A Quantitative Analysis of Co-Management Success Across the Indo- Pacific

Throughout the Indo-Pacific region, communities are increasingly empowered with the ability and responsibility of working with national governments to make decisions about their marine resources. In some instances, co-management arrangements have been successful at conserving marine resources by developing locally appropriate rules to limit overexploitation. These examples have often prompted widespread replication by governments, conservation groups, and sometimes communities themselves. However, this replication is often done without a fundamental understanding of why co-management may be successful under some conditions but unsuccessful under others. Thus a question of crucial importance to resource managers, stakeholders, and common property theorists alike is what factors enable some of these institutions to succeed while others fail? Drawing on common property and adaptive governance theories, we examine relationships between socioeconomic conditions, institutional design, and the effectiveness of collaborative management in 5 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific region. This innovative project takes a big picture comparative approach to a subject that has often been studied at a local scale.Keywords: Fishery Management, Fisheries Economics, Beyond Anecdote and Advocacy: Assessing the Impact of Co-management as an Instrument for Fisheries Governanc

Potential impacts of climate change on agriculture and fisheries production in 72 tropical coastal communities

Climate change is expected to profoundly affect key food production sectors, including fisheries and agriculture. However, the potential impacts of climate change on these sectors are rarely considered jointly, especially below national scales, which can mask substantial variability in how communities will be affected. Here, we combine socioeconomic surveys of 3,008 households and intersectoral multi-model simulation outputs to conduct a sub-national analysis of the potential impacts of climate change on fisheries and agriculture in 72 coastal communities across five Indo-Pacific countries (Indonesia, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, and Tanzania). Our study reveals three key findings: First, overall potential losses to fisheries are higher than potential losses to agriculture. Second, while most locations (> 2/3) will experience potential losses to both fisheries and agriculture simultaneously, climate change mitigation could reduce the proportion of places facing that double burden. Third, potential impacts are more likely in communities with lower socioeconomic status

Communicating Managed Retreat in California

California cities face growing threats from sea-level rise as increased frequency and severity of flooding and storms cause devastating erosion, infrastructure damage, and loss of property. Management plans are often designed to prevent or slow flooding with short-term, defensive strategies such as shoreline hardening, beach nourishment, and living shorelines. By contrast, managed retreat focuses on avoiding hazards and adapting to changing shorelines by relocating out of harm’s way. However, the term “managed retreat” can be controversial and has engendered heated debates, defensive protests, and steady resistance in some communities. Such responses have stymied inclusion of managed retreat in adaptation plans, and in some cases has resulted in complete abandonment of the policy review process. We examined the Local Coastal Program review process in seven California communities at imminent risk of sea-level rise and categorized each case as receptive or resistant to managed retreat. Three prominent themes distinguished the two groups: (1) inclusivity, timing, and consistency of communication, (2) property ownership, and (3) stakeholder reluctance to change. We examined use of terminology and communication strategies and provided recommendations to communicate “managed retreat” more effectively

Toward institutions for community-based management of inshore marine resources in the Western Indian Ocean

This paper examines the frameworks being developed to co-manage coral reefs in Kenya and Madagascar. The historical and social context, flexibility of rule-making, monitoring and enforcement, and how community-based organizations are nested within other organizations is described. A comparison of the degree to which these two frameworks contain 10 key design principles thought to be important for successful commons institutions is presented. Finally, recommendations are made for improving co-management in these countries. A principal finding is that both co-management frameworks were developed for other systems (terrestrial and lakes), which creates misfits for how marine systems can be managed.Beach Management Unit GELOSE Co-management Coral reefs Kenya Madagascar

Chapitre 5. Le financement des aires protégées à Madagascar : de nouvelles modalités

La problématique du financement des aires protégées dans les pays en développement a suscité ces dernières années un intérêt sans précédent. Elle illustre la marchandisation croissante de la nature, le rôle d’intermédiation des ONG internationales et l’émergence d’approches de conservation à grande échelle, toutes tendances mentionnées en introduction de cet ouvrage. À la fois lors du Ve Congrès mondial sur les parcs (Durban, septembre 2003) et lors de la 7e conférence des Parties de la Conve..

