Underwater trail: A tool for an integrated management of marine protected areas in the Western Mediterranean Basin

Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are considered as a cornerstone for the protection of the marine heritage and promotion of the integrated management approach. They are also areas conducive to the development of environmental education, scientific research and tourism activities. Underwater trails (UWTs) as ecotourism activities are very popular in MPAs, combining discovery and environmental education.The objective of this paper is to highlight and to provide a deeper understanding on how marine ecotourism activity may contribute to the implementation of an integrated management of an MPA by taking as a case study the implementation of UWTs in Taza National Park (TNP) in Algeria. For this purpose, the methodology concerns a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) based on interviews, survey and document analysis of the implementation process of the UWTs. The main results were grouped into five (5) themes: stakeholders’ engagement, management model of the UWT, capacity building, UWT as a management tool and legal framework.The obtained results have validated the hypothesis that these UWTs could contribute to the good governance of the future MPA, in particular by delegating their management to diving clubs, contributing to local stakeholders’ capacity building, and improving the communication between them. The evaluation of the participatory process, also, underlines the lack of effective stakeholder engagement and the importance of developing a strategy to assess their commitment throughout the process.