An overview of commercial fishers’ attitudes towards marine protected areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are attracting widespread attention worldwide as a tool for fishery management and marine ecosystem conservation. The establishment of MPAs has increased greatly in recent years mostly due to international commitments to the establishment of a global network of MPAs by 2012. MPAs have the potential to strongly affect the fishing industry, and their success depends, at least partly, on fishers’ attitudes towards this management measure. However, research on MPAs tends to focus on the ecological and conservation aspects of this management approach and not on its human dimensions. Studies in attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and preferences related to MPA issues have been identified as priority social science topics in need of research. We present a ‘rapid review’, conducted systematically, of the literature published up to September 2009 and aimed at identifying the most investigated topics related to commercial fishers’ attitudes towards MPAs, describing the main findings from these studies, and analysing the implications for management. Most published work focuses on fishers’ attitudes towards issues of governance, conservation of biodiversity and the environment, and the impact of MPAs on fishing activity. Despite the recent increase in the literature on the human dimensions of MPAs, the present review reveals that little of this literature originates from empirical studies. Hence, given the forthcoming increase in the implementation of MPAs in the near future, research on fishers’ attitudes towards these management measures is critically needed.     

Protected areas — protected from a greater ‘what’?

Natural environments are assailed on every side through the unprecedentedly rapid expansion of human activities. In the absence of conservation responses of a scope and scale to match the challenge, we shall shortly witness the widespread degradation and destruction of many wildlands and their biotas. Fortunately we still have time, though only just time, to slow and stem the biotic holocaust overtaking the biosphere. But the traditional measures, notably in the form of protected areas, are becoming ever-more limited in their capacity to resist. While we need many more protected areas — better protected too — we shall find there is a much more positive payoff in tackling the tide of environmentally impoverishing human activities, principally through initiatives directed at sustainable development of all environments and all their communities, both human and non-human.     

O‘ahu’s marine protected areas have limited success in protecting coral reef herbivores

Coral Reefs - Herbivorous fishes and urchins can contribute to reef resilience by removing algae that are competitive with corals, yet herbivorous fishes are frequently targeted by fishers. The...     

Do protected areas in urban and rural landscapes differ in species diversity?

Previous studies from Central Europe and North America showed that species richness is higher in urban than in rural landscapes. Do protected areas, which can be found in both city and countryside, reflect this species richness pattern? The impact of urban land-use might reduce conservation success and necessitate special management strategies. We compared species richness and species spatial turnover of selected animal and plant taxa (carabids, butterflies, snails, birds, lichens, mosses, vascular plants) in 30 protected areas in the city of Halle and 56 protected areas in the adjacent rural district of Saalkreis (Central Germany). Species were mapped by experienced biologists within a systematic species inventory. We corrected species numbers for the effects of landscape structure (e.g. size, shape and distance of habitats) which might influence species diversity beyond urbanisation effects. Butterflies, birds and lichens had significantly higher species numbers in the rural protected areas. Species spatial turnover was higher among urban areas than among rural areas or pairs of urban and rural areas for most taxa. Diversity in all taxa depended on the size of a protected area. We discussed these patterns in the context of the general urban-rural species diversity patterns. Our results indicate an increasing isolation of species assemblages with urbanisation and highlight that space for protected areas is even more limited in urban than rural areas. An effective conservation of urban species diversity should include both typical urban and semi-natural habitats to cover the full range of species living in cities.     

Are protected areas working for endangered frogs in the Peruvian Andes?

Biodiversity and Conservation - Assessments of the performance of protected-area (PA) networks for aquatic biodiversity conservation are rare yet essential for successful conservation of species....     

Recreation ecology research in East Asia's protected areas: Redefining impacts?

Recreation ecology, the scientific study of visitor impacts and their effective management, has been developed largely in North America, Europe, and more recently in Australia, in response to growing impacts of visitor use to protected area resources. A body of literature has been accumulated that contributes to sustainable visitor management in protected areas. This paper traces the development of recreation ecology research in East Asia and examines the field's relevance to East Asia's protected natural areas which endure both a long history of human utilisation and contemporary recreation and tourism pressure, much of which originates from surrounding densely populated urban areas. The formative, expanding and strengthening stages of recreation ecology research in this region were identified through an extensive review of literature published in English and East Asian languages. Each of these three developmental stages was illustrated with examples and compared with the general state of research during the same period. Key challenges and opportunities for future recreation ecology research in the region are discussed in light of this review.     

Are important bird areas and special protected areas enough for conservation?: the case of Bonelli’s eagle in a Mediterranean area

The Bonelli’s eagle (BE) is considered by the European Union as a high-priority species for conservation in the Valencian Community (East of Spain). However, in 2006 the European Union opened a legal procedure against the Spanish Kingdom, accused of lacking of an adequate network of special protected areas (SPAs) to preserve the BE in the region. Here we evaluate whether important bird areas (IBAs) and SPAs network is enough to preserve this species, on the basis of a thorough analysis of habitat preferences. A GAP analysis is performed to conduct a revision of current SPAs and BirdLife proposed IBAs. Our results suggest that the current network of SPAs becomes insufficient to protect the BE. The IBAs network, although improves the current network of SPAs, increasing the percentage of BE potential habitat included, also results inadequate. We propose a new SPAs network according to the potential suitable habitat for the species. Given the trade-off between financial investment and the conservation of biodiversity, we propose to maximize the surface of potential habitat included in the protected network minimizing the surface of the region that would be necessary to protect, thus avoiding an unnecessary expense and otherwise unrealistic results.     

