Marine Protected Areas Governance Research Articles

Highlighting the gap on spatial regulatory data in the official MPAs databases

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a cornerstone for conserving marine ecosystems. Legal instruments and directives have been put in place to foster conservation of species and habitats; among all, the development and implementation of a coherent network of effective MPAs. Spatial information on management measures and on regulated, forbidden or allowed activities are fundamental to understand the actual role of MPAs and to support/guide policy decisions. The shortage of standardized geospatial information on MPA management, governance features, and human uses hinders policy makers’ ability to make informed decisions regarding the designation, implementation and evaluation of marine associated policies. This policy brief aims to stimulate international actions to enable researchers and decision-makers accessing data for policy development, marine/maritime spatial planning and decision-making processes.

Hybrid Intelligence for Marine Biodiversity: Integrating Citizen Science with AI for Enhanced Intertidal Conservation Efforts at Cape Santiago, Taiwan

Marine biodiversity underpins the formation of marine protected areas (MPAs), necessitating detailed surveys to account for the dynamic temporal and spatial distribution of species influenced by tidal patterns and microhabitats. The reef rock intertidal zones adjacent to urban centers, such as Taiwan’s Cape Santiago, exhibit significant biodiversity, yet they are increasingly threatened by tourism-related activities. This study introduces an artificial intelligence (AI)-empowered citizen science (CS) approach within the local community to address these challenges. By integrating CS with AI, we establish a hybrid intelligence (HI) system that conducts in situ biological surveys and educational programs focused on reef ecological conservation. This initiative not only facilitates the collective gathering and AI-assisted analysis of critical data but also uses machine-learning outputs to gauge data quality, thus informing subsequent data collection and refinement strategies. The resulting collectivity and iterative enhancement foster a mutual and continuous HI learning environment. Our HI model proves instrumental in fostering community engagement and public involvement in CS endeavors, cultivating the skills necessary for documenting rocky intertidal biodiversity shifts. These efforts are pivotal for informing the design and governance of future MPAs, ensuring their efficacy and sustainability in marine conservation.

Local attitudes towards conservation governance in a large tropical multiple-use Marine Protected Area in Brazil

The attitudes of local residents living adjacent to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) can influence the effectiveness of conservation management and practices, such as acceptance of the protected area rules and the willingness to participate in decision-making. Negative attitudes lead to non-compliance with environmental regulations, making it harder to achieve MPA management and governance objectives. However, the underlying drivers of negative attitudes to MPAs are complex, contextual, and generally poorly known. Here, we test to what extent social, economic, and political characteristics of stakeholders are associated with positive and supportive attitudes towards the implementation of good governance principles in one of Brazil's largest sustainable use MPAs. We conducted 331 face-to-face interviews with stakeholders from different social groups, applying a questionnaire exploring attitudes towards MPA governance based on Lockwood's governance principles. We found that educational level, income, sociopolitical engagement, and attendance at environmental meetings were all associated with positive attitudes towards principles of good MPA governance. Artisanal fishers, especially Shellfishers, generally had more negative attitudes towards governance principles. Good governance is critical for effective management, ensuring that decisions are made transparently and accountably, that stakeholders are engaged and involved in decision-making, efforts are coordinated and resources are used effectively, and that the legal framework is strong and enforced. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing underlying economic and educational inequalities among local stakeholders in addition to targeted environmental education.

Examining stakeholder involvement in the context of top-down marine protected area governance: The case of the Sept-Îles National Nature Reserve (Brittany, France)

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are important yet complex conservation tools that can be difficult to govern and manage. In France, the State manages protected areas with national status, but consults communities and users when making decisions. How can the governance of an MPA be improved while respecting the framework imposed on it by State regulations? This study focuses on the Sept-Îles National Nature Reserve (Réserve naturelle nationale, or RNN), located in northern Brittany (France) and renowned for its natural heritage, particularly for its seabird conservation efforts. Its management methods are provided for by the French Environmental Code, and are structured around an Advisory Committee, a Scientific Council, and a designated manager. Any change in the functioning of this committee must comply with the provisions of French law. Following a decree to extend the perimeter of the RNN, there was the opportunity to reassess the functioning of the current governance structure the RNN Sept-Îles and to define its strengths and weaknesses so that these may be addressed as the RNN grows. Various stakeholders – for the most part members of the Advisory Committee – were engaged through semi-structured interviews, guided by the principles of good governance. This study found that the current structure of the Advisory Committee is not aligned with the French Environmental Code and proposes new working groups that could offer stakeholders more opportunities for participation. There were issues of representation, communication, and power struggles within the Advisory Committee and highlights a distinct lack of young people within the governance structure of the RNN, which poses questions about its future. This is one of the first studies in France to propose an alternative governance structure involving more RNN stakeholders that can fit into the current framework imposed by State regulations.

