Marion Glaser

Allies, not aliens: increasing the role of local communities in marine protected area implementation

Various management approaches have been proposed to address the alarming depletion of marine coastal resources. Prominent among them are community-based management and the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs). The overall poor performance of MPAs can be traced to a failure to effectively include local communities in the design and implementation of relevant measures. Recent efforts have incorporated aspects of community-based management into a hybrid form of management, which ideally builds upon existing local management practices. A key challenge lies in the development of appropriate frameworks that allow for the successful participation of local communities in management. A review of studies on MPA design and community-based marine resource management and fieldwork observations provides suggestions on how to address current socioeconomic shortcomings in MPA design and implementation, successfully involving local communities in order to provide a better local basis for effective larger MPA networks. A combination of MPA tools as the formal frame and community-based natural resource management as the adaptive core that recognizes local communities as allies, not aliens, is needed to develop successful conservation approaches.

Co-evolving geomorphical and socio-economic dynamics in a coastal fishing village of the Bragança region (Pará, North Brazil)

In the area of a coastal fishing village on the mangrove peninsula of Braganca, State of Para, North Brazil, coastal changes were observed by a beach profile monitoring programme between 1997 and 2001. The assessment allowed a subdivision of the region into four small coastal cells (1–3 km), partly exhibiting heavy erosion. A number of related socio-economic problems, such as loss of alternative income sources caused by the locally unpredictable erosion patterns were identified in three separate village sections. This results in a year-round dependence on seasonally low fishery incomes and increases the risk of poverty. Since limited options for action are available to the local population, different social groups have evolved different land use patterns, which in turn influence local coastal morphodynamics. Not only the hydrodynamic signature, but also the socio-economic organisation of a coastal community and the co-evolutionary path between these two variables thus indicate the state of a coastal system and the most promising policy actions towards sustainable coastal management.

Livelihoods of Ornamental Coral Fishermen in South Sulawesi/Indonesia: Implications for Management

Collection of live coral for the marine aquarium trade has increased significantly in recent years, causing concerns over the ecological implications of this activity for the source regions. The Spermonde Archipelago off Southwest Sulawesi is one of the four major ornamental coral collection sites in Indonesia, the country supplying most corals in the trade. Management of the fishery remains ineffective, and overharvesting is widespread. Conservation strategies for marine resources increasingly emphasize the socioeconomic dimensions of resource use, yet little information is available on the livelihoods of fishermen involved in the ornamental fishery. Here, a first analysis of the livelihoods of coral fishermen in the Spermonde Archipelago is presented, along with a discussion of possibilities for future management interventions. The reef fishery of the study area is characterized by a high diversity of target organisms, with none of the fishermen relying exclusively on ornamental corals for income. Moreover, fishermen are organized in a tightly knit web of patron–client relationships, leaving little scope for them to initiate changes in livelihood strategies. The patron–client system emerged as a key institution of the fishery. In order to support sustainable marine resource use, management policies should simultaneously target the fishermen and their patrons as well as the regional coral trade network, broadening the livelihood portfolio of island communities and improving the regulation of the associated trade network.

Implications of mangrove dynamics for private land use in Bragança, North Brazil: a case study

This work analyses effects of recent variations in the tidal inundation frequency in a mangrove ecosystem in the Bragança peninsula, North Brazil, and its implications for land occupation and use. Field data, time series of remote sensing images and local legislation were analysed focusing on the potential socio-economic impact of a changing environmental setting due to a rise in relative sea level. In the investigated period (1972–1997), vegetation changes along the coastline indicate net losses of mangrove coverage. In the central part of the peninsula, a topographically higher herbaceous plain constituting part of a farm presents an active progression of mangrove forest into an area previously dominated by grasses and herbs. This area measured 8.8 km2 in 1972 but was gradually reduced to 5.6 km2 in 1997, while progressively replaced by a monospecific stand of the black mangrove,Avicennia germinans. A linear extrapolation indicates that the elevated plain may be completely covered by mangrove by 2035. Current Brazilian legislation prohibits the extraction of mangrove trees without an officially approved management plan. Thus, the usable area of the farm has suffered a reduction by ca. 36% over 25 yr and we predict that is could be entirely replaced by mangroves in the next 35 yr. In this case study, legislation and ecosystem characteristics are analysed and a management plan discussed which could represent income alternatives for affected resource users at the local and regional level.

An integrated approach to mangrove dynamics and management

The main objective of the MADAM project (Mangrove Dynamics and Management) is to generate the scientific basis enabling the sustainable stewardship of the resources of the Caeté mangrove estuary in Northeast Brazil in the sense of integrated coastal (zone) management. To achieve this, it is necessary to acquire in-depth knowledge of natural processes as well as of the relevant institutional, cultural, economic, social and political dynamics. Causal linkages within the ecosystem, as well as between ecosystem, economy and society, are analysed and explained via dynamic and trophic modelling. Scenario construction is intended to forecast the effects of acute or chronic interference on utilized resources, and to answer wider, management-related questions (e.g. restoration of destroyed areas, utilization potential for aquaculture). This paper describes the project strategy as developed and modified in the context of research results from the initial 2-yr project phase. It is argued that a continuous discussion process is essential to assess the validity of the strategies formulated at the beginning of a medium-time project, particularly if the project is of interdisciplinary nature.

