11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

18-21
Socio-Economic Monitoring (Socmon) As A Tool In The Management Of Marine
Protected Areas: Participatory Process And Initial Results In Palawan Province,
Philippines
Michael PIDO* 1 , Sheila VERGARA 2 , Melissa MACASAET 3 , John Francisco
PONTILLAS 4 , Marissa PONTILLAS 1 , Eva Marie PONCE DE LEON 1 , Delia
MARTINEZ 3 , Filomeno RACUYA 4
1 Palawan State University, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines, 2 Conservation International-
Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines, 3 City Government of Puerto Princesa, Puerto
Princesa City, Philippines, 4 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff, Puerto
Princesa City, Philippines
Methodological tools in the assessment of bio-physical parameters in marine protected
areas (MPAs) have been fairly standardized. The same level of consensus is not yet
reached in assessing the human dimension’s socio-economic and governance variables.
Socioeconomic Monitoring (SocMon) is a standardized set of guidelines on how to
conduct socio-economic monitoring for collecting and analyzing basic socio-economic
data useful for coastal management As a methodological tool, SocMon was employed to
assess the awareness of people's dependence on marine resources, perceptions of resource
conditions, threats to marine resources, use levels, and status of governance of two
locally-managed MPAs in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Province, Philippines.
Preliminary results show that there is an almost equal number of male and female
residents; almost half of the population are 20 years and below; few adults (barely 10%)
belong to a stakeholder organization; a quarter reached high school level; and the migrant
population now comprise nearly three quarters. They generally perceive the natural
resources’ status to be either good or very good. Male and female respondents share
similar positive attitudes towards non-market and non-use values of resources. Coastal
communities are aware of temporal benefits of marine resources and they would put a
higher value on future benefits (such as bequest values) rather than on current needs. In
the order of decreasing importance, threats to resources identified were: rampant cutting
of mangroves; destructive fishing activities for corals; and pollution for beaches. Overall,
the method was found very useful in providing basic socio-economic information and has
huge potential for between and across sites comparison to better inform management
decisions, including communication with stakeholders, and to form a baseline for current
socio-economic conditions of MMAs and coral reef areas. Methodologically, SocMon
has potential for large-scale use in the Philippines and Southeast Asia by virtue of its ease
in field application and data analysis.
18-22
Socio-Economic Status Of Communities Dependent On Coral Reefs in The Western
Indian Ocean
Innocent WANYONYI* 1 , David OBURA 2 , Delphine MALLERET-KING 1
1 socmon Wio, Cordio Ea, Mombasa, Kenya, 2 corals, Cordio Ea, Mombasa, Kenya
Coral reefs form the basis of the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in the
region. Numerous poor coastal households depend very highly on marine resources often
as a last economic resource for food and income, through extractive uses such as fishing.
Climatic change, destructive fishing, sand mining, pollution etc threaten coral reefs in the
Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region. To manage resources effectively, it is essential to
understand the context within which marine resource users live, their livelihood
constraints and opportunities. It is increasingly recognised in the region that for resource
management to be effective in the long term, MPA and fisheries management need to
adapt and respond to changes in marine resource users’ socio-economic context. The
Socio-economic Monitoring Initiative for Coastal Managers of the Western Indian Ocean
(SocMon WIO) aims to increase coastal manager’s capacity to understand and
incorporate the socio-economic context into coastal management programmes. SocMon
WIO is a regional programme that builds on local-level monitoring systems. SocMon
approach is based on community members’ participation, it is implemented locally at site
level by relevant projects, marine protected area authorities, local area management
authorities, fisheries officers or community groups. The SocMon WIO sites include eight
managed as MPAs, three ICM/Co management sites and four are either fisheries
management or co-management as well as Eco-region sites of regional importance within
the East Africa Marine Eco-region (EAME). The SocMon WIO network expanded to 15
sites across the region in 2007. The Results are presented here for pioneer SocMon WIO
sites as sample monitoring data collected by the various sites to address their respective
management needs. Diani-Chale site had 66% of households that undertook marine
related livelihood activities and 25% households involved in fisheries alone.