Development of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Vietnam from a coevolutionary governance perspective: Challenges of unholy alliances between the state, businesses and NGOs

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are widely recognised as a management framework for achieving biodiversity conservation and sustainable ocean uses. Although the attention to improving the governance of MPAs as a priority for achieving effective MPAs has been escalated, debates concerning MPA governance are inspired mainly by the bottom-up governance approach and its focus on horizontal and vertical linkages as a means of resolving conflicts, with the assumption that the state should only take a passive role. As the debates on the best MPA governance model continue, the progress of spatially expanding the global MPA network remains slow and has created many paper parks. Through a coevolutionary governance lens, this paper aims to empirically examine the development of MPAs in Vietnam and reflect on the national realities of achieving global biodiversity targets. Our findings emphasise that governance frameworks adopted for Vietnamese MPAs are typically characterised by a significant decentralisation of responsibilities to province-/district-level governments but with a lack of conditions and accountability attached to such responsibilities and of related oversight from the central government. Consequences include rent-seeking and clientelism opportunities for local authorities, elite capture of MPA benefits, and diminishing trust and stewardship among local communities. Our study suggests that, in the face of increasing overfishing and corporate interests nurtured by the unholy alliances between the state, businesses and NGOs, effective and equitable MPAs critically rely on synergies among different governance approaches, which are case-specific, along with sufficient political will and oversight from the state.

Environmental Contract: A Collaborative Tool to Improve the Multilevel Governance of European MPAs

The main challenges faced by Europe for 2030 concern the achievement of 30% of protected marine surfaces, the improvement of connections between marine protected areas (MPAs), and especially, their more efficient management. The governance of MPAs is therefore called upon to strengthen its objectives, becoming part of a wider network of actors in dialogue with economic counterparts, addressing manifold interference and impacts, and ultimately strengthening biodiversity protection. This work explores the local dimension of MPAs’ governance through the opportunities offered by the Interreg MED TUNE UP project “Promoting multilevel governance for tuning up biodiversity protection in marine areas” (2019–2022), which commits to enhancing the effectiveness of MPAs in the Mediterranean, through the implementation of Environmental Contracts. Based on this experience, a two-fold analysis of multiple case studies has been developed, considering both the local and the European scale of regulations and governance chains. The results show that the MPA Contract is an effective tool to improve the governance of European MPAs and thus tackle the local responses to EU and national protection policies through a process of vertical and horizontal subsidiarity. The need for an interinstitutional dialogue to address the establishment of effective environmental governance and the enforcement of regulations affecting marine areas has been highlighted.

Relationships between Livelihoods, Well-Being, and Marine Protected Areas: Evidence from a Community Survey, Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve, Kenya

At a time of massive expansion of Marine Protected Areas, there is a need to learn more about their sustainability and success. This study draws on a framework which operationalizes three-dimensions of well-being: material, relational, and subjective, in order to measure the range of benefits and disbenefits experienced by local communities from protected areas. 308 respondents from two coastal Kenyan villages adjacent to the Watamu Marine National Reserve participated in a telephone survey in June and July 2020. The study recorded varying levels of dependency on the marine environment for the livelihoods of residents. A key finding of this study was that benefits reported by participants consistently exceeded disbenefits. A principal components analysis identified that the number of benefits and disbenefits experienced explained the most variance within the dataset. The benefits and disbenefits reported contributed to each dimension of human well-being. The highest ranked benefits reported contributed to subjective well-being (‘better health’, and ‘ability to enjoy a clean and healthy creek and ocean’), and the most frequently reported disbenefits related to relational and material well-being (for instance ‘increased conflict and social tension’ ‘increased poverty’, ‘fewer supplies of food’). Practical local conservation efforts can address relational disbenefits through better partnership working, and material disbenefits by supporting pro-conservation, alternative livelihoods. The findings demonstrate the relevance of understanding social trends for marine protected area governance and management. The paper offers insights into how fundamental relations between protected marine environments, livelihoods, and well-being may affect the perceptions and success of conservation initiatives amongst local communities.

