Brian Crawford

Discovering factors that influence the success of community-based marine protected areas in the Visayas, Philippines

Community-based marine protected areas have become a popular coastal resources management method advocated in many projects and programs. While many case studies have been written about factors contributing to project success, few empirical studies using quantitative methods have been employed. A study was conducted of 45 community-based marine protected areas in Philippines. Several success measures were developed and analyzed in relation to a number of independent variables categorized as contextual or project intervention factors. Correlations between individual factors and the dependent variables are discussed. Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine the most important predictors of success. These included: population size of the community, a perceived crisis in terms of reduced fish populations, successful alternative income projects, high levels of participation in community decision making, continuing advice from the implementing organization and inputs from local government. The implications of these results for policy makers and project managers are discussed.

Compliance and Enforcement of Community-Based Coastal Resource Management Regulations in North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Community-based coastal resources management has become a popular approach to marine conservation and sustainable fisheries management in the Asia-Pacific region. One premise of this approach is that enforcement of community management initiatives is the primary responsibility of the community and that, in most instances, they have the capability to effectively enforce locally developed regulations and rules. The socioeconomic theory of resource management compliance is reviewed and applied to community-based case examples from North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Compliance with nondestructive exploitation practices in several village sites, empirically measured by changes in live hard coral cover, was related to reef distance from a settlement area and not significantly related to visibility from a settlement. A typology of enforcement strategies relative to the type of violator and violation is presented. In certain instances, a comanagement approach is preferred in order to achieve effective enforcement and high compliance.

Factors Influencing Progress in Establishing Community-Based Marine Protected Areas in Indonesia

Concerns are being raised about high failure rates of community-based small-scale no-take marine reserves that are proliferating in the Southeast Asian region. Factors hypothesized to influence success include intrinsic community characteristics, project input levels, and change agent characteristics. An empirical analysis of these hypotheses was conducted using a sample of 24 villages in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, where marine reserves were in early phases of establishment. Factors found to influence the rate of progress were village complexity, level of development, project input levels, characteristics of community organizers, and degree of community organizer homophily relative to the community. These findings are important for community-based marine conservation initiatives conducting simultaneous interventions in multiple communities. It provides insights in how project strategies can be adjusted to increase the probability of success, obtain economies of scale, target communities more amenable to community-based interventions and result in a better return on project investments.

Moderating our Expectations on Livelihoods in ICM: Experiences from Thailand, Nicaragua, and Tanzania

Livelihood development is often integrated into coastal management projects as a strategy for increasing project success. This strategy is taken because it is known that livelihood development increases the interest, support, and trust of the community in coastal and marine ecosystem conservation. The research described in this article explores what factors contribute to enterprise success and whether livelihood interventions lead to other benefits in addition to employment and income generation. A learning portfolio approach was used that draws on the field sites and projects supported by the USAID-funded Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystem (SUCCESS) Program. Our experience suggests that key factors that influence livelihood enterprise success (revenue generation) include: the type of enterprise supported, the form of extension support provided, community context, and enterprise ownership (i.e., group or individual). The results also confirm the idea that there are important benefits from livelihood development not related to profitability, which can improve the impact of coastal management programs. We found benefits that include increased resilience, community and gender empowerment, stronger social ties, and improved coordination with local government.

Building capacity for integrated coastal management in developing countries

The need for building human and institutional capacity has been identified in Agenda 21 of the UNCED conference as well as by a number of international environmental institutions as essential for integrated coastal management (ICM) and sustainable development in developing coastal states. There is a growing need for coastal management practitioners and organizations with expertise in planning and implementation for ICM. The application of strategies for institutional development and building human capacity in coastal management and other fields shows that short-term intensive training efforts and long-term institutional strengthening programs are appropriate to address the issues and needs of ICM. An overview of the experience of the URI/USAID International Coastal Resources Management Program in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Ecuador presents lessons learned for strengthening ICM efforts in developing countries.

