Establishment of a community managed marine reserve in the Bay of Ranobe, southwest Madagascar

The Bay of Ranobe, in southwest Madagascar, once noted for its high biodiversity and fish abundance, is under increasing pressure from overfishing, pollution, sedimentation and tourism. The declining health of the coral reef is reflected in fishery productivity and survey data on biological diversity. Sustainable conservation requires the engagement of all interested parties and the integration of their needs into resource management. The British NGO ReefDoctor has adopted this approach in establishing the first community-protected site in the Bay of Ranobe, the Massif des Roses. This is a large coral patch with a high percentage of live coral cover (38%) and important fish diversity compared to other sites surveyed in the lagoon. Since 25 May 2007 it has been legally recognised as a community managed marine reserve under temporary protection where fishing is banned. Tourists must now pay an entry fee to visit the site, with the proceeds contributing to the funding of community projects. In conjunction with the protection of this site, ReefDoctor has worked with local people, regional and local government, tour operators and hotels, and conservation organisations to set up ‘FIMIHARA’, an association representative of local people responsible for the management of this site and the development of sustainable conservation initiatives in the Bay of Ranobe. This paper explains the approach taken by ReefDoctor, by setting up and working with FIMIHARA, to protect the Massif des Roses site and develop other conservation initiatives and community projects in the Bay of Ranobe. RÉSUMÉ La baie de Ranobe, au sud-ouest de Madagascar, autrefois remarquable pour sa biodiversité et l’abondance de la pêche, est de plus en plus menacée par la surpêche, la sédimentation, la pollution et le tourisme. Le déclin de l’état de santé du récif corallien se reflète dans la diminution de la productivité des pêcheries et dans les suivis de la biodiversité marine. La situation est à présent critique car les ressources marines associées au récif assurent la subsistance des populations côtières vivant le long de la baie. Nous considérons ici qu’une protection pérenne nécessite un engagement concret de toutes les parties prenantes - en particulier des communautés locales - et que leurs besoins soient intégrés dans la gestion des ressources. L’ONG ReefDoctor a mis en oeuvre cette approche lors de la création de la première réserve marine dans la baie de Ranobe gérée par la communauté locale, le Massif des Roses. Cette réserve est constituée d’un grand massif de corail largement couvert de coraux et abritant une importante diversité de poissons par rapport au reste du lagon. Depuis le 25 mai 2007, ce site est légalement reconnu comme réserve marine communautaire avec un statut de protection temporaire ; la pêche et les pratiques destructrices associées au tourisme y sont interdites. De plus, les touristes doivent désormais payer un droit d’entrée pour visiter le site, qui contribue au financement de projets communautaires. En parallèle avec la protection du site, ReefDoctor a travaillé avec les communautés locales, les responsables nationaux et régionaux du gouvernement, les opérateurs touristiques et diverses organisations de protection de la nature pour créer l’association FIMIHARA, représentative de la population locale. Cette association, qui a un statut légal depuis le 11 avril 2007, a pour but d’améliorer la qualité de vie de ceux qui vivent le long de la baie de Ranobe et de mettre en oeuvre des projets de conservation des ressources marines et terrestres dans la région de la baie de Ranobe. La création de la réserve marine communautaire du Massif des Roses a rapidement connu le succès qui s’est traduit par la vente de plus d’un millier de tickets, mais l’association FIMIHARA doit encore faire face à de nombreux défis. L’objectif principal de l’association à long terme est de développer son indépendance par rapport à l’ONG ReefDoctor et sa capacité à gérer indépendamment les ressources marines de la baie de Ranobe dont les communautés locales dépendent pour leur survie

Data from: Mapping habitats in a marine reserve showed how a 30-year trophic cascade altered ecosystem structure

Time-series studies have reported trophic cascades in land, freshwater and marine environments in many geographic areas. However, the spatial extent of habitats, a key metric of ecosystem structure, has not been mapped in these studies. Marine reserves can provide experimental, before-after and inside-outside (control-impacted), situations for assessing the impact of fishing on ecosystems. We mapped seabed habitats and their associated communities (biotopes) in New Zealand’s oldest marine reserve for comparison with pre-reserve maps created about 30 years previously. Areas grazed bare by sea urchins were entirely replaced in the centre of the reserve by kelp, or alga turf, an intermediate biotope between heavily grazed encrusting algae and lightly grazed kelp. Urchins declined following increased abundance and body size of spiny (rock) lobsters and fish (especially snapper) in the reserve but maintained bare rock outside. While this gradient in habitat change matched the gradient of predator abundance, it also matched the extent of reef habitat area. Thus the trophic cascade may be influenced by the effect of habitat on the abundance and behavioural interactions of urchins and their predators. Further ecosystem changes may arise should the abundance of mega-predators, such as seals, cetaceans and large sharks, increase in the region; if parasites become pathogenic; and/or when invasive species reach the reserve. No-take Marine Reserves provide real-world experiments that show the importance of species in food webs, and the consequences of fishing for ecosystems. Because these changes in ecosystem structure may continue, and will vary with environment, climate and species distributions, reserves need to be permanent and replicated geographically. Habitat maps should be produced for all reserves to enable ecological changes in the ecosystem to be spatially quantified

Seabed habitat maps

The files contain maps and ArcGIS shapefiles of the seabed habitats and biotopes at the Cape Rodney – Okakari Point Marine Reserve (also called Goat Island) adjacent to Leigh Marine Laboratory, North Island, New Zealand. There are two maps: The first was digitized from a map published by Ayling, A.M., Cumming, A., Ballantine, W.J. (1981). Map of shore and sub-tidal habitats of the Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve, North Island, New Zealand in 3 sheets, scale 1:2000. Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington, New Zealand. The second was remapped in 2006. A full description of the 2006 methods and comparison of both maps is available in Leleu K, Remy-Zephir B., Grace R., Costello M.J. 2012. Mapping habitats in a marine reserve showed how a 30-year trophic cascade altered ecosystem structure. Biological Conservation , in press. The maps were created to quantify the area of seabed habitats and biotopes in the reserve and adjacent areas in each map