Smart Oceans: Artificial intelligence and marine protected area governance

Smart Oceans: Artificial intelligence and marine protected area governance

Marine protected areas in the context of climate change: key challenges for coastal social-ecological systems.

Climate and ecological emergencies play out acutely in coastal systems with devastating impacts on biodiversity, and the livelihoods of communities and their cultural values. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are one of the key management and regulatory tools against biodiversity loss, playing a role in strengthening bio-cultural diversity and sustainability of coastal social-ecological systems. What is unclear though is the effectiveness of static protections under climate change as species move. Next to ecological uncertainty, regulatory uncertainty may play a role in weakening marine conservation. We asked whether MPAs are ecologically effective now and can sustain or improve to be so in the future while facing key climate and regulatory uncertainties. MPAs can support the protection of cultural values and have an impact on activities of sea-users and the sustainability of social-ecological systems. As such, questions surrounding their legitimacy under a changing climate and increased uncertainty are pertinent. We argue that MPA governance must be cognisant of the interdependency between natural and human systems and their joint reaction to climate change impacts based on an integrated, co-developed, and interdisciplinary approach. Focusing on the UK as a case study, we highlight some of the challenges to achieve effective, adaptive and legitimate governance of MPAs. This article is part of the theme issue 'Nurturing resilient marine ecosystems'.

Perspectives of youths on cultural ecosystem services provided by Tun Mustapha Park, Malaysia through a participatory approach

Successful buy-in and support for management of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) should acknowledge the existing cultural ecosystem services and their connections to the well-being of local communities to gain positive perceptions. It is necessary to engage local stakeholders, especially among the youths, to explore governance complexities of MPAs and how to better understand cultural ecosystem services. Thus, this qualitative study investigated the perceptions of youths on cultural ecosystem services using a visual method, namely photovoice, as part of the participatory research in a newly established MPA of Tun Mustapha Park, Sabah. Three themes were identified in the process, namely social, economic, and environment. The engagement demonstrated the value of using the participatory approach, which yielded important insights of youths as a part of the community, which included the need for additional livelihood means post-establishment of MPA and issues of degradation of the marine environment. This paper contributed to the MPA governance literature specifically on the empirical youth perception which has been underrepresented as well as the employment of visual participatory methods to encourage better expression among the youths towards their living environment.

Local practice of marine protected areas legislation in China: The case of Zhoushan

Recognizing the ever-increasing importance of laws in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) construction and management, more and more countries have begun to seriously make MPA laws, from national to local. In China, as a new Protected Areas system with national parks as the mainstay is adopted, the establishment of a MPA legal system is put on the agenda. As the first and only local legislation for multiple-use MPAs in China, the Regulation on Management of Zhoushan National Special MPAs, together with three complementary Measures, has been implemented since 2017 and went through an amendment in 2021, thereby providing a rare opportunity to explore how the special characteristics of marine ecosystem might interact with the management and enforcement mechanisms. Based on the first-hand data collected from the process of post-legislative assessment and provision amendment, this article presents a thorough analysis of this local legislation and its implementation from seven aspects: managing agencies, division of responsibilities, law enforcement capabilities, subsistence and conservation, public participation, supporting infrastructure and innovation. In conclusion, this article offers important lessons for improving MPA governance through local legislation. They are (1) a more flexible model of “a basic law plus special laws” might better strengthen the managing agencies of MPAs by assigning them appropriate responsibilities and resources; (2) MPA planning should respect local subsistence and development so as to get citizens involved in marine conservation; (3) a successful innovation in local legislation must take enforceability, especially the supporting infrastructure in place, into consideration.

Marine reserves and resilience in the era of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced coastal communities around the world to re-evaluate their approaches to marine conservation and marine protected area (MPA) management. Initial studies have called for the need for improved social-ecological resilience of MPAs to improve the adaptive capacity of communities and ecosystems to respond to future crises. However, as posed by Armitage and Johnson (2006), it is critical that MPA managers ask the question “for what and for whom are we trying to promote resilience?” in designing more resilient MPAs for a post-pandemic world. Based on a systematic literature review of marine reserve impacts and supported by fieldwork conducted in the Wakatobi National Park in Indonesia over the course of the COVID-19 crisis, this study examines what opportunities for transformations in MPA management and governance have emerged, and how MPAs can focus on incorporating principles of equitable resilience as they build back from the pandemic. The findings demonstrate how equitable resilience can be undermined when the voices and interests of local communities are sidelined in favour of powerful interest groups such as tourism or NGOs. Ultimately, the paper concludes that planning for resilience in MPAs must synchronize with local realities to better realize the potential for system transformation and a reimagining of MPA capacity to better serve local communities.

