case studies undp: fiji locally-managed marine area network, fiji
TRANSCRIPT
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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions or people, nature, and resilient communities
Fiji
FIJI LOCALLY-MANAGEDMARINE AREA NETWORK
Empowered live
Resilient nation
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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES
Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo
or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth
their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition
themselves guiding the narrative.
To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser
that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ
to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models
replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years
the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.
Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.
EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding
Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe
Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,
Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu
DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa
Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.
AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Fiji Locally-Managed Marine Area Network, and in particular the guidance a
inputs o Sakiusa Saki Patrick Fong and Toni Parras. Cover photo: Marica Kacumosi and Salome Sivivatu gathering sh caught using a
on Nukunuku ree o the coast o Korotubu village. Photo: Meghan Kelly. All other photo credits courtesy o Meghan Kelly, Toni Par
Stacy Jupiter, Aliereti Tawake, and Jimmy Kereseka. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.
Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Fiji Locally-Managed Marine Area Network, Fiji. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. N
York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858 -
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PROJECT SUMMARYThe community o Ucunivanua on the eastern coast o Fijislargest island was the site o the rst locally managed marinearea (LMMA) in Fiji in 1997. Scientists rom the Universityo the South Pacic supported environmentalists and localvillagers in declaring a ban on harvesting within a stretcho inshore waters or three years, building on the traditiono taboo prohibitions or certain species. Ater seven yearso local management, the clam populations had reboundedand village incomes had risen signicantly with increasedharvests.
The success o the Ucunivanua LMMA spread rapidly,and a support network the Fiji Locally Managed MarineArea Network grew rom this. By 2009, the network hadincreased to include some 250 LMMAs, covering some10,745 square kilometres o coastal sheries, or more than25% o Fijis inshore area. The network has also inspiredreplication in countries across the Pacic.
KEY FACTS
EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2002
FOUNDED: 2001
LOCATION: Throughout Fiji
BENEFICIARIES: Rural fshing communities
BIODIVERSITY: Over 250 locally-managed marine areas
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FIJI LOCALLY-MANAGED MARINE AREANETWORKFiji
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background and Context 4
Key Activities and Innovations 6
Biodiversity Impacts 7
Socioeconomic Impacts 8
Policy Impacts 10
Sustainability 12
Replication 13
Partners 13
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iji is an archipelagic state o some 300 islands located in the South
acic. As a small, tropical island country, Fijis marine and coastal
cosystems provide signicant physical, economic, social and
ultural benets to its people. The countrys abundance o orest,
marine and mineral resources has allowed it to become one o the
most developed economies among Pacic island nations. However,
ijis rural communities, which constitute approximately hal o
he countrys 900,000-strong population, remain heavily reliant on
raditional, subsistence livelihoods, drawing on marine resources to
meet daily protein needs and provide cash income.
raditional marine management areas called qoliqoli (traditional
shing grounds under the control o the communities adjacent tohem) have been implemented or hundreds o years in Fiji. Decisions
bout the management o these areas are taken by tribal chies,
hrough village councils which oten work together at the district
evel to coordinate planning. This customary resource management
ystem is typical o many Pacic islands in which communities have
ong imposed traditional management methods such as seasonal
ans and temporary no-take areas.
hese methods are based on a system o community marine tenure
the right to own or control an inshore area that is recognized
normally by local authorities. In Fiji, qoliqoli are ocially reerred
o as customary shing rights areas. They are mapped in records
maintained by the Native Fisheries Commission. There are 385marine and 25 reshwater qoliqoli in Fiji and their marine resources
upport the livelihoods o approximately 300,000 people living in
oastal communities.
