‘It׳s part of me’; understanding the values, images and principles of coastal users and their influence on the social acceptability of MPAs

Abstract

a b s t r a c tImproving the social acceptability or 'social licence' of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a key challenge facing countries all around the world. As the world moves slowly towards the establishment of a global network of MPAs, it is increasingly apparent that a greater understanding of social responses to MPAs is required, given they are often met with resistance from local communities. A series of in-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted across coastal users in New South Wales, Australia, including surfers, recreational fishers, professional fishers, spearfishers, walkers, divers, snorkellers, kayakers and other community members. The research identified the values, images and principles at work amongst coastal users to determine the dominant 'cultural models' within the community and how these models influenced attitudes towards MPAs. This research indicates that traditional consultation models may not be sufficient to address the full spectrum of community needs, and in fact suggests the need to reconceive the make -up of 'the community' itself. In the context of MPA planning 'the community' is not an amalgamation of a range of homogenous stakeholder groups but instead a diverse and complex mix of identities and value systems which are not confined to particular interest groups. Incorporating consideration of the diverse range of values, images and principles found within and across stakeholder groups will require new and innovative approaches to participation and management.

A Bottom-Up Understanding of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing in Lake Victoria

“…This creates a lasting impact on the implementation and enforcement of measures that they view differently, hence, shaping the level of governability in Lake Victoria. Studies have shown that social acceptance of fisheries management measures by fishers is a crucial factor that may influence management outcomes and the success of legislation [22,53]. Probing further in the fisheries governance literature, it is argued that images, instruments, and actions are closely connected [16,17].…”

“…Probing further in the fisheries governance literature, it is argued that images, instruments, and actions are closely connected [16,17]. In the case of tackling IUU fishing in Lake Victoria, this implies that the measures and actions taken towards IUU fishing should reflect on how the problem is perceived or understood by the different stakeholders in the fisheries, i.e., the images that are formed in their minds [15,22]. However, as observed, the images of the fishers and managers are not necessarily compatible.…”

“…The interactive governance theory recognizes that "images" held by stakeholders have a significant influence on the outcome of governance measures [15,22]. Images are a representation of ideas about 'what is and what should be' [15] (p. 1316).…”

“…For this reason, there should be no control on what is caught and how it is caught. In addition, Jentoft et al [21] and Voyer et al [22], in their studies on the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) submit that stakeholders do not share the same ideas about what the MPAs are and what they may accomplish. For instance, in some areas local fishers viewed the establishment of MPAs as an attempt to limit their fishing grounds while, in others, fishers felt that they were not adequately informed prior to the MPA establishments.…”

Assessing governability of environmental protected areas in Phetchaburi and Prachuap Kirikhan, Thailand

“…Until now there is no comprehensive analysis on the impact of the EPA implementation both to resource users within its boundary and beyond. This is not surprising, given that even for MPAs, which have been better promoted than EPAs, very few studies examine their socio-economic impact (Agardy et al 2011;Thorpe et al 2011;Voyer et al 2015).…”