Improving marine protected area governance: Concerns and possible solutions from Taiwan’s practice

Taiwan is surrounded by oceans with rich marine biodiversity. Thus, marine ecosystem services play a crucial role in sustaining the society. Key to conserving the marine environment and resources has been the designation of marine protected areas (MPAs). As of February 2022, Taiwan had 46 MPAs. While improving governance of these MPAs has long been under discussion in Taiwan, little progress has been made. Therefore, this study reviews all Taiwanese MPAs to identify management concerns and possible solutions from a perspective of governance. It provides findings on the background of MPAs, pertinent issues regarding the current governance system, and methods for improvement of MPA governance based on benchmark models. Also, this study proposes that integration approaches and sustainable mechanisms are essential components for improving MPA governance. Furthermore, the Taiwanese MPA experience could be a valuable reference to inform marine practices and academics worldwide.

Effective governance of a remote marine protected area: The case of Dongsha Atoll National Park

Many fisheries in Taiwan’s Dongsha Atoll National Park (DANP), a marine protected area (MPA), are subject to illicit fishing by fishers from countries around Taiwan. This study examined the governance of the DANP in response to this problem. We reviewed documents, conducted a field survey of the Dongsha Islands, held semistructured interviews with local interviewees, and analyzed records of automatic identification system (AIS) signals. We found that insufficient enforcement and a lack of interagency cooperation have impeded MPA governance in DANP since 2002. We proposed solutions in three areas. The first is detection: (1) participatory monitoring mechanisms and (2) an integrated monitoring, control, and surveillance system should be established to compensate for the limitations of coastal radar. This counteracts AIS manipulation and the use of motor-powered skiffs by illegal fishers. The second is response. To respond swiftly to illegal activity, target identification is crucial. Thus, the use of technological tools, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, optical imaging systems, and acoustic surveillance systems, should supplement AIS-based identification. The third is adjudication. Because most illegal fishers are not Taiwanese, the Taiwanese government can use international agreements to prosecute (and deter) illegal fishers. This study elucidates challenges in regional MPA governance.

Indigenous peoples and marine protected area governance: A Mi’kmaq and Atlantic Canada case study

This research examines the potential challenges and opportunities for Mi’kmaq, the Indigenous peoples who have inhabited modern-day Nova Scotia and other areas of Eastern Canada for millennia, to play a greater role in marine protected area (MPA) governance in Canada. Given Canada’s marine conservation objectives of 30% by 2030, there is a growing need for decisions affecting the establishment of MPAs to respect Indigenous rights, values, and knowledge. Using the Eastern Shore Islands (ESI) in Nova Scotia, Canada, an area of interest for MPA establishment, as a case study, we conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with both Mi’kmaq and non-Mi’kmaq participants involved in the ESI consultation processes. We used content analysis to identify key themes that respondents perceived to be affecting Mi’kmaq involvement in the federal MPA governance processes. Barriers to overcome included those deemed to be systemic within the current decision-making processes; limited understanding of Mi’kmaq culture, governance, and rights; limited clarity of Mi’kmaq rights, particularly those resulting in fisheries conflicts; and limited capacity. Opportunities highlighted the importance of meaningful consultation and understanding of Indigenous worldviews as well as the need for alternative approaches to state-led/top-down governance to improve Mi’kmaq participation in MPA governance in Atlantic Canada.

Uncovering well-being ecosystem services bundles (WEBs) under conditions of social-ecological change in Brazil

This research examines the interplay of a 3-dimensional well-being approach of coastal communities and the ecosystem services upon which they depend, and the implications for marine protected area (MPA) governance. We use the concept of well-being ecosystem services bundles (WEBs) to refer to the links among ecosystem services and social well-being as experienced by fishing communities adjacent to MPAs. This research combines data from surveys with households (n=59) and three participatory workshops (total participation n=48). We supplement results using insights from a photovoice process with community members (n=15) and participant observation (September 2018-April 2019). We identify key WEBs, social-ecological changes, and their trade-offs and synergies in three coastal communities on the southeast coast of Brazil. In doing so, we examine core WEBs relevant to coastal communities, and the drivers of change that influence these WEBs (e.g., increased tourism, deforestation) and show their dynamism and complexity. Further, we develop a typology to reflect how individuals perceive or experience the interplay among components of WEBs, or the “pathways of interaction” that connect their well-being to ecosystem services. Results reveal three key opportunities for improving MPA governance. First, we show that WEBs play a key role in perceptions of physical and public safety experienced in coastal communities, an insight that is especially relevant to the global south and developing countries due to the inequity-related security issues. Second, trade-offs in tourism are a major area for governance interventions to improve fit to the local context, such as enhancing the well-being of locals as it is shaping local livelihoods, culture, and social relations. Third, we develop a typology that highlights overlooked experiential, observational, and visual contributions of WEBs to well-being that have the potential to reinforce conservation values and stewardship actions in communities affected by MPAs.