n recent years, however, the livelihoods o Fijis rural shing
ommunities have increasingly come under threat as the ragile
alance o this system has been disturbed by human pressures
rom overshing, the advent o a cash-based economy, insucient
mplementation o regulations, and the adoption o unsuccessul
pproaches to resources management, resulting in decreasing
availability o marine resources. While the specic causes o m
resource depletion vary rom village to village, a common tren
rising poverty has been the result, and by 2005, approximately 3
per cent o rural households in Fiji were living below the poverty
Ucunivanua Locally-Managed Marine Area
By the early 1990s, the scarcity o marine resources had bec
apparent to the residents o Ucunivanua village, on the eastern c
o Viti Levu, Fijis largest island, when the women o the comm
ound themselves spending ever longer collecting kaikoso c
(Anadara antiquate) rom the villages mudfats. These clams
staple ood or the local population and an important source oincome. The communitys observation o reduced clam num
illustrated a decline in the communitys natural resource
which refected a larger pattern o resource depletion occu
throughout Fiji.
The community o Ucunivanua reacted to this worrying t
by establishing a locally-managed marine area (LMMA) in 1
This took the orm o a 24-hectare no-take zone on the mud
and seagrass bed directly in ront o the Ucunivanua village,
its aim was to restrict the harvesting o kaikoso clams to a
their numbers to regenerate and to encourage their settleme
neighbouring areas. This built on the existing tradition o enac
tabu prohibitions on shing or certain species. The project waby researchers at the University o the South Pacic in Suva, Fiji
Following a series o workshops with the community, a managem
team o 20 local men and women worked with the chie and e
o the village to hold a traditional ceremony declaring the
closed or three years. Ucunivanua LMMA was the rst in Fiji a
yielded dramatic results. Seven years ater the implementatio
community-based marine resource management in the village
kaikoso clam was once again abundant and village incomes
risen signicantly.
Background and Context
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The development o the LMMA network
ince the establishment o the Ucunivanua LMMA in 1997, use o
MMAs to address overshing has spread rapidly throughout Fiji.
his is in part the legacy o a community-managed marine area
ilot programme implemented by the Biodiversity Conservation
Network in the late-1990s. In 2001, at the end o the pilot project
ycle, project stakeholders, including NGOs, research institutes,
overnment departments and community leaders, established theiji Locally-Managed Marine Area (FLMMA) Network as a orum or
ommunities implementing LMMAs to share their methods and
esults.
he Networks objectives, as stated in its constitution, include
ncouraging collaboration between government departments,
NGOs and communities to better manage Fijis traditional shing
rounds; engaging in collective advocacy or LMMAs; creating joint
olicy bries based on collective learning; and encouraging the use
adaptive management as a key to achieving best practice. The
Networks constitution also emphasizes the importance o collecting
ata as a tool or learning, alongside on-site training workshops,
ross-site visits and the sharing o logistical and technical inormation
etween communities.
The Networks approach recognizes local communities autonom
managing their marine resources, while simultaneously provi
a network o support and guidance to help them achieve
best possible results. The Network is responsible or plan
and acilitating the programme, while the decision ma
implementation and evaluation are undertaken on the groun
the individual groups. Ongoing capacity building activities emp
local communities with the necessary knowledge to reverse
decline o their natural resources. An adaptive managemapproach emphasizes participatory learning and action to en
that communities remain the key agents in planning, dec
making, and implementation o management actions. This appr
ensures active leadership and participation o communitie
custodians o their local resources.
In 2005, Fijis network o LMMAs included nearly 60 LM
involving 125 communities and covering about 20 per cent o
inshore shery. By 2009, the network had grown to 250 LM
covering 10,745 sq. km. By this time, the Network incorpor
235 management tools, such as Marine Protected Areas, and
management plans.
Biodiversity depletion is a reality that is impacting the livelihood of the local people, the
national economy and the biodiversity value of the country. Addressing it requires a holistic
approach whereby the government provides the necessary legislative support, practitioners
provide technical expertise, and communities take the lead in planning, designing and
implementing management strategies
Sakiusa Saki Patrick Fong, Fiji LMMA Network.
Villager at coral cultivation racks, Votua MPA, Fiji. Photo: Jimmy Kereseka
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Key Activities and Innovations
he FLMMA Network works directly with communities to guide their
onservation eorts, but also supports them in developing solutions
o broader problems including a lack o alternative livelihood options.
