New studies lend insight into the performance of Caribbean MPAs 

 

URI collaborators Tracey Dalton (MAF), Graham Forrester (NRS) and Richard Pollnac (MAF) led a rapid assessment of thirty-one marine protected areas (MPAs) and their associated human communities in the wider Caribbean and present their findings in two recent journal articles.

One article examines how MPAs in the wider Caribbean are making progress toward their social (or human-oriented) and ecological objectives. Findings show that Caribbean MPAs have many objectives related to both social and ecological conditions and that most MPAs are making at least some progress towards achieving these objectives. Where MPAs are not meeting their objectives, the authors recommend that planners and managers consider reallocating human and financial resources to address deficiencies and re-evaluate existing goals and objectives. The article “Are Caribbean MPAs making progress toward their goals and objectives?” is published in the Marine Policy Journal and the abstract is available at www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X14003467.

Another study investigates causal relationships between characteristics of a MPA & its associated communities, user compliance with MPA rules, and ecological performance of marine protected areas (MPAs). Findings show that active management, in the form of formal monitoring, surveillance, and the collection of tourist access fees, and enforced punishments are strong drivers of compliance with MPA rules in the Caribbean. Results also indicate that these drivers of compliance are themselves influenced by factors related to the MPA and its associated communities, including the level of socioeconomic development in the communities and whether the MPA is part of a political network like the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System or a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The article “Investigating causal pathways linking site-level characteristics, compliance and ecological performance in Caribbean MPAs” will be published in the May 2015 issue of the Journal of Coastal Management (http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ucmg20 ).

Please contact Dr. Tracey Dalton at dalton@uri.edu if you have any questions or comments about these studies.