Small Scale Fisheries Management: Lessons from Cockle Harvesters in Nicaragua and Tanzania

The role of women in gleaning fisheries tends to be underestimated and poorly documented although they play an important role in coastal food security and income generation. This article describes two initiatives for co-management of women dominated cockle (Anadara spp.) fisheries implemented in Zanzibar Island of Tanzania and in Nicaragua that were based on a Fiji model. In each case, significant progress was made at the pilot scale but required adaptation to the community and national context. The Nicaragua case resulted in increasing densities of cockles inside and outside small scale no-take zones in a small estuary after a two-year period of implementation. In Zanzibar, out of several no-take sites established on reef flats, only one showed similar results. Other sites’ poor performance is likely due to poor site selection, small size, and non-compliance. Varying degrees of poaching affected both locations and continues to be an issue. In Zanzibar, local and national government played highly supporting roles whereas in Nicaragua, local government was supportive but national government continues to exhibit top-down decision-making, while still evaluating the alternative co-management approach. In both cases, university extension initiatives were influential in building community capacity for management and playing an advocacy role with national government. Both locations are poised for scaling up to more geographic sites as well as fostering policy change that can lead to more integrated and ecosystem-scale approaches to sustainable fisheries management.

Coastal Livelihood Diversification as a Pathway Out of Poverty and Vulnerability: Experiences from Tanzania

ABSTRACT Livelihood diversification can increase the number of activities generating income and is often adopted as a means to reduce vulnerability to risk and provide a pathway out of poverty. Previous empirical studies, however, have found that this diversification carries no guarantee of success. This study examines the impacts of investments in conservation-based enterprises and micro-credit interventions implemented in coastal Tanzania. Project beneficiaries (n = 178) and non-beneficiaries (n = 117) from seventeen communities surrounding Saadani National Park and the Menai Bay Conservation area were surveyed in 2013, to gather quantitative and qualitative data on a suite of parameters including the number of livelihood activities, total annual income, and engagement in extractive activities. We found that the beneficiaries reported an average of 2.15 livelihoods, which was significantly higher than the 1.44 average reported by the non-beneficiaries. The beneficiaries also had significantly higher mean annual incomes than the non-beneficiaries as the former reported an annual mean income of US

Aquaculture Research and Development as an Entry-Point and Contributor to Natural Resources and Coastal Management

2,076 while the latter reported US

Introduction: Building Local Governance, Regional Excellence, and Global Leadership for Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystems

646. The research found a complex relationship between occupational diversity and peoples interactions with the environment and it is clear that livelihood diversification is not a blanket solution to reducing pressure on coastal resources. Another important finding from the research is that there are distinct differences between types of livelihood interventions and it is crucial to be clear about the goal of a livelihoods intervention. If the goal is diversifying livelihoods and strengthening resilience, then livelihoods that provide a small and steady income for many entrepreneurs may be enough. However, if the goal is to bring people out of a poverty trap, then it makes more sense to invest in livelihoods that bring in a higher income, even if that means reaching fewer beneficiaries.

Weeding through assumptions of livelihood approaches in ICM: Seaweed farming in the Philippines and Indonesia

Recent, fervent international dialogue concerning the existence and magnitude of impacts associated with aquaculture has had both positive and negative outcomes. Aquaculture stakeholders have become sensitized to requirements for improved environmental management of aquaculture. On the other hand, in some cases aquaculture development has been negatively affected by some of the unwarranted and unproved allegations to the detriment of the stakeholders most in need of aquaculture development (i.e., resource users, particularly the poor, who are dependent on natural resources). These resource users are targeted by, and directly influence biodiversity and conservation agendas; hence the need to understand how to gain their active participation. This discussion focuses on examples of how aquaculture research and development can be a useful tool or strategy for resource management initiatives and provide tangible positive including increased stakeholder participation and cooperation, offering alternatives to resource extraction and use in otherwise difficult or intransigent resource management conflicts.