Rick Rollins

Incorporating recreational users into marine protected area planning: a study of recreational boating in British Columbia, Canada.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) and zoning plans require an understanding of stakeholders if they are to be successful at achieving social and biological objectives. This study examines recreational boaters in a proposed MPA in British Columbia, Canada, using the recreation opportunity spectrum (ROS) and models of recreation conflict as a basis for investigation. Boaters (nxa0=xa0543) visiting the region during the summer completed face-to-face surveys. Results show variability in boater setting preferences, supporting an ROS-based approach to MPA planning and zoning. While boaters as a whole placed the greatest importance on natural settings, sailboat operators expressed stronger preferences for natural and quiet settings relative to motorboats, and motorboat operators expressed stronger preferences for settings characterized by built facilities and extractive activities relative to sailboats. Several marine activities emerged as sources of perceived conflict for boaters, including personal watercraft, commercial whale watching vessels, and shellfish aquaculture. Our analysis indicates that while some of these may be addressed through zoning, others are better addressed through education and communication. Recommendations for both MPA management and future research are made.

Understanding Recreational Boater Attitudes to Zoning in a Proposed Marine Protected Area

Although the success of marine protected areas (MPAs) and associated zoning schemes is largely dependent on stakeholder acceptance and support, there have been relatively few studies examining the response of recreational stakeholders to MPA proposals. This study investigates the response of recreational boaters to a proposed MPA in British Columbia, Canada. Using a structured questionnaire (n = 543) and a focus group (n = 6), the research examines the level of support for the concept of marine zoning and identifies key factors influencing support or opposition. Results indicate that a small majority of recreational boaters support the concept of marine zoning, but that there are areas of concern that ought to be addressed as MPA implementation proceeds. Support for zoning was strongly related to perceived benefits, particularly environmental benefits. Furthermore, perceived benefits overall were found to outweigh concerns as determinants of recreational boater support for zoning. Major dimensions of opposition included perceptions of over-regulation, loss of access for boating, and mistrust of the government. A suggestion is that such concerns may be mitigated through focused communication and meaningful involvement of boaters in the zoning process.

Understanding inter-community performance assessments in community-based resource management at Avu Lagoon, Ghana

Community-based natural resources governance (CBNRG) is becoming increasingly important as a means to achieve both conservation and sustainable livelihood goals. Assessing the performance of such approaches is an important step in improving their performance and facilitating their expansion. However, CBNRG initiatives are often not restricted to one community, and significant differences may exist among communities that can be obscured using performance assessments that do not attend to those differences. This paper first assesses the performance of the Avu Lagoon Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) in Ghana through a survey of 232 households and an 18 participant workshop that compares desired outcomes with those outcomes that were perceived to have been achieved (i.e. performance). This paper next examines the differences among four communities within the Avu Lagoon CREMA and provides some insight as to why these differences occur. Results indicate that overall, achieved outcomes fall short of desired outcomes. This is particularly the case for socio-economic outcomes and less so for conservation outcomes. We also find that communities are more homogenous in their desired outcomes than they are in their assessment of performance outcomes. There are important differences among the four communities in terms of the importance attached to outcomes and the achievement of those outcomes. Influential variables include how and who introduced the CBNRG concept to the local communities, existing socio-economic and cultural context, the development status and challenges of the community, effective leadership, and institutional capabilities.

Concerns and benefits of park-adjacent communities in Northern Ghana: the case of Mole National Park

ABSTRACT Protected areas are increasingly becoming islands of habitat surrounded by seas of cultivation and development. Communities experience both costs and benefits associated with nearby PAs, and perception of these influence support for PAs and subsequent conservation related behaviors. This paper explores the concerns and benefits of 10 adjacent communities surrounding Mole National Park in Ghana using key informants, focus groups and household surveys. Overall, most people have a positive attitude towards the park. Yet, in many communities respondents also have negative attitudes. Crop depredation, loss of farmlands, and lack of access to NTFPs are the top three concerns. Increased conservation awareness, provision of ecosystem services and maintenance of cultural identity are the top three benefits. This study examined a number of factors thought to influence attitudes to PAs, and found that the strongest predictor of a community’s attitude towards the park is whether it is involved in a community resource management area (CREMA). Other factors such as distance from the PA, involvement in tourism, culture, and demographics (age and gender) were also significant but of less importance. Knowledge of these influential factors can assist management to create more favourable perceptions of protected areas.

