11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University
Share Embed Flag
Download ePaper

11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University 11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

nova.edu
24.12.2012 Views

23-37 Challenges Facing An Mpa Management Authority in The Context Of A Rapidly Developing Tourism Industry James FOLEY* 1 1 Department of Research & Development, Roatan Marine Park, Roatan, Honduras Roatan, the largest of the Bay Islands in Honduras, is located on the Meso-American Barrier Reef. While all coral reef ecosystems in the Bay Islands are a protected area under Honduran law, no governmental management authority protects or regulates the use of this natural resource. In response to concern over reduced coral reef species abundance, the Roatan Marine Park Authority (RMPA) was created in January 2005 by the diving community. Its initial objective was to prevent illegal fishing practices along a 13.5km long stretch of the protected area, known as the Roatan Marine Park (RMP) by facilitating police patrols. While this has been partly successful, new superimposed pressures on reef resources present new challenges to the RMPA in achieving its vision of conservation-based management. The Honduran Government is encouraging large scale development of Roatan for high revenue tourism; four new cruise ship docks will bring over one million tourists per year to the island. Rapid development is racing to meet demand for luxury vacation accommodation. Despite legislation to ensure proper management for conservation and exploitation of the marine environment, poor governance, corruption and a large national debt continually impede conservation efforts. Challenges for the RMPA include addressing sediment-rich runoff from land clearing and illegal mangrove cutting to make way for development, managing poorly treated sewage discharges, and educating large numbers of short-stay tourists to minimize their impact on the marine environment. Scientific knowledge of the interrelationships between rapidly changing ecological, economic and sociological dynamics is essential to developing an effective management programme that balances conservation and economic development objectives in the RMP. The RMPA is therefore seeking to support research efforts as a means to assess methods such as activity zonation to accommodate diverse and increasing demands on ecological resources. 23-38 Community Involvement in Biophysical Monitoring And Evaluation Of Marine Protected Areas in Central Philippines: Generating High Resolution Data Using Standard Methods, Utilizing Local Materials And Employing Traditional Approaches Roxie DIAZ* 1 1 Research/Monitoring Team, Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation, Inc., Cebu, Philippines Since the 1970's, over 500 marine protected areas (MPAs) have been established in the Philippines with only about 10-20% being effectively managed. This study illustrates the efforts of many individuals and institutions that over the last 5 years have contributed to the creation and development of the local monitoring teams. Specifically, this study shows the materials, methods, and results of the last 3 years of data collection by the local community monitoring teams highlighting their capacity to conduct technical surveys. Using appropriate technology - customized techniques from standard monitoring methods, utilizing local materials and employing traditional approaches, 50 MPAs in central Philippines were monitored by their respective local community monitoring teams. Results from these biophysical Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and the performance assessments have collectively gauge the status and effective management of the MPAs providing insight on the conditions and gaps in current MPA management. Oral Mini-Symposium 23: Reef Management 23-39 Mmas: A Network Experiment in Coral Reef Adaptive Management And Conservation. Les KAUFMAN* 1,2 , Leah BUNCE 3 1 Biology/Marine Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, 2 Conservation International, Arlington, 3 Conservation International, Arlington, VA The Marine Management Area Science Program (MMAS) helps coastal societies to conserve coral reef and associated environments. MMAS has five key elements: (1) a network of communities in Brazil, Belize, the TEP, and Fiji that have area management schemes, treated here as a global adaptive management experiment; (2) a monitoring system for social and natural parameters with data stream tied to decision tools and policy options; (3) data comparison across nodes to detect global signals and measure effectiveness of local action in the face of global change; (4) new diagnostic and analytical methods to increase sensitivity to both process and state changes; and (5) targeted expeditions to fill key knowledge gaps. We report early progress on monitoring and diagnostics, the spatial dynamics of coral reef health and change, on society’s relationships with coral reefs, the geographical ecology and connectivity of reefs, and a doubling of known reef habitat in the south Atlantic. 23-40 Socioeconomic and Governance Monitoring of Marine Management Areas: A Work in Progress Giselle SAMONTE-TAN* 1 , Adele CATZIM 2 , Diane HAYLOCK 2 , Isabela CURADO 3 , Rodrigo MOURA 4 , Patrick Sakiusa FONG 5 , Juan MATE 6 , Osvaldo JORDAN 7 , Lucia LASSO 7 , Leah BUNCE 1 1 Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA, 2 Belize ISIS Enterprises, Belize City, Belize, 3 Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 4 Conservation International - Brazil, Caravelas, Brazil, 5 University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, 6 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama, 7 Alianza para la Conservación y el Desarrollo, Panama City, Panama Traditionally Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) have been established to achieve biodiversity conservation goals (e.g. protect endangered species, increase fish populations); yet increasingly social, economic and cultural objectives are being incorporated into MMA planning. To better understand these human effects, a cross-site study was designed to examine the socioeconomic and governance effects of MMAs in four countries (Belize, Brazil, Fiji and Panama) as well as ecological factors influencing these outcomes. A socioeconomic and governance monitoring survey is being conducted in each of the MMA coastal communities to understand conditions prior to MMA establishment compared with current conditions. The analysis will assess the MMA socioeconomic effects, including impacts on food security and health of coastal residents, livelihoods, human threats to the marine resources, and environmental awareness and knowledge as well as assess the governance effects, including impacts on management structures and strategies, stakeholder participation and representation, property rights and access to resources, management plan compliance by resource users. In addition, enabling factors for MMA effectiveness will be determined, such as leadership and long term support of local government, participation by community and all those affected, shared benefits among participants, alternative livelihoods that are appropriate in decreasing resource use pressures within MMAs. This project is within the Conservation International Marine Management Area Science Program, is a work in progress and demonstrates the application of monitoring and research to support improved understanding and adaptive management of coral reefs and related ecosystems. 205

