Natasha Stacey

Developing Indicators for Monitoring and Evaluating Joint Management Effectiveness in Protected Areas in the Northern Territory, Australia

Joint management of protected areas is promoted in many countries around the world. It is considered a means to provide local communities, including indigenous people, with recognition of their cultural practices in the use and management of the natural resources within a protected area, while working together with governments to achieve conservation goals. However, implementation of effective joint management has often been difficult because capacities and expectations among partners differ. Here we explore the potential of using a participatory monitoring and evaluation approach as a means of not only agreeing among partners on the objectives of joint management but also of measuring progress toward those objectives. In particular, we first describe the process used to develop criteria and indicators for measuring joint management effectiveness of a protected area in the Northern Territory, Australia, involving the parks Aboriginal Traditional Owners, their legal representatives, government, and researchers. We then analyze the process of applying a participatory approach to developing indicators and its contribution to improving equity among the partners. We consider the effectiveness of a participatory process within the context of the relationships, capacities, skills, communication, and cross-cultural information sharing. We found that at the early stages of joint management, the partners mostly identify process indicators related to human and social capital assets. Cross-cultural engagement in the early stages of the monitoring and evaluation cycle is challenged by issues relating to communication, institutional and community capacities, representation, and flexibility in ways of working together while learning by doing. We conclude, however, that a participatory monitoring and evaluation approach in which partners agree equally on the identification of criteria and indicators to measure agreed management outcomes has the potential of improving equitable participation, decision making and working relationships, which in turn will lead to improved park management effectiveness and community outcomes.

Collaborative measurement of performance of jointly managed protected areas in Northern Australia

Responsibility for the management of many protected areas in the Northern Territory, Australia, is shared between the management agency and the aboriginal owners of that land. We describe (1) the creation and types of indicators developed by partners in a participatory process to measure management effectiveness, (2) the assessment method used to monitor progress, and (3) the results of the first cycle of evaluations in four jointly managed parks. Although each pilot park area has distinctive features, we were able to identify a set of twelve common indicators that were applied across the four park areas. The agreed indicators, which were scored using a color scale to indicate level of achievement, were primarily concerned with process rather than outcome, with particular emphasis on the strength of social relationships. Thus, there were indicators that assessed performance in governance and decision making, application and interpretation of cultural heritage and traditional ecological knowledge, expansion of social capital, human and financial resources, and visitors, with little emphasis on the biophysical outcomes of the management. The emphasis on the quality of the process of joint management was thought to indicate that the relationship between the joint management partners was relatively new, with trust only starting to develop. We discuss opportunities and difficulties for replication and adaptation of indicators to all jointly managed parks in the Northern Territory.

Prospects for whale shark conservation in Eastern Indonesia through bajo traditional ecological knowledge and community-based monitoring.

The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a long-lived migratory species inhabiting tropical and warm-temperate waters worldwide. Seasonal aggregations of whale sharks in shallow coastal waters of many countries have led to the development of ecotourism industries. Whale sharks that aggregate seasonally at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia have a migration range within Indonesian and Southeast Asian waters. However, very little is known about their behaviour, local migration patterns, or potential threats faced in this region. In this study, we investigated traditional ecological knowledge of whale sharks through interviews with Bajo and other fishers from five settlements in the Timor and Roti Islands in eastern Indonesia. We found that there are culturally driven prohibitions and customary beliefs concerning whale sharks among Bajo fishermen, who commonly sight sharks in the Timor Sea, in southern Indonesian and Timor Leste waters. Sightings are most common during the months of August to December. Interviews also indicate a low level of harvesting of whale sharks in the region. The results demonstrate the potential for combining traditional ecological knowledge and new technology to develop whale shark management strategies, and to determine the predictability of whale shark appearances as one vital factor in assessing the potential for development of small-scale whale shark ecotourism initiatives.

