Collaborative Management Arrangements Research Articles

Empowering Indigenous agency through community-driven collaborative management to achieve effective conservation: Hawai‘i as an example

Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) around the world are increasingly asserting ‘Indigenous agency’ to engage with government institutions and other partners to collaboratively steward ancestral Places. Case studies in Hawai‘i suggest that ‘community-driven collaborative management’ is a viable and robust pathway for IPLCs to lead in the design of a shared vision, achieve conservation targets, and engage government institutions and other organisations in caring for and governing biocultural resources and associated habitats. This paper articulates key forms of Indigenous agency embodied within Native Hawaiian culture, such as kua‘āina, hoa‘āina, and the interrelated values of aloha ‘āina, mālama ‘āina, and kia‘i ‘āina. We also examine how Hawai‘i might streamline the pathways to equitable and productive collaborative partnerships through: (1) a better understanding of laws protecting Indigenous rights and practices; (2) recognition of varied forms of Indigenous agency; and (3) more deliberate engagement in the meaningful sharing of power. We contend that these partnerships can directly achieve conservation and sustainability goals while transforming scientific fields such as conservation biology by redefining research practices and underlying norms and beliefs in Places stewarded by IPLCs. Further, collaborative management can de-escalate conflicts over access to, and stewardship of, resources by providing IPLCs avenues to address broader historical legacies of environmental and social injustice while restoring elements of self-governance. To these ends, we propose that government agencies proactively engage with IPLCs to expand the building of comprehensive collaborative management arrangements. Hawai‘i provides an example for how this can be achieved.

Hospitals as professional organizations and the perception of distances

AbstractManagement at a distance is increasingly employed to organize hospital resources, of which professionally skilled staff is the key component. Mergers often imply distant management. The study examines the internal management aspects for two hospitals in two consecutive mergers, 5 years apart. We focus on how geographical and cognitive distances are experienced by middle managers and their followers. We find that the concept of distance plays significant and different roles in managing units in an organization with distant top management teams. Our findings indicate that hospital professionals’ positive perception of their relationship with top managers, as measured by cognitive distance, can outweigh the possible negative effects of large geographical distances between hospital units and top management teams. Our study also indicates that information systems and communication mechanisms may mitigate the possible perceived negative effects of distance. Our findings imply that politicians, policymakers, and National Health Service’ management should be aware of the effects of distances in implementing new collaborative management arrangements. We recognize that our study is limited in context, time, and scale. We welcome further research on comparative analyses of the complex interplay between physical and cognitive distances in other hospitals and also other types of organizations.

Reef-fish larval dispersal patterns validate no-take marine reserve network connectivity that links human communities

Networks of no-take marine reserves (NTMRs) are a widely advocated strategy for managing coral reefs. However, uncertainty about the strength of population connectivity between individual reefs and NTMRs through larval dispersal remains a major obstacle to effective network design. In this study, larval dispersal among NTMRs and fishing grounds in the Philippines was inferred by conducting genetic parentage analysis on a coral-reef fish (Chaetodon vagabundus). Adult and juvenile fish were sampled intensively in an area encompassing approximately 90 km of coastline. Thirty-seven true parent-offspring pairs were accepted after screening 1978 juveniles against 1387 adults. The data showed all types of dispersal connections that may occur in NTMR networks, with assignments suggesting connectivity among NTMRs and fishing grounds (n = 35) far outnumbering those indicating self-recruitment (n = 2). Critically, half (51%) of the inferred occurrences of larval dispersal linked reefs managed by separate, independent municipalities and constituent villages, emphasising the need for nested collaborative management arrangements across management units to sustain NTMR networks. Larval dispersal appeared to be influenced by wind-driven seasonal reversals in the direction of surface currents. The best-fit larval dispersal kernel estimated from the parentage data predicted that 50% of larvae originating from a population would attempt to settle within 33 km, and 95% within 83 km. Mean larval dispersal distance was estimated to be 36.5 km. These results suggest that creating a network of closely spaced (less than a few tens of km apart) NTMRs can enhance recruitment for protected and fished populations throughout the NTMR network. The findings underscore major challenges for regional coral-reef management initiatives that must be addressed with priority: (1) strengthening management of NTMR networks across political or customary boundaries; and (2) achieving adequate population connectivity via larval dispersal to sustain reef-fish populations within these networks.