23-41 Water Quality Standards For Coral Reef Protection William FISHER* 1 , Aaron HUTCHINS 2 , Leska FORE 3 , Wayne DAVIS 4 , Charles LOBUE 5 , Heidi BELL 6 1 Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Breeze, FL, 2 Department of Planning and Natural Resources, U.S. Virgin Islands, Frederiksted, United States Minor Outlying Islands, 3 Statistical Design, Seattle, WA, 4 Office of Environmental Information, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ft. Meade, MD, 5 Region 2, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New York, NY, 6 Office of Water, Office of Science and Technology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., DC Resource managers have few tools to counteract the growing impacts of human coastal and watershed activities on coral reefs. Water quality standards for coral reef protection—including biological criteria (biocriteria)—have enormous potential but are not currently used by any U.S. jurisdiction. The Environmental Protection Agency is promoting coral reef biocriteria through collaborative development of bioassessment procedures and monitoring strategies suitable for regulatory activities. A rapid bioassessment protocol (RBP) for reef-building stony corals (Scleractinia) was developed and tested as an initial step. Scleractinia were selected because much of the ecological and economic value of coral reefs is directly attributable to the physical structure of stony corals. The RBP requires only three underwater observations but provides both colony and surface area characteristics and incorporates a three-dimensional approach to document colony size (indicator of ecosystem services) and the amount of live tissue (coral capacity for growth and reproduction). Preliminary testing in the Florida Keys showed that information gained through the RBP had relevance to coral reef management and sufficient precision to distinguish spatial and temporal differences. Further validation was completed in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where corals were sampled across human disturbance gradients to determine which indicators were responsive to anthropogenic stress, a requirement for regulatory enforcement. Several RBP indicators, including taxa richness, colony size, total and live surface area were found to be positively correlated with distance from human activity. These indicators also had sufficient precision to be effective in most monitoring programs, and are now considered strong candidates for application in a regulatory context. Implementation of enforceable biocriteria will depend on the application of responsive metrics in a defensible long-term monitoring program. Once established, such a program will provide valuable, long-term records of coral condition and regulatory compliance. 23-42 Spillover Of Reef Fishes From No-Take Marine Reserves: An Evaluation Using The Before-After Control-Impact (Baci) Approach Ronaldo FRANCINI-FILHO* 1 , Rodrigo MOURA 1 1 Marine Program, Conservation International, Caravelas, Brazil No-take marine reserves may promote recovery of exploited populations within their boundaries and spillover of fishes to adjacent fishing grounds, thus potentially benefiting the local fisheries. Although some studies have measured spillover by examining gradients of fish abundance and body size across reserve boundaries, there are no such studies to date including information from before reserve establishment, thus seriously limiting interpretation of results. We measured reef fish spillover from a no-take marine reserve in Eastern Brazil by estimating biomass and body size across the reserve boundary before (2001) and after (2002-2005) initiation of protection. Replicate sites were sampled inside and outside the reserve, with unprotected sites included in three distance categories from the reserve boundary: 0-400, 400-800 and 800-1200 m. This latter category surpass the scales over which spillover is expected to influence patterns of fish abundance outside reserves (generally < 500 m), thus acting as a control for the reserve effect. Habitat measurements were undertaken at the same sites, from 2003 on. Biomass of the greenbeak parrotfish Scarus trispinosus, a major fishery resource and the dominant species in terms of biomass (37.4% of total biomass), was lower inside the reserve area before its establishment. During this same period, no individuals of two primary target species, the black grouper Mycteroperca bonaci and the gray parrotfish Sparisoma axillare, were recorded inside the reserve. Coral cover was consistently lower inside the reserve from 2003 on. Biomass and body size of M. bonaci, as well as biomass of the yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus, increased continuously inside the reserve after initiation of protection, with no similar increases recorded in control sites. Evidences of spillover (i.e. higher biomass inside the reserve and in unprotected sites closer to its