An unlikely partnership: fishers’ participation in a small-scale fishery data collection program in the Timor Sea

Traditional fisheries stock assessment methods and fishery independent surveys are costly and time consuming exercises. However fishers trained in data collection and utilising other skills can reduce costs and improve fishery assessments and management. A data collection program was conducted by Australian and Indonesian scientists with small-scale Indonesian sea cucumber fishers to evaluate the approach and then capture its benefits. The data fishers recorded allowed for the first stock assessment of this trans-boundary fishery during its centuries-long existence at Scott Reef in north-western Australia. The program also included interviews with fishers capturing the social, economic, and demographic aspects of the fishery. Economic inputs to fishing were complemented by fishery revenue data voluntarily submitted when fishers returned to port and sold their catch. Catch data recorded by fishers demonstrated much higher abundances than estimates obtained using standard visual transect methods and accurately reflected the true catch composition. However, they also showed extreme rates of exploitation. Interviews revealed social and economic factors that would be important considerations if management interventions were made. The program’s approach and the time scientists spent on the fishers’ vessels were key ingredients to fishers’ participation and the utility of the results. Despite the program’s achievements the information generated has not led to improved management or had any direct benefits for the participants. Sustaining the program in the longer term requires that its value is better captured.

Social Wellbeing and the Values of Small-scale Fisheries

This book advances discussions of values in fisheries by showing the rich theoretical insights and connections possible when value is grounded in a multi-dimensional social well being approach. Questions of value have long been a central, if often unacknowledged, concern in maritime studies and in research on fisheries. Social scientists have looked at changing perceptions of value as coastal regions and fisheries have industrialized, economic interconnections have deepened, ecosystems have been depleted, shifts in population have occurred, and governance arrangements have been transformed. With a focus on the diverse ways in which small-scale fisheries are valued, the contributions to this volume address these and other themes through cases from numerous countries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Australian indigenous women's seafood harvesting practices and prospects for integrating aquaculture

Purpose - – The purpose of this study is to explore Australian Indigenous women’s customary use of marine resources and views on aquaculture as a development opportunity. The value participants placed on economic, social and cultural outcomes were explored, as were benefit sharing, governance and business considerations. Design/methodology/approach - – Using a form of action research, workshops were conducted with a focus group of Indigenous women and interviews with men and women living on a remote island off northern Australia. Multimedia materials and a game were used to elicit a deeper understanding and facilitate discussion. Findings - – Women preferred aquaculture options respectful of culture and accommodating cultural and family obligations, that engage young adults in meaningful work, improve access to sea country and provide local foods and support economic development. Participants placed significant dependence on their governance body to support businesses and expressed disparate views on profit sharing. Women continue to engage in customary harvesting and fishing but various limitations impact on this. Research limitations/implications - – Conclusions based on one case study need to be confirmed in other communities. Future research should include a broader representation of youth and strategies to improve people’s understanding of aquaculture operations and business management. Social implications - – This research improves our understanding of Indigenous women’s preferred economic development pathways and their advocacy role within the community. These findings are relevant for policy-makers, businesses, other Indigenous communities and researchers. Originality/value - – This paper seeks to recognise and integrate Indigenous women’s economic and cultural aspirations within development policy. Such a place-based, gender-based consultative process is generally lacking in the Australian Indigenous policy arena.

Governance and Governability: The Small-Scale Purse Seine Fishery in Pulau Rote, Eastern Indonesia

Rote is Indonesia’s southern-most island with a population of approximately 128,000 people. Largely unregulated small-scale fisheries are integral to local livelihood strategies. Local catches are highly diverse, which reflects regional biodiversity and mixed fishing strategies. Rote’s four mile coastal marine zone open to local small-scale fisheries is porous, resulting in competition against fishers from outside the district. Beyond these four miles local fishers compete against large-scale fishing operations for declining resources. To maintain fisheries sustainability and improve fishing-dependant livelihoods, improved governance is needed. Aligning with the interactive governance framework, this chapter examines a small-scale purse seine fishery operating around Rote waters, looking in particular at the implications of governance change through a coherent, carefully prioritized, reform scheme of investment and management. We argue that the major challenges to effective governance frameworks for small-scale fisheries in Rote include: (i) poor information flow that impedes new discourses on the comparative advantages of alternative arrangements leaving governing bodies consistently confronted by wicked problems; (ii) local attitudes towards compliance with fisheries laws and a limited capacity for enforcement; and (iii) a hierarchical governance system characterized by insecure tenure and competing governance priorities. We also present and argue for some likely pathways to improved governance.