Toward institutions for community-based management of inshore marine resources in the Western Indian Ocean

This paper examines the frameworks being developed to co-manage coral reefs in Kenya and Madagascar. The historical and social context, flexibility of rule-making, monitoring and enforcement, and how community-based organizations are nested within other organizations is described. A comparison of the degree to which these two frameworks contain 10 key design principles thought to be important for successful commons institutions is presented. Finally, recommendations are made for improving co-management in these countries. A principal finding is that both co-management frameworks were developed for other systems (terrestrial and lakes), which creates misfits for how marine systems can be managed

Perceived benefits of fisheries management restrictions in Madagascar

Perceptions of the benefits of fisheries management restrictions were evaluated in coastal Madagascar to identify restrictions that are likely to be self- and community enforced. The survey focused on 24 Malagasy fishing villages adjacent to coral reefs. Resource users' perceptions of the benefits of restrictions were generally high and widespread, but some less positive perceptions were found in three villages located near marine protected areas. Perceptions of the benefits of gear restrictions had widespread support; closed areas, seasons, and minimum sizes of fish were less common; and restrictions on species were supported infrequently. We therefore advocate a management implementation approach that uses these scales of perceived benefits and prioritizes support for the most widely accepted restrictions most broadly, with the less accepted restrictions matched to specific supportive locations. At the village level, socioeconomic and wealth variables were not clearly associated with perceived benefits, which we suggest results from a stronger influence of village history than socioeconomic conditions. At the individual fisher level, however, there was evidence that experienced people involved in decision-making, having livelihood alternatives, and having permanent housing had more opinions and frequently were more supportive of management restrictions. Incorporating this information into forums and management plans is expected to increase the rate of adoption and compliance with needed fisheries restrictions

Multiscale determinants of social adaptive capacity in small-scale fishing communities

Climate change is expected to reinforce undesirable social and ecological feedbacks between ecosystem degradation and poverty. This is particularly true for resource-dependent communities in the developing world such as coral reef fishing communities who will have to adapt to those new environmental conditions and novel ecosystems. It is therefore crucial to identify: i) multiscale characteristics that can influence social adaptive capacity of local communities to climate change, and ii) current and future social-ecological conditions related to climate change that might lead communities to experience unsustainable and undesirable states (i.e., "socialecological traps"). Here, we investigated social adaptive capacity and the relationship to ecological conditions in 29 small-scale fishing communities in Madagascar and Kenya in the Western Indian Ocean. We found that isolation from a market and climate stress had a significant negative relationship with social adaptive capacity, while a higher level of education and the presence of market traders (middlemen) had a positive relationship. In general, resource management through marine protected areas and locally managed marine areas had a positive influence on ecological conditions. Combining social adaptive capacity and ecological conditions revealed that 80 % of fishers households surveyed were experiencing social-ecological states that could lead to unsustainable social-ecological conditions, while 10 % might already be experiencing social-ecological traps. Our findings reveal specific mechanisms by which conservation and development activities can increase social adaptive capacity in coastal communities, including but not limited to: increasing market access and education, and mitigating future climate exposure and unsustainable fishing through improved marine conservation and management

Madagascar: Crime threatens biodiversity

[Extract] Madagascar's new president, Andry Rajoelina, was elected on a promise to improve living standards for the millions who live in poverty. To achieve this goal, he must address the declining rule of law. Madagascar fell eight places in the Rule of Law Index between 2016 and 2018, and it is 155th of 180 countries listed in the Corruption Perceptions Index. Weak governance slows development by reducing the willingness of citizens and foreign companies to invest. Since his election, President Rajoelina has expressed a desire to make Madagascar a model of conservation and a destina-tion for ecotourism