and economic benefit. However, to be effective, each enterprise requires appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and institutional arrangements to define and solve problems, and employ legitimate participatory processes that support cooperation and afford stakeholders influence and benefit for their involvement. The NOAA International MPA Management Capacity Building Program works with partners at a regional ‘seascape’ scale to develop capacity for MPA networks. The sustainable tourism curriculum emphasizes the challenge and necessity of balancing competing goals – biodiversity protection and sustainable use. The framework helps managers develop capacity to engage stakeholders, identify conservation and tourism targets, define potential threats and impacts, establish objectives, and select appropriate management applications. On-going evaluation actions inform programme elements to address regional priorities and learner needs, and support long-term capacity development.