Using social resilience and resource dependency to increase the effectiveness of marine conservation initiatives in Salum, Egypt

Abstract

The social and economic ramifications of marine conservation strategies such as marine protected areas (MPAs) are important to consider prior to their implementation to ensure that they do not exceed the resilience of resource-users and that resource protection might be maximised through compliance and low resistance. This paper presents a framework in which the human dimensions can be more easily and usefully integrated into the design and delivery of conservation initiatives. The framework espouses quantifying (1) the level of dependency on the resource; (2) perceptions towards conservation initiatives; and (3) social resilience. The framework is applied in Salum, Egypt, which is the site of a prospective MPA.

Keywords:

• marine protected areas
• social impact assessment
• fisheries
• barriers to change
• human dimension
• fishing

Acknowledgements

The funding for this study was obtained from the IUCN- World Conservation Union, Global Marine Programme and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems. Sincere gratitude is due to Iman Bastawisy and Yousria Hamed from the Cairo American University, Cairo, for their dedicated efforts in the field. Special thanks are due to Iain Gordon for comments on earlier versions of the manuscript and to two anonymous reviewers.