Oral Mini-Symposium 18: Reef Status and Trends
18-23
Lessons Learned from Socio-economic Monitoring (SocMon) and Marine Protected Area
Management Effectiveness (MPA-ME) Evaluation in the Caribbean
Maria PENA* 1 , Patrick MCCONNEY 1
1 Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), The University of
the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, Bridgetown, Barbados
Socio-economic Monitoring at Negril Marine Park (NMP), Jamaica, was implemented from
2004 to 2006 aimed at obtaining sound socio-economic information useful for decision-making.
The assessment was linked to the simultaneous formulation of the first fisheries management
plan for the NMP. The application of the SocMon Caribbean methodology to this project was
informally evaluated by the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies
(CERMES), University of the West Indies (UWI) in Barbados. The project followed the
SocMon methodology reasonably well, and the methods used were largely successful in
achieving intended outcomes. The major deficiency in the project was lack of institutional
capacity to undertake some tasks.
CERMES Regional Project on Enhancing Management Effectiveness at Three Marine
Protected Areas in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica and Belize was implemented from
2005 to 2007 to evaluate management effectiveness of MPAs at these sites. The project utilised
methods set out in the guidebook “How is your MPA doing?” for evaluating management. The
process of evaluating management effectiveness in order to implement adaptive management
was new to all study sites and therefore was a learning process. Primary lessons learned
included an appreciation for evaluating management; the need for management agencies to
undertake evaluation tasks based on available resources; the need for stronger science training
for evaluation; the importance of presentation and validation of results and an awareness of
stakeholder perceptions of management efforts.
This paper reports on the practical lessons learned from applying the SocMon Caribbean
methodology to socio-economic monitoring at the NMP; and biophysical, socio-economic and
governance assessment outlined in “How is your MPA doing?,” for evaluating MPA
management effectiveness at specific MPAs in the Caribbean.
18-24
Status And Trends in Socioeconomic Factors Affecting The World’s Coral Reefs
Christy LOPER* 1 , Robert POMEROY 2 , Patrick MCCONNEY 3 , Arie SANDERS 4 , Gaya
SRISKANTHAN 5 , Khulood TUBAISHAT 6 , Innocent WANYONYI 7 , Sheila VERGARA 8 ,
Caroline VIEUX 9
1 NOAA, Washington, DC, 2 University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, 3 University of the West
Indies, St. Michael, Barbados, 4 University of Zamorano, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 5 IUCN- The
World Conservation Union, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 6 PERSGA- Regional Organization for
Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Amman, Jordan, 7 CORDIO
East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya, 8 Conservation International- Philippines, Manila, Philippines,
9 SPREP- South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Apia, Samoa
This presentation aims to address two primary questions: (1) What are the current status and
trends in socioeconomic factors affecting the world's coral reefs? and (2) How have
socioeconomic monitoring programs contributed to coral reef research, conservation and
management? In coral reef conservation, understanding socioeconomic factors is critical to the
success of management tools used to conserve coral reefs.
Since 2000, the Global Socioeconomic Monitoring Initiative for Coastal Management
(SocMon) has facilitated socioeconomic monitoring in approximately 40 sites in six regions:
Caribbean, Western Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Pacific, Red Sea, and South Asia. A critical
gap in this data collection has been a coordinated review and analysis of socioeconomic
information at the global and regional levels. Moreover, most of the data that has been
collected has not previously been accessible to coastal managers, decision makers or donor
agencies.
By working with global partners to synthesize individual SocMon site assessments, this study
has delineated trends in factors such as regional and global awareness of people's dependence
on coral reefs, perceptions of reef conditions, threats to coral reefs, use levels, and status of
governance around the world. Access to all of this data is now provided through a Global
Socioeconomic Database, a web-enabled resource developed by WorldFish Center in Malaysia.
This is a seminal study in the understanding of socioeconomic factors impacting coral reefs.
Never before has a comprehensive survey of socioeconomic assessments of coral reef areas
been undertaken. The results fill a critical need by advancing a global and regional
understanding of human interactions with and dependence on coastal resources.
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