{"id":10533,"date":"2017-11-24T21:01:29","date_gmt":"2017-11-24T21:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=10533"},"modified":"2017-11-25T21:03:46","modified_gmt":"2017-11-25T21:03:46","slug":"to-succeed-large-ocean-sanctuaries-need-to-benefit-both-sea-life-and-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/to-succeed-large-ocean-sanctuaries-need-to-benefit-both-sea-life-and-people\/","title":{"rendered":"To succeed, large ocean sanctuaries need to benefit both sea life and people"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Gruby<\/a>, Colorado State University<\/a><\/em>; Lisa Campbell<\/a>, Duke University<\/a><\/em>; Luke Fairbanks<\/a>, Duke University<\/a><\/em>, and Noella Gray<\/a>, University of Guelph<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

There is growing concern that the world\u2019s oceans are in crisis because of climate change<\/a>, overfishing<\/a>, pollution<\/a> and other stresses. One response is creating marine protected areas<\/a>, or ocean parks, to conserve sea life and key habitats that support it, such as coral reefs. <\/p>\n

In 2000, marine protected areas covered just 0.7 percent<\/a> of the world\u2019s oceans. Today 6.4 percent<\/a> of the oceans are protected \u2013 about 9 million square miles. In 2010, 196 countries set a goal of protecting 10 percent<\/a> of the world\u2019s oceans by 2020.<\/p>\n

Ocean parks that are very large and often remote account for most recent progress toward this goal, but they also are controversial<\/a>. Some ecologists view them as the most effective way to protect ecosystems, deep-sea and open ocean habitats and large, highly migratory species<\/a>. Critics say they may divert attention<\/a> from conservation priorities closer to more densely populated areas, and are hard to monitor and enforce<\/a>. And social scientists have questioned whether protecting such large zones infringes on indigenous people\u2019s rights<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Our research<\/a> seeks to inform conservation policies that are effective, equitable and socially just. In our new study<\/a> of established or proposed large marine protected areas in Bermuda, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Palau, Kiribati and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, we show that efforts to protect even remote sites can generate important outcomes for local residents that they may view as positive or negative. They can increase national pride and political leverage for indigenous populations, for example. They can also complicate international conservation negotiations or cause broad shifts in national economies. <\/p>\n

Here we discuss the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, one of the world\u2019s largest, which was created in 2015. This sanctuary illustrates how large-scale ocean conservation has the potential to produce important social benefits.<\/p>\n

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\n Reefs in Palau.<\/span>
\n Rebecca Gruby<\/span>, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Palau\u2019s strategy<\/h2>\n

Palau is a small nation spread across several hundred islands in the western Pacific. As with many Pacific Island nations, Palau\u2019s offshore tuna fishery is dominated by foreign vessels. Most of the revenues and fish that it produces are exported overseas. Only a small portion of the lowest-graded tuna makes it to Palau\u2019s domestic market. At the same time, demand for seafood from Palau\u2019s growing tourist industry is stressing<\/a> other fish species in nearshore reefs.<\/p>\n

In 2016, 136,572 tourists visited Palau<\/a> \u2013 almost eight times the resident population. Palau is struggling to balance increasing tourist demand for seafood with the needs of local residents, who depend on reef fish for about 90 percent of their fish intake<\/a>. <\/p>\n

As part of a sweeping conservation and development vision, the sanctuary designates<\/a> 80 percent of Palau\u2019s exclusive economic zone (defined in international law as waters extending from 12 up to 200 miles off its coastlines) as a no-take reserve, and the rest as a domestic fishing zone. Virtually all of the fish caught in this zone must be sold in Palau. Fishing in the no-take reserve will decline incrementally and end by 2020. Palau\u2019s territorial, or coastal, waters lie outside the sanctuary boundaries, but are protected by other policies like the Protected Areas Network<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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\n The Palau National Marine Sanctuary covers 193,000 square miles and includes 80 percent of the nation\u2019s Exclusive Economic Zone \u2013 an area extending from 12 up to 200 nautical miles from its coasts, in which it has exclusive rights for fishing and other economic activities.<\/span>
\n Luke Fairbanks; data from from marineregions.org, protectedplanet.net, ESRI.<\/span>, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This design seeks to protect marine species by eliminating foreign commercial fishing in most of Palau\u2019s waters, while developing a domestic fishing industry that supplies local markets with large open-ocean species like tuna. By shifting more consumption to these fish, it aims to reduce pressure on reef fisheries near shore. And by spotlighting these actions as part of a shift toward high-end tourism, it seeks to promote sustainable economic development. <\/p>\n

As Palau\u2019s President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr. summarized<\/a>, \u201cThe true purpose of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary is to protect our resources for our people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who benefits?<\/h2>\n

Translating these goals into action has triggered social changes within Palau. Sanctuary managers and nongovernment organizations are raising funds to provide more local fishermen with the midrange fishing vessels and capacity they need to access fish in the offshore domestic fishing zone. Many local fishermen are eager for this new livelihood source. <\/p>\n

Palau\u2019s government has drafted legislation and developed marketing campaigns<\/a> that feature Palau\u2019s conservation commitments. It is also increasing visitor fees and asking tourists to sign a Palau Pledge<\/a> upon arrival, in which they promise to act in an environmentally and culturally responsible way during their stay.<\/p>\n

While critics argue this strategy will do more for \u201crich tourists<\/a>\u201d than for conservation, we believe such assessments are premature. The goal is to limit the number of toilets flushing, divers on reefs and reef fish being eaten, while increasing revenue through higher returns from fewer visitors. <\/p>\n

Not everyone in the tourism industry supports these changes. But models suggest that they can enable Palau to meet future seafood demand while protecting its marine resources<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Importantly, we have seen no evidence that these changes will restrict local residents\u2019 access to the spaces and resources they currently use. The domestic fishing zone is designed to give Palauans more access to fish in their waters. And Palau\u2019s leaders have historically protected local access to the 445 Rock Islands<\/a> \u2013 the primary destination for visitors \u2013 by designating only a small number for tourist use. <\/p>\n

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