boundary) were obtained for M. bonaci, O. chrysurus and S. trispinosus, although this pattern was only marginally significant for O. chrysurus. Despite the aforementioned positive signs, recovery and spillover of S. trispinosus were probably inhibited by increased poaching from 2003 on. Our results indicate that the no-take reserve at Itacolomis Reef was established a priori on poor quality habitats. Thus, future spatial comparisons between protected and unprotected sites would underestimate changes due to protection. These findings highlight the importance of baseline information and continued monitoring for adequately understanding the effects of no-take marine reserves. Oral Mini-Symposium 23: Reef Management 23-43 Modularizing Coral Reef Monitoring Methodologies for Better Management Effectiveness Karenne TUN* 1 , Eugene GOH 2 , Loke Ming CHOU 1 , Tom FOSTER 2 1 Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, 2 DHI Water & Environment, Singapore, Singapore To a large extent, effective management of coral reefs depends on access to relevant reef monitoring data, and their translation into useful management indices. Several globally established monitoring methodologies are currently used by coral reef monitoring practitioners (eg, AIMS LIT, Reef Check, AGGRA and Vitareef), with many modifications or enhancement to suit local situations and needs. The fact is that there is no shortage of methodologies that practitioners can employ to monitor coral reefs – yet there is little compelling evidence to demonstrate a link between monitoring and management. In many instances, monitoring results appear to be no more than a cursory tool used in management. Analysis of a variety of documents (manuscripts, technical reports, management papers, etc) that link monitoring and management show a general lack of tools that effectively translate monitoring information into useful management indices to support management decisions. Most monitoring outcomes are reported as percent benthos cover, which is not an ideal index for assessing coral reef condition, and even less ideal as a management tool for making management decisions. This paper addresses the issue of translating monitoring outcomes into relevant indices for more effective coral reef management in a highly urbanized environment with extensive anthropogenic influences. The approach focuses on identifying key management questions for the specific area being managed, which are then addressed in the form of add-on modules that are linked to existing reef monitoring methodologies,. In essence, we propose that monitoring programmes retain their existing coral reef monitoring methodologies, but tackle specific management questions by appending relevant monitoring modules to their existing protocols. 23-44 Community-Based Monitoring Of Marine Ecosystem Health For St. Kitts And Nevis, Lesser Antilles: Development Of A Relational Database Based On Local And Scientific Marine Stakeholder Knowledge. Raphaela STIMMELMAYR* 1 , Mike KAPLAN 2 , Jose JUGEREY 2 , Nikki BANFIELD 2 , Maureen SULLIVAN 3 1 Ross University Veterinary School, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, 2 RUSVM, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, 3 St.Kitts Reef Ecology Watch Group, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis A current comprehensive assessment of coral reef health, distribution of marine species including sea turtles and coral reef fishes that occur in the waters of St. Kitts-Nevis does not exist. Tourism in the wider Caribbean is the most important economic sector, having largely replaced the formerly important agricultural economy (i.e. banana and sugar cane). Ecotourism activities such as diving and other non-consumptive resource uses such as whale and sea turtle watching are an important local tourism component. Local marine stakeholder knowledge is a largely untouched and valuable source of information relevant to Caribbean marine ecosystem health and resources. Marine data was collected from roving diver surveys (dive masters and recreational divers) and snorkel surveys using standardized fish survey sheets. Local fish names have been compiled from semi-directed interviews. Coral reef photo data (1992/93 and 2006/2007) has been digitized and a registry created. Both can be linked to survey site data. The constructed relational database allows for seamless integration with local available geographical information systems. Community based approach to marine ecological monitoring is a viable, sustainable and economical tool for the generation of scientifically valid ecological baseline data for small island developing states that otherwise lack infrastructure and resources to engage in marine research needed for development of management guidelines. Furthermore the integration of local traditional knowledge provides insight into the local shifting baseline syndrome and can generate evidence for new hypotheses. 206

