Mismatches between elements of success and failure of marine protected areas

SYLVAINE GIAKOUMI; JENNIFER MCGOWAN; MORENA MILLS; MARIA BEGER; RODRIGO BUSTAMANTE; ANTHONY CHARLES; PATRICK CHRISTIE; MATT FOX; PABLO GARCÍA BORBOROGLU; STEFAN GELCICH; PAOLO GUIDETTI; PETER MACKELWORTH; MAINA MBUI; LAURENCE MCCOOK; FIORENZA MICHELI; LANCE MORGAN; LAURA M. REYES; ALLAN WHITE; HUGH P. POSSINGHAM

Montpellier

Congreso; 27th International Congress for Conservation Biology 4th European Congress for Conservation Biology; 2015

Society for Conservation Biology

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are the cornerstone of marine conservation strategies. Currently, more than 7,300 MPAs cover about 3% of the world?s marine environment. While the biological benefits of enforced MPAs have been widely documented, best practices for effective MPA design, implementation, and management are still debatable. Comparative studies that assess factors contributing to effective MPA functioning have enabled us to explore common elements of success across marine regions. Cross-regional assessments of ?failures? are less common, whereas the question of whether ?failure? translates into lack of ?success? has not received attention before. Twenty conservationists experienced in MPA planning and management assessed the elements attributed to MPA success and failure using a total of 28 case studies from around the world. A modified Delphi technique was applied to elicit information from experts. Our results show that the principal drivers of success and failure of MPA effectiveness were more related to socioeconomic characteristics rather than MPA design features. In accordance to a large body of literature, stakeholder engagement and its absence were identified as key factors in MPA success and failure respectively. Interestingly, all other elements considered the most important for MPA success and failure did not match. For example, the lack of surveillance was identified as a key factor for failure but the presence of effective surveillance was rarely selected as important for success. Assessment of common failures across MPAs as well as mismatches between factors attributed to MPA ?success? and ?failure? can provide valuable insights that can inform the development of MPA policy.