Status of Coral Reefs in Lagonoy Gulf, Eastern Bicol, Philippines with Emphasis on Marine Protected Areas

Status of coral reef health of 8 Marine Protected Areas (MPA), 6 adjacent MPA reefs and 5 regular reefs of Lagonoy Gulf were assessed from December 2017 to August 2018 and compared with previous gulf-wide assessment results in 1994 and 2004. Underwater photo transect (UPT) method was utilized to collect benthic lifeform information and coral point count with excel extensions (CPCe) was used to analyzed benthic data. Results showed that present live coral cover in MPAs are low with 26% as compared to adjacent MPA reef areas (30%) and regular reef stations (33%). A downtrend was noted from 1993 – 2004 with 10% decline of MPA reefs while from 2004 to 2018 decrease was almost 20% and from 1993 to 2018 an average fall of 25% was detected. Overall, Lagonoy Gulf reef health is declining and can be attributed to both natural and fisheries activities, as evidenced by almost 20 typhoons affecting the Region per year with a super typhoon at least every 5-10 years and the heavy dependence of fishing communities on reef fishes respectively. However, non-MPA reefs decline was observed to very minimal as compared for both MPA and adjacent MPA reefs ranging from 1% to 6%. With this, MPA management schemes should be revisited and amended to improve and strengthen MPA governance, direction and strategies.

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

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.

Improving marine protected area with coordination platform: Mud shrimp conservation in Taiwan case study

Marine protected areas (MPAs) exist worldwide to alleviate the gap between human development and conserving nature, history/culture heritage, and resources. In Taiwan, most of MPAs were established as aquatic organism and fishery resource conservation zones (FCZs), such as mud shrimp (Austinogebia edulis) protection since 2006, which we used as a study case. However, comprehensive review has yet conducted to determine whether management objectives are being achieved. We therefore examined the FCZs management effectiveness by conducting a 4 year (2017–2020) field survey of mud shrimp density in the tidal flat and MPA institution in Taiwan. The mud shrimp density obtained from both historical record in references and our observations was analyzed using geographic information systems to determine their spatial distribution within and around the designated FCZs. The results indicate that mud shrimp density is dominant outside the protected zones, which might be related to habitat changes over time. Moreover, the review of MPA governance in Taiwan indicated that FCZs management lack regular financial support and regular examination of management plan. An operational framework is suggested to improve the sustainable management of conservation zones decision-making that comprises four steps: (1) Partnerships with MPA commitment authorities and non-government organizations, specifically, regional fisheries associations; (2) plan regular financial support and fundraise; (3) conduct long-term monitoring programs; and (4) create a coordination platform with stakeholders to evaluate the management plan and/or induce necessary adjustments. This framework will enable users to create strategies that strengthen long-term monitoring and MPA operation maintaining socioeconomic linkages with stakeholders.

Linking social organization, attitudes, and stakeholder empowerment in MPA governance

The last two decades has seen a global trend in Marine Protected Area (MPA) management from top-down to more bottom-up approaches. Moreover, recent research suggests that evaluation of MPA performance should be participative, fully engaging multiple stakeholders, including local community representatives, in the assessment process. The effectiveness of such an approach to evaluation will be largely dependent on the stakeholders’ level of awareness and knowledge of MPA governance principles, though this has rarely been systematically investigated. Here, we assess the capacity of diverse MPA stakeholders to evaluate their MPA using data from interviews with MPA managers, fishers, representatives of the local government and others. We used structured questionnaires to evaluate the level of consensus in attitudes among stakeholders from groups with different levels of social organization. We found that there was significantly low consensus among local community stakeholder groups and high among managers. Our findings also suggest that governance principles are holistically assessed on participative evaluations involving all main stakeholders involved. Based on our results, we propose a participative framework for governance assessment to facilitate the identification of convergence (consensus) and divergence (conflicts) among stakeholder groups.