Conservation Strategies Through the Lens of Small-Scale Fishers in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: Perceptions Underlying Local Resistance to Marine Planning

Abstract

Spatial management tools are increasingly used in marine protected areas (MPAs). In the Galapagos Archipelago two zoning plans have been designed to advance resource management and protection: one in 2000, implemented through participatory processes under a co-management regime; the other in 2016, designed within a new regulatory framework and with strong input from international conservation advocates. The new zoning plan has been actively resisted by small-scale fishers. We analyze qualitative data from 149 questionnaire surveys and 16 key informant interviews to assess fishers’ perceptions of the re-zoning process. The perceptions that underpin fishers’ resistance to the new zoning plan converge in five principal themes that raise questions about the legitimacy, fairness, transparency, and viability of this management tool. This study provides further evidence of the strategic importance of incorporating human dimensions in MPA management and, more particularly, of understanding social concerns that may critically impede the progress of marine resource conservation.

Keywords:

• Environmental decision-making processes
• local perceptions
• marine protected areas management
• no-take zones
• stakeholder engagement
• The Galapagos Islands

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Galapagos National Park Service for providing research permit to conduct this study and to the Galapagos Science Center for their support. Our sincere thanks go to the participants who openly shared their ideas and concerns. We sincerely thank three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and recommendations on an early draft of this paper. We appreciate the help provided by Aman Ghassemi for assisting editing the zoning map.

Notes

1 See Castrejón and Charles (2013) for a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the 2000 GMR’s zoning approach. The authors based their assessment on a set of evaluation factors seen as fundamental for achieving successful marine management (i.e. effective planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and adaptation).

2 The implementation of the Darwin and Wolf Marine Sanctuary was promoted by the Pristine Seas Project from The National Geographic Organization. By carrying out marine expeditions worldwide, this initiative aims to implement protected areas in places considered important for conservation (The National Geographic 2015).

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by funding provided to the first author by the Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología, e Innovación (Senescyt) and McGill University, Department of Geography, Grad Excellence Award-00288.