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Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas in Managing the Drivers of Ecosystem Change: A Case of Mnazi Bay Marine Park, Tanzania

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Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are being promoted in Tanzania to mitigate the drivers of ecosystem change such as overfishing and other anthropogenic impacts on marine resources. The effectiveness of MPAs in managing those drivers was assessed in three ecological zones, seafront, mangrove, and riverine of Mnazi Bay Marine Park, using Participatory Community Analysis techniques, questionnaire survey, checklist and fishery resource assessment methods. Eleven major drivers of ecosystem change were identified. Resource dependence had a major effect in all ecological zones of the park. The results indicated that the park’s legislations/regulations, management procedures, and conservation efforts are reasonably effective in managing its resources. The positive signs accrued from conservation efforts have been realized by the communities in terms of increased catch/income, awareness and compliance. However, some natural and anthropogenic drivers continued to threaten the park’s sustainability. Furthermore, implementation of resource use and benefit sharing mechanisms still remained a considerable challenge to be addressed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to register their heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the government of Tanzania through World Bank Funded Project (MACEMP) and WWF/RUSSELL for their financial support. The authors would also like to register their gratitude to local communities participated in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aquaculture and Aquatic Resource Management (AARM) Field of Study, School of Environment Resources and Development (SERD), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand

    Milali Ernest Machumu & Amararatne Yakupitiyage

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  1. Milali Ernest Machumu
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  2. Amararatne Yakupitiyage
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Correspondence to Milali Ernest Machumu.

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Machumu, M.E., Yakupitiyage, A. Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas in Managing the Drivers of Ecosystem Change: A Case of Mnazi Bay Marine Park, Tanzania. AMBIO 42, 369–380 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0352-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0352-8

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