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Adaptive Comanagement of a Marine Protected Area Network in Fiji
Author(s) -
WEEKS REBECCA,
JUPITER STACY D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/cobi.12153
Subject(s) - adaptive management , marine protected area , environmental resource management , context (archaeology) , resilience (materials science) , wildlife , environmental planning , process (computing) , natural resource management , business , protected area , corporate governance , resource management (computing) , natural resource , psychological resilience , resource (disambiguation) , geography , computer science , political science , environmental science , ecology , habitat , psychology , biology , law , psychotherapist , computer network , archaeology , operating system , thermodynamics , physics , finance
Adaptive management of natural resources is an iterative process of decision making whereby management strategies are progressively changed or adjusted in response to new information. Despite an increasing focus on the need for adaptive conservation strategies, there remain few applied examples. We describe the 9‐year process of adaptive comanagement of a marine protected area network in Kubulau District, Fiji. In 2011, a review of protected area boundaries and management rules was motivated by the need to enhance management effectiveness and the desire to improve resilience to climate change. Through a series of consultations, with the Wildlife Conservation Society providing scientific input to community decision making, the network of marine protected areas was reconfigured so as to maximize resilience and compliance. Factors identified as contributing to this outcome include well‐defined resource‐access rights; community respect for a flexible system of customary governance; long‐term commitment and presence of comanagement partners; supportive policy environment for comanagement; synthesis of traditional management approaches with systematic monitoring; and district‐wide coordination, which provided a broader spatial context for adaptive‐management decision making. Co‐Manejo Adaptativo de una Red de Áreas Marinas Protegidas en Fiyi