Subsídios para a gestão compartilhada da pesca na Baía da Babitonga (SC, Brasil)

This study characterizes the fisheries at Babitonga Bay, in the northern coast of Santa Catarina (Brazil), in order to point out management implications of local contexts. Qualitative and quantitative surveys were conducted at 12 fishing localities in the region, assessing fishing practices, socioeconomic features, and aspects of the institutional organization of fishermen. A great variety of small-scale fishing practices and resources was observed, as well as different ways of fishing commercialization, with considerable differences between localities, resulting in part from differences in spatial use patterns. Despite the existence of a few local associations, so-called “Colônias de Pesca” were the main representative organizations. Yet, not all fishermen acknowledged their importance. A low degree of political organization of the fishermen was observed, as well as an apparent lack of leadership, moderate participation in representative fora (“Colônias”) and disagreement regarding group union perception. In their own opinion, their interactions with fisheries management government agencies , as well as with partner non-governmental organizations, were weak. Thus, while they realize the worsening conditions of local fisheries, which require management interventions, fishermen find it difficult to communicate with the organizations in charge. Differences in fishery resources use patterns also potentially increase complexity for local fisheries management. Changes in the local fisheries management perspective are needed, with an emphasis on the establishment of collaborative management arrangements (co-management), which could better deal with the complexity of the local fishery context, thus ensuring greater institutional effectiveness.

Towards a network of locally managed marine areas (LMMAs) in the Western Indian Ocean.

In the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), local communities are increasingly assuming responsibility for inshore marine resources either on their own or through collaborative management arrangements with governments or non-state actors. In this paper, we trace the evolution and expansion of community management in the WIO and present the first ever inventory and assessment of the region’s locally managed marine areas (LMMAs). We compare the key attributes of these areas to those under government stewardship and assess their relative contributions to progress towards the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) target of 10% of marine and coastal ecological regions to be effectively conserved by 2020. We also explore the legal frameworks that underpin locally managed marine initiatives in Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania to assess the potential for future expansion. A principal finding is that whilst LMMAs protect more than 11,000 square kilometres of marine resource in the WIO, they are hampered by underdeveloped local and national legal structures and enforcement mechanisms. In our recommendations to improve local management, we suggest establishing a network of LMMA practitioners in the WIO region to share experiences and best practice.

Hierarchical livelihood outcomes among co-managed fisheries

Collaborative management arrangements are increasingly being used in fisheries, yet critical questions remain about the conditions under which these are most successful. Here, we conduct one of the first comprehensive tests of Elinor Ostrom's diagnostic framework for analyzing social–ecological systems to examine how 16 socioeconomic and institutional conditions are related the livelihood outcomes in 42 co-management arrangements in five countries across the Indo-Pacific. We combine recent developments in both theory and modeling to address three key challenges among comparative studies of social–ecological systems: the presence of a large number of explanatory mechanisms, variables operating at multiple scales, and the potential for interactions among socio-economic and institutional factors. We find that resource users were more likely to perceive benefits from co-management when they are more involved in decisions, were aware that humans are causal agents of change in marine systems, were wealthier, were not migrants, were in villages with smaller populations and older co-management arrangements, and had clearly established boundaries. Critically, we quantify a number of key interactions between: wealth, dependence on marine resources, involvement in decision-making, and population size that have strong implications for co-management success in terms of livelihood benefits. This study demonstrates that context plays a critical but identifiable role in co-management success.