Responsibilization dynamics in naṭural resource management: Insights from two protected areas in Cameroon

The theoretical construct on responsiblization is gaining grounds as a novel analytical lens in the field of governmentality – an approach to the study of strategies for shaping people’s conduct and decisions in line with specific objectives. However, not enough scientific evidence exists on the mechanisms through which protected area communities are rendered responsible by international conservation agencies, and the (un)intended outcomes linked to this process. Through a synthesis of 14 project intervention reports in two Protected Areas (PAs) in Cameroon – the Bakossi National Park (BNP) and the Campo Ma’an National Park (CMNP), complemented by expert interviews (N = 10), this paper: (i) explores the mechanisms employed by conservation responsibilizers in the two PAs, and (ii) examines the (un)intended protected area management outcomes. The thematic and directed content analysis led us to three key findings: Firstly, while interventions in the CMNP are embedded in the ecotourism development model, the case of the BNP centres on the Green Business and Sustainable Oil Palm Production models. This validates the claim that responsibilization and targeted interventions are intertwined and discursively constructed to shape the conduct of local people towards specific goals. Secondly, responsibilization in both cases manifest through poor institutionalization and fragmented capacity building interventions; this undermines the importance of responsive governance. Third, both cases established the incongruence between the capabilities of responsibilizees and the targets set by responsibilizers. This paper provides context-specific evidence to edify the on-going theoretical construct on responsiblization and underscores the need for studies to identify pathways to overcome the capacity gaps of responsibilizees. Policy wise, there is an urgent need to defragment the interventions by responsibilizers to assure long-term strategic interventions.     

Why do we lose protected areas? Factors influencing protected area downgrading,downsizing and degazettement in the tropics and subtropics

Protected areas (PAs) are an essential tool for the conservation of biodiversity globally. Previous studies have focussed on the effectiveness of PAs and the design of optimal PA networks. However, not all PAs remain intact permanently; many PAs undergo downgrading, downsizing and/or degazettement (PADDD), a fact largely ignored until recently. The drivers of enacted PADDD events and the factors influencing its spatial occurrence are poorly understood, potentially undermining the efficacy of PAs and PA networks. Here we examine the spatial relationship between PADDD and economic, demographic and structural variables, using a 110‐year data set of 342 enacted PADDD events across 44 countries in the tropics and subtropics. We find that the probability of an enacted PADDD event increases with the size of the PA and through a synergistic interaction between PA size and local population densities. Our results are robust to the under‐reporting of enacted PADDD events that occur among smaller PAs and in regions with lower population density. We find an economic motive for PADDD events, given that the opportunity costs associated with larger PAs are higher, on average, than smaller PAs. Our findings suggest a need for conservation practitioners to better consider PA characteristics, as well as the social, economic and political context in which PAs are situated, to aid the creation of more efficient and sustainable PA networks. In particular, the dynamics of enacted PADDD events highlight the need to explicitly consider PA robustness as a core component of systematic conservation planning for PA networks.     

Confidence in crisis? Understanding trust in government and public attitudes toward mandatory state health powers

In response to the possibility of a bioterror attack using smallpox, many states have updated and revised their current public health laws in line with the Model Act, which would effectively give states the right to invoke mandatory state health powers, such as quarantine or vaccine. Previous studies have supported the importance of allying with the public in creating and implementing effective bioterror response policies. Historical case studies and recent research suggest that when the public is not supportive of government health policies, they may be less willing to comply. In this study we analyze a recent survey to determine the effects of a set of variables, including aspects of trust in government that have been found in previous studies to influence public opposition to compulsory government health policies, on opinions about compulsory vaccination and quarantine.     

Can tourism make a major contribution to the conservation of protected areas in Madagascar?

The authors review the anticipated benefits from tourism for protected areas in Madagascar, the mechanisms that have been adopted, and how these are working at national and local levels. The contribution of tourism to the maintenance of Protected Areas in Madagascar is assessed. The anticipated benefits of tourism envisaged by the 1991 National Environmental Action Plan are considered to be over-optimistic. The growth rate in tourist arrivals is found to be smaller than previously anticipated as a result of infrastructural constraints at national and local scales. It is suggested that revenues from tourism are inadequate in meeting park management costs although the local transfer of entrance fee revenues to development projects is found to be more beneficial. It is also argued that the benefits of revenue sharing can be effective only for a limited number of protected areas until unfrastructure is improved and protected areas become more accessible to tourists.     

