Advancing social equity in and through marine conservation

Substantial efforts and investments are being made to increase the scale and improve the effectiveness of marine conservation globally. Though it is mandated by international law and central to conservation policy, less attention has been given to how to operationalize social equity in and through the pursuit of marine conservation. In this article, we aim to bring greater attention to this topic through reviewing how social equity can be better integrated in marine conservation policy and practice. Advancing social equity in marine conservation requires directing attention to: recognition through acknowledgment and respect for diverse peoples and perspectives; fair distribution of impacts through maximizing benefits and minimizing burdens; procedures through fostering participation in decision-making and good governance; management through championing and supporting local involvement and leadership; the environment through ensuring the efficacy of conservation actions and adequacy of management to ensure benefits to nature and people; and the structural barriers to and institutional roots of inequity in conservation. We then discuss the role of various conservation organizations in advancing social equity in marine conservation and identify the capacities these organizations need to build. We urge the marine conservation community, including governments, non-governmental organizations and donors, to commit to the pursuit of socially equitable conservation

We Are Ocean People

The Guest Editors of the special issue offer thoughts on Indigenous Peoples' leadership in the responsibility of all people to protect the oecans and waters of this planet

Human dimensions of large-scale marine protected areas: advancing research and practice

This special issue of Coastal Management focuses on the human dimensions of large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs), those MPAs that are typically larger than 250,000 km2.11. Toonen et al. (2013 Toonen, R. J., T. A. Wilhelm, S. M. Maxwell, D. Wagner, B. W. Bowen, C. R. C. Sheppard, S. M. Taei, T. Teroroko, R. Moffitt, C. F. Gaymer, et al. 2013. One size does not fit all: The emerging frontier in large-scale marine conservation. Marine Pollution Bulletin 77:7–10.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]) and the Big Ocean network of LSMPA managers define LSMPAs as those larger than 250,000 km2. Other authors have defined LSMPAs as larger than 30,000 km2 (de Santo 2013 de Santo, E. M. 2013. Missing marine protected area (MPA) targets: How the push for quantity over quality undermines sustainability and social justice. Journal of Environmental Management 124:137–46.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]) or 100,000 km2 (Spalding et al. 2013 Spalding, M. D., I. Meliane, A. Milam, C. Fitzgerald, and L. Z. Hale. 2013. Protecting marine spaces: Global targets and changing approaches. Ocean Yearbook 27:213–48.[Crossref], [Google Scholar]; Gruby et al. 2016 Gruby, R. L., N. J. Gray, L. M. Campbell, and L. Acton. 2016. Toward a social science research agenda for large marine protected areas. Conservation Letters 9 (3):153–63.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). View all notes We define ‘human dimensions’ as the cultural, social, economic, political, and institutional factors that affect and are affected by large-scale marine conservation efforts. While human dimensions of marine conservation and coastal management have long been a focus of research, they have not yet received sustained and systematic consideration in relation to LSMPAs specifically. Although there is an emerging body of scholarship focused on the human dimensions of LSMPAs (e.g. de Santo 2013 de Santo, E. M. 2013. Missing marine protected area (MPA) targets: How the push for quantity over quality undermines sustainability and social justice. Journal of Environmental Management 124:137–46.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Harris 2014 Harris, P. 2014. A Political Trilemma? International Secruity, Environmental Protection and Human Rights in the British Indian Ocean Territory. International Politics 51 (1):87–100.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Wilhelm et al. 2014 Wilhelm, T. A., C. R. C. Sheppard, A. L. S. Sheppard, C. F. Gaymer, J. Parks, D. Wagner, and N. Lewis. 2014. Large marine protected areas – advantages and challenges of going big: Considerations when going big in MPAs. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 24:24–30.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Richmond and Kotowicz 2015 Richmond, L., and D. Kotowicz. 2015. Equity and access in marine protected areas: The history and future of ‘traditional indigenous fishing’ in the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. Applied Geography 59:117–24.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Gruby et al. 2016 Gruby, R. L., N. J. Gray, L. M. Campbell, and L. Acton. 2016. Toward a social science research agenda for large marine protected areas. Conservation Letters 9 (3):153–63.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Ban et al. 2017 Ban N. C., T. E. Davies, S. E. Aguilera, C. Brooks, M. Cox, G. Epstein, L. S. Evans, S. M. Maxwell, and M. Nenadovic. 2017. Social and ecological effectiveness of large marine protected areas. Global Environmental Change 43:82–91.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Alger and Dauvergne 2017 Alger, J., and P. Dauvergne. 2017. The global norm of large marine protected areas: Explaining variable adoption and implementation. Environmental Policy and Governance 27 (4):298–310. doi:10.1002/eet.1768.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Christie et al. 2017 Christie P., N. J. Bennett, N. J. Gray, T. A. Wilhelm, N. Lewis, J. Parks, N. C. Ban, R. L. Gruby, L. Gordon, J. Day, et al. 2017. Why people matter in ocean governance: Incorporating human dimensions into large scale marine protected areas. Marine Policy 84:273–284.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]), this is the first collection of papers devoted to their analysis. The purpose of this special issue is to showcase the diversity of human dimensions of LSMPAs, illustrating the range of contexts in which LSMPAs function, the variety of social science tools that can be used to analyze LSMPAs, the ways that human dimensions considerations can be integrated into LSMPA management, and the diverse human dimensions outcomes that are associated with LSMPAs. We suggest this special issue is timely and valuable for several reasons

Why people matter in ocean governance: incorporating human dimensions into large-scale marine protected areas

Large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs) are rapidly increasing. Due to their sheer size, complex socio-political realities, and distinct local cultural perspectives and economic needs, implementing and managing LSMPAs successfully creates a number of human dimensions challenges. It is timely and important to explore the human dimensions of LSMPAs. This paper draws on the results of a global “Think Tank on the Human Dimensions of Large Scale Marine Protected Areas” involving 125 people from 17 countries, including representatives from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, professionals, industry, cultural/indigenous leaders and LSMPA site managers. The overarching goal of this effort was to be proactive in understanding the issues and developing best management practices and a research agenda that address the human dimensions of LSMPAs. Identified best management practices for the human dimensions of LSMPAs included: integration of culture and traditions, effective public and stakeholder engagement, maintenance of livelihoods and wellbeing, promotion of economic sustainability, conflict management and resolution, transparency and matching institutions, legitimate and appropriate governance, and social justice and empowerment. A shared human dimensions research agenda was developed that included priority topics under the themes of scoping human dimensions, governance, politics, social and economic outcomes, and culture and tradition. The authors discuss future directions in researching and incorporating human dimensions into LSMPAs design and management, reflect on this global effort to co-produce knowledge and re-orient practice on the human dimensions of LSMPAs, and invite others to join a nascent community of practice on the human dimensions of large-scale marine conservation

One size does not fit all : the emerging frontier in large-scale marine conservation

On the 20th anniversary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, a network of very large marine protected areas (the Big Ocean network) has emerged as a key strategy in the move to arrest marine decline and conserve some of the last remaining relatively undisturbed marine areas on the globe. Here we outline the ecological, economic and policy benefits of very large-scale MPAs and show their disproportionate value to global marine conservation targets. In particular we point out that very large-scale MPAs are a critical component of reaching the Aichi targets of protecting 10% of global marine habitats by 2020, because in addition to encompassing entire ecosystems, they will bring forward the expected date of achievement by nearly three decades (2025 as opposed to 2054). While the need for small MPAs remains critical, large MPAs will complement and enhance these conservation efforts. Big Ocean sites currently contain more than 80% of managed area in the sea, and provide our best hope for arresting the global decline in marine biodiversity