23-37<br />

Challenges Facing An Mpa Management Authority in The Context Of A Rapidly<br />

Developing Tourism Industry<br />

James FOLEY* 1<br />

1 Department of Research & Development, Roatan Marine Park, Roatan, Honduras<br />

Roatan, the largest of the Bay Islands in Honduras, is located on the Meso-American<br />

Barrier Reef. While all coral reef ecosystems in the Bay Islands are a protected area<br />

under Honduran law, no governmental management authority protects or regulates the<br />

use of this natural resource. In response to concern over reduced coral reef species<br />

abundance, the Roatan Marine Park Authority (RMPA) was created in January 2005 by<br />

the diving community. Its initial objective was to prevent illegal fishing practices along a<br />

13.5km long stretch of the protected area, known as the Roatan Marine Park (RMP) by<br />

facilitating police patrols. While this has been partly successful, new superimposed<br />

pressures on reef resources present new challenges to the RMPA in achieving its vision<br />

of conservation-based management. The Honduran Government is encouraging large<br />

scale development of Roatan for high revenue tourism; four new cruise ship docks will<br />

bring over one million tourists per year to the island. Rapid development is racing to meet<br />

demand for luxury vacation accommodation. Despite legislation to ensure proper<br />

management for conservation and exploitation of the marine environment, poor<br />

governance, corruption and a large national debt continually impede conservation efforts.<br />

Challenges for the RMPA include addressing sediment-rich runoff from land clearing and<br />

illegal mangrove cutting to make way for development, managing poorly treated sewage<br />

discharges, and educating large numbers of short-stay tourists to minimize their impact<br />

on the marine environment. Scientific knowledge of the interrelationships between<br />

rapidly changing ecological, economic and sociological dynamics is essential to<br />

developing an effective management programme that balances conservation and<br />

economic development objectives in the RMP. The RMPA is therefore seeking to support<br />

research efforts as a means to assess methods such as activity zonation to accommodate<br />

diverse and increasing demands on ecological resources.<br />

23-38<br />

Community Involvement in Biophysical Monitoring And Evaluation Of Marine<br />

Protected Areas in Central Philippines: Generating High Resolution Data Using<br />

Standard Methods, Utilizing Local Materials And Employing Traditional<br />

Approaches<br />

Roxie DIAZ* 1<br />

1 Research/Monitoring Team, Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation, Inc.,<br />

Cebu, Philippines<br />

Since the 1970's, over 500 marine protected areas (MPAs) have been established in the<br />

Philippines with only about 10-20% being effectively managed. This study illustrates the<br />

efforts of many individuals and institutions that over the last 5 years have contributed to<br />

the creation and development of the local monitoring teams. Specifically, this study<br />

shows the materials, methods, and results of the last 3 years of data collection by the local<br />

community monitoring teams highlighting their capacity to conduct technical surveys.<br />

