28 Social and cultural inclusion in conservation

To sustainably manage marine ecosystems and biodiversity, a wholistic approach which incorporates the three pillar of sustainability must be applied. Considering local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and the socioeconomic aspects of conservation are essential as the world works towards successfully protecting 30% of the worlds oceans by 2030. A sustainable ocean can provide food and other resources, livelihoods, economic growth and environmental protection allowing marine and human communities to thrive.

‘A Line of People on a Beach’ by Sudheera Bandara used under a Pexels License

Socioeconomic benefits of marine ecosystem and biodiversity conservation.

Conserving biodiversity through measures such as marine protected areas (MPAs), and ecosystem-based spatial planning, increases the size, number and types of organisms present which allows greater catch in fisheries providing benefits to local communities in terms of a food source and economic value. Habitat protection can increase other ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, oxygen production, tourism and recreation which in turn benefit local communities.

To achieve successful marine protected areas which provide benefits to local communities, integrated collaborative management incorporating all stakeholders, community education and increased communication between stakeholders as well as enforcement and monitoring protocols (Di Cintio et al., 2023).

Efficient functioning of MPAs can be sustained by prioritising the involvement of stakeholders in MPA design, implementation and management, as well as by improving communication channels between management authorities and stakeholders (mostly, fishers). The ultimate goal of these factors is that of working to improve stakeholders’ acceptance of MPAs, which represents a pivotal component of MPA effectiveness.

This text is from “Avoiding “Paper Parks”: A Global Literature Review on Socioeconomic Factors Underpinning the Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas” by © 2023 Antonio Di Cintio, Federico Niccolini, Sara Scipioni and Fabio Bulleri, licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland, which is licensed under CC BY 4.0, except for the first two section paragraphs, which has been added by Trish Corbett.

Social inclusion and integrated collaborative management are key to conservation management

Check out the TED talk video below, where Alasdair Harris shares how a handful of fishing villages sparked a marine conservation revolution.

Empowering Indigenous Peoples and communities through local marine stewardship and ocean defenders.

Recent years have seen growing attention to the role of local environmental stewardship and environmental defenders in protecting nature and safeguarding the basic human right to a healthy environment. Environmental stewardship refers to action undertaken by various groups and communities to sustainably use, manage, protect or restore species, habitats, or ecosystems (Bennett et al. 2018).

Moa Island (Kubin) Rangers by © Australian Institute of Marine Science 1996, Dr Ray Berkelmans (Australian Institute of Marine Science) via eAtlas is licensed under CC BY 4.0 

Marine stewardship refers to actions to sustainably use, manage, protect, or restore the marine and coastal environment. This might include, for example, management of local fisheries (through establishing gear restrictions, catch limits, or size rules), protection of certain areas or species (through area closures, temporal closures, species restrictions), or restoration of habitats or important ecological areas (such as wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, spawning areas). Locally driven efforts to manage, protect, or restore coastal and marine resources, biodiversity, and critical habitats have been documented around the world (Table 1). For example, small-scale fishers have collaboratively implemented gear and harvesting rules to manage their own fisheries (McConney, Medeiros & Pena, 2014), coastal communities have created locally managed marine areas to balance sustainable use and marine protection (Jupiter et al., 2014), and Indigenous Peoples have established complex institutions and management regimes to protect marine resources (Ban, Wilson & Neasloss, 2020). Women, youth and elders play a central, albeit often unrecognised, role as leaders and managers in marine stewardship efforts (Michalena et al., 2020).

Table 1. Examples of local marine stewardship activities

Local marine stewardship practices are often the continuation or resurgence of long-standing or customary practices, that have developed over time, based on traditional knowledge, religious or cultural beliefs (e.g., taboo areas), and an intimate connection to place (Johannes, 2002; von der Porten et al., 2019). Other local stewardship initiatives – such as the creation of community-based marine protected areas (Kockel et al., 2019), climate change mitigation efforts linked to the protection of mangroves or seagrass to sequester carbon (Vierros, 2017), and the restoration of coastal wetlands to provide a buffer against flooding or rising sea levels (Wilson & Forsyth, 2018) – have emerged more recently in partnership with networks of communities and organisations, in order to capture the economic benefits from new carbon markets, or in response to emerging climate threats.

‘Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary pelican’ by Melburnian is licensed under CC BY 3.0

Ocean defenders are individuals and groups who defend and protect the marine and coastal environment and the human rights of coastal populations against existential threats. Coastal environments and populations can, for instance, be threatened by the incursion or impacts of ocean-based economic development, the legal or illegal dumping of pollution or hazardous wastes, or the over-harvesting of local marine resources by external actors (Bennett et al., 2021; Ertör, 2021).

This text and table is from “Local marine stewardship and ocean defenders” 2022, by Nathan J. Bennett, Philippe Le Billon, Dyhia Belhabib & Paula Satizábal, which is licensed under CC BY 4.0,  except for the bolded words to add emphasis to the text, which has been added by Trish Corbett.