Given the socio-economic consequences associated with declaring areas of ocean protected in order to achieve conservation objectives, this paper contributes to the growing global need to assess Marine Protected Areas ...Given the socio-economic consequences associated with declaring areas of ocean protected in order to achieve conservation objectives, this paper contributes to the growing global need to assess Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as an effective management tool. It adds to the current body of knowledge on MPA effectiveness by conducting an evaluation of the Tobago Cays Marine Park (TCMP), located in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in the eastern Caribbean, using a modified MPA effectiveness framework. Due to the limited information existing about the current performance of this MPA, this assessment also provides needed insight on the effect that the TCMP is having on the marine ecosystem, as well as its overall management performance. By comparing the performance of the MPA over a 10-year span (2007 and 2016), the results indicate that overall, the TCMP could be described as having limited success when key management categories of context, planning, input, process, output and outcomes are evaluated. In particular, efforts dedicated to planning, process and outcomes are assessed as deficient. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that efforts to realize the stated goals relating to conservation, public awareness and public education were being neglected. However, considerable effort was being expended by TCMP staff on achieving the remaining goal focusing on deriving economic benefits from touristic activities in the Park. Preliminary field research examining the effects of the TCMP on the abundance and density of an economically important species, Lobatus gigas, (commonly referred to as the queen conch) showed the TCMP as having no effect towards conch protection. The results and recommendations of this study, combined with continued monitoring of a recommended targeted suite of indicators, could contribute to better-informed adaptive MPA management, leading to progress towards the achievement of the stated goals for the TCMP.展开更多
The importance of evaluating the success of policies developed to effectively manage coastal and marine resource use is well documented. However, few frameworks exist that allow for a comparative examination of existi...The importance of evaluating the success of policies developed to effectively manage coastal and marine resource use is well documented. However, few frameworks exist that allow for a comparative examination of existing policy instruments, as opposed to specific initiatives, which assess governance performance aimed at addressing issues arising in the coastal zone. This paper describes the process and findings for evaluating the feasibility of a modified Coastal Sustainability Standard (CoSS) framework that seeks to measure the effectiveness of individual planning instruments within overlapping spatial boundaries in the landward and marine areas in the southeast region of Cuba. Through workshops conducted in Santiago de Cuba and Guamá municipalities with key representatives involved in coastal management and planning, the utility of the framework was assessed using the main instruments of territorial planning in Cuba, namely integrated river basin management, territorial planning in coastal municipalities and marine and coastal management. While, the findings suggest that the modified CoSS framework can be used to assess the effectiveness of these planning instruments in the region, and workshop participants also suggested improvements to better match its use to the characteristics of the study region.展开更多
文摘Given the socio-economic consequences associated with declaring areas of ocean protected in order to achieve conservation objectives, this paper contributes to the growing global need to assess Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as an effective management tool. It adds to the current body of knowledge on MPA effectiveness by conducting an evaluation of the Tobago Cays Marine Park (TCMP), located in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in the eastern Caribbean, using a modified MPA effectiveness framework. Due to the limited information existing about the current performance of this MPA, this assessment also provides needed insight on the effect that the TCMP is having on the marine ecosystem, as well as its overall management performance. By comparing the performance of the MPA over a 10-year span (2007 and 2016), the results indicate that overall, the TCMP could be described as having limited success when key management categories of context, planning, input, process, output and outcomes are evaluated. In particular, efforts dedicated to planning, process and outcomes are assessed as deficient. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that efforts to realize the stated goals relating to conservation, public awareness and public education were being neglected. However, considerable effort was being expended by TCMP staff on achieving the remaining goal focusing on deriving economic benefits from touristic activities in the Park. Preliminary field research examining the effects of the TCMP on the abundance and density of an economically important species, Lobatus gigas, (commonly referred to as the queen conch) showed the TCMP as having no effect towards conch protection. The results and recommendations of this study, combined with continued monitoring of a recommended targeted suite of indicators, could contribute to better-informed adaptive MPA management, leading to progress towards the achievement of the stated goals for the TCMP.
文摘The importance of evaluating the success of policies developed to effectively manage coastal and marine resource use is well documented. However, few frameworks exist that allow for a comparative examination of existing policy instruments, as opposed to specific initiatives, which assess governance performance aimed at addressing issues arising in the coastal zone. This paper describes the process and findings for evaluating the feasibility of a modified Coastal Sustainability Standard (CoSS) framework that seeks to measure the effectiveness of individual planning instruments within overlapping spatial boundaries in the landward and marine areas in the southeast region of Cuba. Through workshops conducted in Santiago de Cuba and Guamá municipalities with key representatives involved in coastal management and planning, the utility of the framework was assessed using the main instruments of territorial planning in Cuba, namely integrated river basin management, territorial planning in coastal municipalities and marine and coastal management. While, the findings suggest that the modified CoSS framework can be used to assess the effectiveness of these planning instruments in the region, and workshop participants also suggested improvements to better match its use to the characteristics of the study region.