Invasive plants – Do they devastate or diversify rural livelihoods? Rural farmers’ perception of three invasive plants in Nepal

In this paper, we examine how rural people in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park in Nepal perceive the effects of accidently transported invasive plant species, such as Mikania micrantha, Lantana camara and Chromolaena odorata, on their livelihoods. We found that their perception of the impact of each species on their livelihood varies with factors such as the duration of the presence of invasive plants in the landscape, and household characteristics. Results of a household survey indicate that farm households close to the forests have responded to the invasive species both as a victim and a beneficiary. Farm households are likely to adapt to the invaded environment as they have a history of interacting with invasive plants and can commoditise them through appropriate intervention. Additionally, the findings indicate that rural people are willing to invest in the control and management of invasive plants if appropriate technical assistance is available. Without assistance, they consider mitigating the infestation an unattainable mission and consider acceptance of the invasive species as a part of the rural ecosystem an inevitable outcome.     

Long-term change in coral cover and the effectiveness of marine protected areas in the Philippines: a meta-analysis

Although coral declines have been reported from major reefs of the world, region-specific trends still remain unclear, particularly in areas with high diversity such as the Philippines. We assessed the temporal patterns of the magnitude and trajectory of coral cover change in the Philippines using survey data collected from 317 sites. We examined the rate of change in coral cover in relation to time, effects of bleaching and protection against fishing and assessed the efficacy of marine protected areas (MPAs) using meta-analysis. Results showed an overall increase in coral cover in the Philippines from 1981 to 2010. Protection from fishing contributed to the overall increase in the mean annual rate of change as the coral cover significantly increased within MPAs than outside. The significant differences in the rate of coral cover change through time were influenced by chronic anthropogenic stresses, coinciding with the timing of thermal stress and the establishment of MPAs. The rate of change in coral cover was independent of the level of protection and the age and size of MPA.     

The roots of contemporary attitudes toward immigration in Australia: contextual and individual-level influencesÞ

This paper examines the roots of attitudes toward immigration among Australians of English-speaking background using the 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2007 Australian Election Studies. The paper demonstrates that attitudes toward immigration in Australia have their roots in multiple sources, some of them relating to the local context in which individuals reside, others in the socio-economic and financial situation experienced by individuals. Attitudes toward immigration in Australia are also related to attitudinal factors and historical legacies that manifest themselves in mistrust and suspicion toward Asian neighbours. Finally, the paper demonstrates that the presence of immigrants and ethnic minorities influences Australians' attitudes toward immigration but that this effect must be understood in conjunction with the educational context of the areas of residence. While in high education areas Australians tend to react positively to the presence of immigrants, in low education areas they tend to react negatively to the presence of immigrants.     

Boots on the ground: in defense of low-tech,inexpensive, and robust survey methods for Africa’s under-funded protected areas

Protected area managers need reliable information to detect spatial and temporal trends of the species they intend to protect. This information is crucial for population monitoring, understanding ecological processes, and evaluating the effectiveness of management and conservation policies. In under-funded protected areas, managers often prioritize ungulates and carnivores for monitoring given their socio-economic value and sensitivity to human disturbance. Aircraft-based surveys are typically utilized for monitoring ungulates because they can cover large areas regardless of the terrain, but such work is expensive and subject to bias. Recently, unmanned aerial vehicles have shown great promise for ungulate monitoring, but these technologies are not yet widely available and are subject to many of the same analytical challenges associated with traditional aircraft-based surveys. Here, we explore use of inexpensive and robust distance sampling methods in Kafue National Park (KNP) (22,400 km²), carried out by government-employed game scouts. Ground-based surveys spanning 101, 5-km transects resulted in 369 ungulate group detections from 20 species. Using generalized linear models and distance sampling, we determined the environmental and anthropogenic variables influencing ungulate species richness, density, and distribution. Species richness was positively associated with permanent water and percent cover of closed woodland vegetation. Distance to permanent water had the strongest overall effect on ungulate densities, but the magnitude and direction of this effect varied by species. This ground-based approach provided a more cost-effective, unbiased, and repeatable method than aerial surveys in KNP, and could be widely implemented by local personnel across under-funded protected areas in Africa.     

Genetic structure of the rattan <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calamus thwaitesii</Emphasis> in core,buffer and peripheral regions of three protected areas in central Western Ghats,India: do protected areas serve as refugia for genetic resources of economically important plants?

Given the increasing anthropogenic pressures on forests, the various protected areas—national parks, sanctuaries, and biosphere reserves—serve as the last footholds for conserving biological diversity. However, because protected areas are often targeted for the conservation of selected species, particularly charismatic animals, concerns have been raised about their effectiveness in conserving nontarget taxa and their genetic resources. In this paper, we evaluate whether protected areas can serve as refugia for genetic resources of economically important plants that are threatened due to extraction pressures. We examine the population structure and genetic diversity of an economically important rattan, Calamus thwaitesii, in the core, buffer and peripheral regions of three protected areas in the central Western Ghats, southern India. Our results indicate that in all the three protected areas, the core and buffer regions maintain a better population structure, as well as higher genetic diversity, than the peripheral regions of the protected area. Thus, despite the escalating pressures of extraction, the protected areas are effective in conserving the genetic resources of rattan. These results underscore the importance of protected areas in conservation of nontarget species and emphasize the need to further strengthen the protected-area network to offer refugia for economically important plant species.