Using appropriate technology - customized techniques from standard monitoring<br />

methods, utilizing local materials and employing traditional approaches, 50 MPAs in<br />

central Philippines were monitored by their respective local community monitoring<br />

teams. Results from these biophysical Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and the<br />

performance assessments have collectively gauge the status and effective management of<br />

the MPAs providing insight on the conditions and gaps in current MPA management.<br />

Oral Mini-Symposium 23: Reef Management<br />

23-39<br />

Mmas: A Network Experiment in Coral Reef Adaptive Management And Conservation.<br />

Les KAUFMAN* 1,2 , Leah BUNCE 3<br />

1 Biology/Marine Program, Boston <strong>University</strong>, Boston, MA, 2 Conservation International,<br />

Arlington, 3 Conservation International, Arlington, VA<br />

The Marine Management Area Science Program (MMAS) helps coastal societies to conserve<br />

coral reef and associated environments. MMAS has five key elements: (1) a network of<br />

communities in Brazil, Belize, the TEP, and Fiji that have area management schemes, treated<br />

here as a global adaptive management experiment; (2) a monitoring system for social and<br />

natural parameters with data stream tied to decision tools and policy options; (3) data<br />

comparison across nodes to detect global signals and measure effectiveness of local action in<br />

the face of global change; (4) new diagnostic and analytical methods to increase sensitivity to<br />

both process and state changes; and (5) targeted expeditions to fill key knowledge gaps. We<br />

report early progress on monitoring and diagnostics, the spatial dynamics of coral reef health<br />

and change, on society’s relationships with coral reefs, the geographical ecology and<br />

connectivity of reefs, and a doubling of known reef habitat in the south Atlantic.<br />

23-40<br />

Socioeconomic and Governance Monitoring of Marine Management Areas: A Work in<br />

Progress<br />

Giselle SAMONTE-TAN* 1 , Adele CATZIM 2 , Diane HAYLOCK 2 , Isabela CURADO 3 ,<br />

Rodrigo MOURA 4 , Patrick Sakiusa FONG 5 , Juan MATE 6 , Osvaldo JORDAN 7 , Lucia LASSO 7 ,<br />

Leah BUNCE 1<br />

1 Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA, 2 Belize<br />

ISIS Enterprises, Belize City, Belize, 3 Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Sao Paulo, Brazil,<br />

4 Conservation International - Brazil, Caravelas, Brazil, 5 <strong>University</strong> of the South Pacific, Suva,<br />

Fiji, 6 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama, 7 Alianza para la Conservación<br />

y el Desarrollo, Panama City, Panama<br />

Traditionally Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) have been established to achieve biodiversity<br />

conservation goals (e.g. protect endangered species, increase fish populations); yet increasingly<br />

social, economic and cultural objectives are being incorporated into MMA planning. To better<br />

understand these human effects, a cross-site study was designed to examine the socioeconomic<br />

and governance effects of MMAs in four countries (Belize, Brazil, Fiji and Panama) as well as<br />

ecological factors influencing these outcomes. A socioeconomic and governance monitoring<br />

survey is being conducted in each of the MMA coastal communities to understand conditions<br />

prior to MMA establishment compared with current conditions. The analysis will assess the<br />

MMA socioeconomic effects, including impacts on food security and health of coastal<br />

residents, livelihoods, human threats to the marine resources, and environmental awareness and<br />

knowledge as well as assess the governance effects, including impacts on management<br />

structures and strategies, stakeholder participation and representation, property rights and access<br />

to resources, management plan compliance by resource users. In addition, enabling factors for<br />

MMA effectiveness will be determined, such as leadership and long term support of local<br />

government, participation by community and all those affected, shared benefits among<br />

participants, alternative livelihoods that are appropriate in decreasing resource use pressures<br />

within MMAs. This project is within the Conservation International Marine Management Area<br />

Science Program, is a work in progress and demonstrates the application of monitoring and<br />

research to support improved understanding and adaptive management of coral reefs and related<br />

ecosystems.<br />

205

logo

products

Resources

Company

Terms of service
Privacy policy
Cookie policy
Cookie settings
Imprint
Change language
Made with love in Switzerland
© 2024 Yumpu.com all rights reserved

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!