Abstract
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are now a widely used tool for marine conservation and fisheries management. MPAs are an important management tool that can either help or hurt local livelihoods, depending on how they are developed, designed, and implemented. It is not unusual that fishermen resist the establishment or expansion of MPAs. This is usually done because fishermen may fear a reduction in their livelihood and also a decrease in their ability to access to their fisheries. The establishment of MPAs may therefore result in conflicts between fishers and state agencies. A further issue is that there may be increased conflicts between fishers and the tourism sector. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of stakeholders involved in the fisheries sector and the extent to which marine conservation impacts on their livelihoods. Extended interviews were undertaken with 26 stakeholders including fishermen, divers and dive centres. The study tried to address the issues through a communication and educational campaign drafted through higher education institutions. Research generally points towards the effective importance of incorporating stakeholders in meaningful participation for effective marine conservation planning and management. In actual fact MPAs are more likely to meet their biological and social goals if the human dimensions is integrated into the MPA design and evaluation process. This paper discusses a number of recommendations that increase communication channels between the authorities and the main stakeholders and the possible role of higher education institutions in mediating these channels through applied research.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allison E, Ellis F (2001) The livelihoods approach and management of small-scale fisheries. Mar Policy 25:377–388
CANARI Policy Brief No. 5 January 2005. Marine Protected Areas and Sustainable Coastal Livelihoods, Fernandes Industrial Centre, Administration Building Eastern Main Road, Laventille Trinidad and Tobago
Chambers R, Conway G (1991) Sustainable rural livelihoods. IDS Discussion Paper 296. London
Charles A, Westlund L (2016) Fishing livelihoods as key to marine protected areas: insights from the World Parks Congress. Aquatic Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 26(Suppl. 2):165–184
Fiske SJ (1992) Sociocultural aspects of establishing marine protected areas. Ocean Coast Manage 18:25–46
Jones P (2002) Marine protected area strategies: issues, divergences and the search for the middle ground. Rev Fish Biol Fish 11:197–216. Netherlands
NSO (2016) Agriculture and fisheries 2014. National Statistics Office, Valletta. ISBN 978-99957-29-50-9
Kelleher G (1999) Guidelines for marine protected areas. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK
Pollnaca R, Christieb P, Cinner J, Daltona T, Dawd T, Forrestere G, Grahamc N, McClanahanfa T (2010) 1, Marine reserves as linked social–ecological systems. Proc Nat Acad Sci 107(43):18262–5. Available from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41532358_Marine_reserves_as_linked_social-ecological_systems. Accessed 20 January 2020
Pomeroy R, Douvere F (2008) The engagement of stakeholders in the marine spatial planning process. Mar Policy 32:816–822
Vaughn S, Schumm SJ, Sinagub J (1996) Focus group interviews in education and psychology. Sage Publications, London
Voyer M, Gladstone W, Goodall H (2012) Methods of social assessment in marine protected area planning: is public participation enough? Mar Pol 36:432–439
Acknowledgements
This research study was undertaken as part of the studies of the Project LifeBahar for N2K (Life12NAT/MT 000845) financed through the EU life + programme.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mifsud, M.C. (2021). Balancing Sustainable Livelihoods and Conservation in the Marine Environment. In: Leal Filho, W., Salvia, A.L., Brandli, L., Azeiteiro, U.M., Pretorius, R. (eds) Universities, Sustainability and Society: Supporting the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63399-8_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63399-8_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-63398-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-63399-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)