To cope or to sustain? Eroding long-term sustainability in an Indonesian coral reef fishery

Small-scale fisheries in coral reef areas support the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. Anthropogenic impacts such as overfishing and climate change increasingly threaten both the reef ecosystem and the livelihood security of the people that depend on the reefs. Adaptive management strategies are needed to adequately deal with these threats, but they require an understanding of the underlying drivers, which often originate and act on multiple levels. Using a social-ecological system approach, the coral reef fishery of the Spermonde Archipelago in South Sulawesi/Indonesia is assessed to identify key drivers and strategic leverage points for management. Under the influence of international markets and technological changes, several export-oriented fisheries have developed in the area that led to distinct subsequent peaks in fishing activity in a pattern of sequential marine resource exploitation. In response to stressors such as seasonality and overfishing of individual locations or species, a number of coping strategies have developed locally. These include extensive borrowing from fishing patrons, diversification of fishing methods, fishing migrations, and the crafting of local institutions to regulate fishing activity. However, the coping strategies hinder, and even decrease, the capacity of the system to adapt to future stressors and undermine the sustainability of the fishery. Potential strategies that target different levels of the fishery system in order to strengthen adaptive management are identified.

Mangroves and People: A Social-Ecological System

This chapter summarizes some theoretical and empirical conclusions of our 10-year social science research in a mangrove region in north Brazil. Over the years, our analyses increasingly focused on the linkages between mangrove ecosystem and human/societal systems. Section 21.1 starts with an outline of the concept of social-ecological system. This is the foundation of our analytical approach. Mangrove values and livelihood impacts are then discussed in Sect. 21.2. Two very different, locally specific types of social-ecological dynamics in the study area are outlined in detail in Sect. 21.3. The development of visions and indicators for sustainable coastal management in Sect. 21.4 is guided by the aim of generating research knowledge that is relevant to societal problems and aims. Section 21.5 introduces concepts of participation and co-management and discusses “extractive reserves” (RESEX), a new coastal co-management initiative in Brazil. Section 21.6 presents scenarios as alternative versions of how a mangrove-based social-ecological system might develop in the future, and Sect. 21.7 elaborates which types of knowledge and further research are needed to develop regionally appropriate mangrove governance and management that is also able to support globally sustainable futures.

'Nested' participation in hierarchical societies? Lessons for social- ecological research and management

In the shift from community-based ecosystem management to co-management by the government and user groups, the participation of local resource users has remained important. In research, participatory approaches aim to enable local communities to contribute to sustainability knowledge. However, the outcomes of participatory practice have been particularly meagre in hierarchical contexts. The article links the difficulties of participatory practice to the hierarchical features of Indonesian society and examines a recently conducted participatory analysis of the social-ecological dynamics surrounding marine resource management in an Indonesian coral archipelago. We discuss the options and limitations encountered in this distinctly hierarchical society and suggest an approach for designing nested participation in this and similarly hierarchical socio-cultural settings. A visual tool is suggested which particularly supports the participation of ecosystem users in the lower ranks of social hierarchies in the search for more sustainable social-ecological futures.

Towards a framework for cross-scale and multi-level analysis of coastal and marine social-ecological systems dynamics

As the Anthropocene proceeds, regional and local sustainability problems are ever more likely to originate at multiple levels of the earth system. The rate of global environmental change is now vastly outpacing our policy response, and social-ecological systems analysis needs to support global environmental governance. To respond to this challenge, this paper initiates the development of a coastal social-ecological typology and applies it in an exemplary fashion to nine coastal and marine case studies. We use an explicit distinction between the definitions of scale and level and a problem or issue-specific approach to the delineation of social-ecological units. A current major challenge to social-ecological systems analysis is the identification of the cross-level and cross-scale interactions and links which play key roles in shaping coastal and marine social-ecological dynamics and outcomes. We show that the regional level is the best point of departure to generate sustainability-oriented cross-scale and multi-level analyses and offers the outline of a typology in which different disciplinary and other forms of knowledge can be integrated as both part of regionally grounded analysis and action which engages with global sustainability challenges.

Artisanal Fishery of the Mangrove Crab Ucides cordatus (Ucididae) and First Steps Toward a Successful Co-Management in Bragança, North Brazil

The Braganca district in north Brazil offers a unique opportunity for examining the functioning of a small-scale mangrove crab fishery. North Brazilian mangroves are extensive and the large crab Ucides cordatus is very abundant, even though this slow-growing species has been exploited for decades all year round. Ucides sustains a considerable annual yield of ∼7 tons per km² in this district, and 42% of the rural coastal households are involved in the collection or commercialisation of this crab. We describe capture techniques and main outcomes of 8 years of participatory fisheries monitoring, evaluate the status of the U. cordatus population and characterize the commercialisation of the crabs. The average number of crab collectors working on Braganca peninsula each day was 121 ± 105 (<1 man-day per km² per day; data source 2003). In 2003, their net income was 1.5- to 2.5-fold higher (US