Exit the Dragon? Collapse of Co-management at Komodo National Park, Indonesia

A significant current approach to creating compatibility between tourism and biodiversity conservation focuses on managing protected areas under collaborative management arrangements. The collaborating stakeholders are generally government agencies, non-governmental organizations, community groups and occasionally private sector organizations, with the balance determined by local circumstances. The aim is to create resilient governance systems informed by adaptive co-management philosophy. In 2005, a collaborative management initiative was set up at Komodo National Park, in eastern Indonesia, to manage a group of islands inhabited by the iconic Komodo lizard and several human communities. The area is popular with general interest tourists wishing to see the ‘dragons’ and with divers enjoying the rich coral reefs fringing the islands. The reefs are also the spawning grounds for fish-stocks exploited by fishermen based locally and further afield. The collaborative arrangements were designed to regulate both tourism use of the islands and fishing, but despite substantial investment of expertise and resources, it ran for just 5 years before collapsing. The reasons for its failure lie generally in the difficulty of managing complex social-ecological systems, and specifically in the overly narrow design of the initiative and in the political ecology of the Indonesian civil service, which despite anti-corruption efforts retains high levels of venality and weak environmental awareness.

Comanagement of coral reef social-ecological systems

In an effort to deliver better outcomes for people and the ecosystems they depend on, many governments and civil society groups are engaging natural resource users in collaborative management arrangements (frequently called comanagement). However, there are few empirical studies demonstrating the social and institutional conditions conducive to successful comanagement outcomes, especially in small-scale fisheries. Here, we evaluate 42 comanagement arrangements across five countries and show that: (i) comanagement is largely successful at meeting social and ecological goals; (ii) comanagement tends to benefit wealthier resource users; (iii) resource overexploitation is most strongly influenced by market access and users' dependence on resources; and (iv) institutional characteristics strongly influence livelihood and compliance outcomes, yet have little effect on ecological conditions.

Co-management of New Zealand's conservation estate by Maori and Pakeha: a review

Despite direction by the Conservation Act (1987) to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's Department of Conservation has few formal collaborative management arrangements with Maori. Obstacles to establishing agreements that involve Maori in equitable conservation decision-making roles include divergent philosophies (preservation versus conservation for future use), institutional inertia, a lack of concrete models of co-management to evaluate success or otherwise to promote conservation, a lack of resources and opportunities for capacity building and scientific research amongst Maori, opposition and a lack of trust from conservation non-governmental organizations that are predominantly euro-centric in approach and membership, and a fundamental reluctance of some to share power with Maori. Recent examples of work towards co-management emphasize the need for innovative methods to build trust and explore common ground and differences. Meetings on marae (traditional Maori gathering places) have established guiding principles, lengthy dialogue, and a collective symbol as a metaphor for co-management. These were valuable steps towards building trust and understanding required for the restoration of coastal lakes and a river, and the potential joint management of two national parks on the west coast of the North Island. Establishment of a research project to assess the sustainability of a traditional harvest of a sea-bird (Puffinus griseus) by Rakiura Maori was facilitated by drawing up a 'cultural safety' contract. This contract underscored the role of Maori as directors of the research, protected their intellectual property rights to their traditional environmental knowledge, guaranteed continuity of the collaborative research project and regulated how results were to be communicated. The scientific ethics of a university ecological research team were safeguarded by the contract, which ensured that they could publish their inferences without erasure or interference. The New Zealand experience shows that even when legislation signals from the top down that the doorway is open for co-management with indigenous people, this by itself is unlikely to make it happen. Active facilitation by innovative middle-level agreements and the creation of new administrative structures are needed to govern co-management of a broad spectrum of resource issues. Bottom-up initiatives involving single, or very localized, resource uses may also trigger co-management. Models for successful co-management involving indigenous peoples must focus more strongly on issues of equity or power sharing, and therefore may be very different from models directed at a single conservation outcome.