Forest and agrarian change in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh

Agricultural expansion has transformed forest habitats at alarming rates across the globe, but especially so in tropical landscapes (Laurance et al. 2014; Shackelford et al. 2014) due to increasing global demands for food, fiber and biofuels (Tilman and Clark, 2014). This has resulted in mosaic landscapes encompassing varying levels of tree cover, human settlement and agricultural production units. The expansion of agriculture has resulted in large-scale habitat loss, fragmentation of forests and simplification of natural ecosystems, causing increases in the probability of extinction in small and isolated populations of both flora and fauna (Tilman et al. 1994), significant losses in biological diversity (Fahrig 2003; Ewers and Didham 2006; Krauss et al. 2010) and negative impacts on many ecosystem services (Hooper et al. 2005; Tscharntke et al. 2008).

Understanding Social Wellbeing and Values of Small-Scale Fisheries amongst the Sama-Bajau of Archipelagic Southeast Asia

The Sama-Bajau represent one of the most widely dispersed Indigenous groups in Southeast Asia. Recent estimates indicate a total population of approximately 1.1 million, with around 200,000 living in areas of high biodiversity in the islands of eastern Indonesia, 347,000 in Malaysia (Sabah) and 564,000 in the Philippines. Sama-Bajau culture is intimately connected to marine environments on which they depend for subsistence and cash income, as well as their cultural identity. Culturally defined patterns of fishing activity (including migratory expeditions) unite all sectors of Sama-Bajau communities through catching, consuming, processing and trading of marine resources. Fishing and gathering of shellfish and other strand resources provide the focus for individual and communal relations within villages and across extensive kin and trading networks. The maintenance and transmission of Indigenous language and knowledge between generations occurs through socialisation into livelihoods and related social and cultural activities. As such, customary beliefs and practices in relation to boats and sea spirits endure among the Sama-Bajau, and are primarily oriented to ensuring return on fishing effort. Sama-Bajau small-scale fisheries (SSF) across insular Southeast Asia therefore present a highly relevant case study. We will explore the dimensions of social wellbeing in the Sama-Bajau context and identify how the Sama-Bajau have responded to endogenously developed and exogenously induced drivers. Utilising our collective experience of Sama-Bajau society in diverse locations across Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, we will discuss the parameters of continuity and transformation in the Sama-Bajau way of life. The case study offers the opportunity to explore how historical and contemporary drivers have contributed to the variability of Sama-Bajau social welfare, spatially and temporally.

Recent trends of forest cover change and ecosystem services in eastern upland region of Bangladesh

Forest cover changes have diverse outcomes for the livelihoods of rural people across the developing world. However, these outcomes are poorly characterized across varying landscapes. This study examined forest cover changes, associated drivers, and impacts on ecosystem services supporting livelihoods in three distinct areas (i.e. remote, intermediate and on-road) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh. The three zones had features of decreasing distance to major roads, decreasing levels of forest cover, and increasing levels of agricultural change. Data was collected from satellite images for 1989-2014, structured household interviews, and group discussions using Participatory Rural Appraisal approaches with local communities to integrate and contrast local peoples perceptions of forest cover and ecosystem service change with commonly used methods for mapping forest dynamics. Satellite image analysis showed a net gain of forest areas from 1989 to 2003 followed by a net loss from 2003 to 2014. The gain was slightly higher in intermediate (1.68%) and on-road (1.33%) zones than in the remote (0.5%) zone. By contrast, almost 90% of households perceived severe forest loss and 75% of respondents observed concomitant declines in the availability of fuel wood, construction materials, wild foods, and fresh water. People also reported traveling further from the household to harvest forest products. The main drivers of forest loss identified included increased harvesting of timber and fuel wood over time in the intermediate and on-road zones, whereas swidden farming persisted as the major driver of change over time in the remote zone. The contrast between remotely-sensed forest gains and household-perceived forest loss shows community experiences may be a critical addition to satellite imagery analysis by revealing the livelihood outcomes linked to patterns of forest loss and gain. Community experiences may also evoke solutions by characterizing local drivers of forest change. Failing to disaggregate the impacts of forest loss and gains on ecosystems services over time may lead to uninformed management and further negative consequences for human well-being.