Marine Protected Areas
The
term "Marine Protected Area" (MPA) has no steady definition.
This term can equally describe two areas with extremely different levels
of protection. Some MPAs completely limit human activities such as fishing
and boating within the boundaries, while others use special regulations
to change fishing practices, but still allow a harvest from the park (mpa.gov).
A recent study by Parrish and Boersma (1999) found that worldwide there are 1,300 MPAs, each established for a variety of scientific, economic, cultural, and ethical factors. They found two main motivations for establishing MPAs; fisheries management and habitat protection. As a fisheries management tool, MPAs provide a refuge for commercially exploited species and allow for recovery. An active fishery outside a MPA can benefit from adult fish (spillover) and larvae (larval replenishment) moving outside the boundaries and contributing to the commercial fishery.
Proper management of MPAs is necessary to achieve goals of fisheries management and habitat protection. Poorly managed protected areas are referred to as "paper parks." Lack of training for park enforcement and management staff coupled with limited financial resources often leaves parks virtually unprotected.
Case Study: Komodo National Park
Indonesia is comprised of 17,500 islands making up the world's largest archipelago and fourth most populous nation. The country is rich in biodiversity encompassing 85,000 square miles of coral reefs, which support an array of animals such as dolphins, hawksbills and green turtles, dugongs, blue, and sperm whales, and an estimated 900-1,000 fish species (UNEP/WCMC).
Within Indonesia there are a variety of human induced impacts to the marine system including destructive fishing practices and poorly planned coastal development, which threaten the resources that support many coastal communities. In response to this, the government of Indonesia, along with local and international non-profit support, has developed a system of marine protected areas (Djohani).
Komodo
National Park (KNP) is one marine protected area located in the East
Nusa Tenggara province in the Sape Straits between the two islands of
Flores and Sumbawa. The island of Komodo draws its name from the Komodo
dragon, the largest living lizard, which makes its home there. KNP was
first established as a protected area in 1980 encompassing a total of
173,500 hectares and in 1991 it was internationally recognized as a World
Heritage Site (UNEP/WCMC).
The coral reef ecosystems within KNP support a commercial fishing industry, while the coastal habitats provide additional economic opportunities through tourism development. The largest threat to the area comes from the easy and very profitable practice of dynamite and cyanide fishing. Fishermen use dynamite or cyanide to stun fish, which then float to the surface for easy collection. The final result is severe coral reef destruction of structures that have taken hundreds or thousands of years to form (Djohani).
Currently, management of the park lies with the government's Komodo National Park Authority, but The Nature Conservancy (Asia/Pacific) has been working with the Park Authority to develop a 25-year management plan for KNP. The plan was adopted in June of 2000 and the goals include planning and evaluating management strategies, enforcing regulations within the park, building community awareness and involvement, and increasing ecotourism in the region. Early in the park's establishment, boat patrols were increased to stop destructive fishing practices. Coupled with a community program to retrain fishermen in pelagic fishing and mariculture, the additional enforcement decreased destructive fishing practices by 80% (Djohani).
Future
success lies in establishing financial security for the park by increasing
tourist user fees. There is an interest in increasing ecotourism in the
region to foster community based sustainable development using tourism
as a form of non-consumptive resource use. Increasing ecotourism will
provide a means to generate revenue for park management and for the community.
Currently park admission fees are $2, but managers hope to raise it to
$50 as foreign tourism increases. They are currently researching methods
to have the park entirely self financed and become a source of revenue
for the local community. They are interested in supporting locally owned
and operated ecotourism and concession facilities within and surrounding
the park. The government has also shown interest in providing concessions
in the park and negotiations are still underway. There is however, a danger
that the government will set additional user fees for the area that would
be funneled directly to government coffers, and therefore undermine the
financial plans of the park.
While ecotourism is a better use of resources than dynamite fishing,
managers have realized that it is not a panacea. Ongoing planning calls
for a complete cost benefit analysis of the draft financial plans and
continued research into tourism management and marketing.