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Management preferences, perceived benefits and conflicts among resource users and managers in the Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

T.R. McCLANAHAN ,
J. CINNER ,
A.T. KAMUKURU ,
C. ABUNGE  and
J. NDAGALA
T.R. McCLANAHAN*
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, Marine Programs, Bronx, NY 10460, USA
J. CINNER
Affiliation:
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
A.T. KAMUKURU
Affiliation:
University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
C. ABUNGE
Affiliation:
Coral Reef Conservation Project, PO Box 99470, Mombasa, Kenya
J. NDAGALA
Affiliation:
Mafia Island Marine Park, Mafia, Tanzania
*
*Correspondence: Dr Tim R. McClanahan e-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

Conflicts between resource users and managers are common and well documented on Mafia Island (Tanzania), where there has been a history of unresolved conflict over marine conservation initiatives. The perceptions of fisheries and park restrictions among resource users and managers were evaluated to try to understand the underlying causes of these conflicts. Responses concerning management preferences of government officials employed by the Mafia Island Marine Park (MIMP), personnel of the fisheries department, and heads of households in three villages in and out of the Park were compared. The largest differences in perceptions were found between villagers and managers, but all respondents agreed that minimum fish lengths and gear restrictions were beneficial and that benefits increased along the scale of the individual – community – national government. Villagers and government officials differed most in their perceptions towards area-based management, spatial and temporal closures, and species restrictions. Perceptions of management restrictions and benefits were only weakly correlated with the socioeconomic status of the villagers, but more strongly correlated with their living in or out of the Park and their family's economic options. The most negative perceptions towards restrictions were found in villages near fisheries closures, where there was a heavy reliance on marine resources and a higher numbers of jobs per household, but less reliance on cash crops, animal husbandry and tourism. The lack of these three options appears to have produced lower levels of support for MIMP and associated restrictions, and might be overcome by (1) using gear and minimum size restrictions more than fisheries closures and (2) increasing access to tourism, cash crops, animal husbandry and salaried employment, rather than simply increasing livelihood diversity.

Keywords

attitudesco-managementcoral reefsfishery closurefisheries managementgearmarine protected areaIndian OceanNIMBY (not in my back yard)park management
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , December 2008 , pp. 340 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2009

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