Devolution, coordination, and community-based natural resource management in Ghana’s community resource management areas

Abstract Two key trends in efforts to deliver linked social and ecological protected area outcomes are (1) the development of governance models that devolve decision-making authority and responsibility to the local level and (2) linking protected area ‘islands’ to larger governance landscapes. This paper centers on Ghana’s Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) protected area model, and assesses how CREMAs are evaluated at the local level, which actors are perceived to be important in CREMA management, and how linkages to non-local governance structures may influence CREMA outcomes. Using a mixed method approach, results show that CREMAs are generally seen as a mechanism by which local people can more transparently and freely participate in decision-making processes related to resource management. Respondents also felt that Chiefs and associated customary tenure institutions should play a central role in CREMA governance. On the other hand, links to non-local state actors were described as ineffective because of inadequate fiscal decentralization, weak/absent lower level governance structures and inattention to conservation and development as a distinct dual project. Respondents also noted that while CREMA governance structures provide a way to build linkages to non-local actors, there are missed opportunities to embed CREMA considerations in other non-local decision-making processes.

Community perceptions of the contributions of parks to sustainability in Canada

ABSTRACT National Parks are thought to contribute to sustainability by addressing conservation, social values and local tourism economies. However, some studies challenge these claims, suggesting that parks can create inequitable flows of costs and benefits to local communities. This study focussed on Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, and five nearby communities. Focus groups and 262 random surveys were used to examine perceived benefits and costs of the park to sustainability. The most important perceived benefits were environmental, followed by economic benefits and social benefits. Perceived costs were rated lower, and were most evident regarding economic impacts (e.g. inflated prices, inflated property values). However, perceptions varied substantially by community, particularly with the First Nations village of Esowista where perceived concerns were greater than in other communities. Contrary to expectations, perceptions were less correlated to length of residence, employment in tourism, employment in the park, involvement in park management or income.

Evaluating ‘good governance’: The development of a quantitative tool in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem

Protected areas (PAs) can provide important benefits to conservation and to communities. A key factor in the effective delivery of these benefits is the role of governance. There has been a growth in research developing frameworks to evaluate good PA governance, usually drawing on a set of principles that are associated with groups of indicators. In contrast to dominant qualitative approaches, this paper describes the development of a quantitative method for measuring effectiveness of protected area governance, as perceived by stakeholders in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem in Tanzania. The research developed a quantitative method for developing effectiveness measures of PA governance, using a set of 65 statements related to governance principles developed from a literature review. The instrument was administered to 389 individuals from communities located near PAs in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem. The results of a factor analysis suggest that statements load onto 10 factors that demonstrate high psychometric validity as measured by factor loadings, explained variance, and Cronbachs alpha reliability. The ten common factors that were extracted were: 1) legitimacy, 2) transparency and accountability, 3) responsiveness, 4) fairness, 5) participation, 6) ecosystem based management (EBM) and connectivity, 7) resilience, 8) achievements, 9) consensus orientation, and 10) power. The paper concludes that quantitative surveys can be used to evaluate governance of protected areas from a community-level perspective.

Nature-based tourism in Mole National Park, Ghana

Nature-based tourism (NBT) can provide significant inducement for conservation, as well as providing a setting for sustainable nature tourism that can benefit local communities. This study assesses strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of NBT in Mole National Park, Ghana, compares domestic and foreign tourists, and makes recommendations for improvement using data from key informants, focus groups, and tourists survey (N = 350). International and domestic tourists agreed on a number of issues with seeing wildlife and being close to nature as equally top-ranked motivations. Tourists had high levels of satisfaction with the park environment and guided tour, with elephants as the flagship species.