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National-level evaluation of a community-based marine management initiative

Community-based approaches to conservation and natural resource management are considered essential to meeting global conservation targets. Despite widespread adoption, there is little understanding about successful and unsuccessful community-based practices because of the challenges of designing robust evaluations to estimate impacts and analyse the underlying mechanisms to impact. Here we present findings from a national scale evaluation of the ‘locally managed marine areas’ network in Fiji, a marine community-based management initiative.

Locally-Managed Marine Areas: A guide to supporting Community-Based Adaptive Management

This paper is designed primarily for coastal community members, leaders and supporting partner organizations to gain the knowledge and skills that they need to establish a successful locally-managed marine area (LMMA) with community-based adaptive management (CBAM). The paper is appropriate for people who are members of the community or highly familiar with it and has already been used in countries where LMMAs are established. The four phases are thoroughly explained:

Five culturally protected water body practices in Fiji: Current status and contemporary displacement challenges

Community-based natural resource management in Oceania has its roots in culturally protected water body(CPWB) practices. However, CPWBs in Fiji have been under-researched regarding what practices exist, and the extent to which they are currently practiced. Archival research and interviews with 201 individuals across Fiji’s189 districts revealed five CPWB types. Conception, Meconium, and Circumcision CPWBs are at risk of practice cessation, while Chiefly investiture and Funerary, have 15% and 42% actively practicing districts, respectively.

Locally-managed marine areas: multiple objectives and diverse strategies

Community-based management and co-management are mainstream approaches to marine conservation and sustainable resource management. In the tropical Pacific, these approaches have proliferated through locally-managed marine areas (LMMAs). LMMAs have garnered support because of their adaptability to different contexts and focus on locally identified objectives, negotiated and implemented by stakeholders. While LMMA managers may be knowledgeable about their specific sites, broader understanding of objectives, management actions and outcomes of local management efforts remain limited.