Advocacy and cooperation with local government departments is
lso a ocus o the Networks work, to ensure rapid scaling-up and
eplication o this successul model.
Supporting communities
Once a community in Fiji makes its interest in local marine
management known, the FLMMA Network and various partner
organizations determine who will be the lead agency, and discussions
re held with the community to ensure that the goals o all partiesre clear and aligned. This initial planning and education process
an take up to one year. Network sta then oers assistance through
hree types o workshop: action planning, biological monitoring,
nd socioeconomic monitoring. The action-planning workshops are
dapted rom Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) methods and
nclude sessions on mapping the village, understanding historical
rends, and identiying local stakeholders. The biological and
ocioeconomic monitoring components o the workshops ocus
on identiying resource use patterns, threats to local resources, and
he root causes o these threats. Finally, a community action plan is
eveloped.
While the establishment o a tabu area (where a no-take zone orban on destructive shing practices is declared) is usually a central
part o an LMMA, the action plan also contains ways to address
other issues aced by the community, such as lack o income
ources, poor awareness o environmental issues, pollution, and
ometimes, declining community cohesiveness. Agricultural and
orestry practices are oten examined, alongside vulnerability
o climate change and the enhancement o available livelihood
options. Socioeconomic monitoring tests whether these broader
problems are being addressed. Ongoing assistance is provided to
communities to help them carry out their plans, including prac
assistance such as marking protected area boundaries, publis
LMMA rules, and training sh wardens to protect against poach
The work o the FLMMA Network goes beyond working
individual communities to support their resource managem
eorts, to address the wider needs o communities and oer i
to higher level marine policy. The Network cooperates with
government authorities in the establishment o Marine Prote
Areas, and promotes sustainable livelihood projects to unde
conservation eorts and compensate local shers during
periods. These projects include mangrove rehabilitation
plantation, tree nurseries, ecotourism, apiculture, prawn sreshwater sh arming and pearl arming, among others
targeting income generation and business development activ
at women, the Network has helped to encourage greater ge
equality in communities.
The Network also plays a leading role in monitoring
quantiying results across project sites, producing a substa
body o knowledge on the linkages between sustainable reso
management and poverty alleviation.
Education and capacity building
The Network conducts workshops and education programat the community level to address aspects o communal reso
management. Programmes to increase capacity in village
resource governance, nancial management, waste managem
and sustainable livelihoods have been conducted to streng
resource management in these communities. These program
target women, youth, and key community leaders in partic
helping to build grassroots support and capacity. In 2009, 27
workshops were held, involving 603 participants.
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Impacts
BIODIVERSITY IMPACTSCase 1: Tavua LMMA
The district o Tavua, on the northern coast o Viti Levu, is comprised
o seven villages (Tavualevu, Rabulu, Vanuakula, Vatutavui, Korovou,
Nabuna and Nadolodolo). The largest o these, Tavualevu, is the
head village and hosts the paramount chie o the district (Tui
Tavua). The Tavua LMMA, Fijis second oldest, was established in
2003 ollowing a management planning workshop hosted by the
LMMA Network and the University o the South Pacics Institute
o Applied Science (USP-IAS). The Tavua LMMA aims to eliminate the
destructive practice o dynamite shing, a method which yields ahigher catch in a shorter period o time than traditional net shing,
but has a devastating impact on coral rees.
Tavuas LMMA comprises nearly 700 sq. km o shing ground, and
ncludes within it a 14 sq. km Marine Protected Area (MPA). The
emainder o the LMMA remains open to shing or the people
o the district and a select group o commercial shermen issued
cences to sh there. Within the entire LMMA, the ollowing practices
re banned: the use o destructive shing techniques including
dynamite shing, undersized net mesh, and cyanide shing;
unlicensed shermen; poaching rom the MPA; and the dumping o
waste into the marine ecosystem.
Management o the LMMA is undertaken by the Tavua Qoliqoli
Committee, which consists o a member o each clan and village in
he district, registered sh wardens, and the paramount chie (Tui
Tavua). In addition to the initial management planning workshop,
he FLMMA Network and USP-IAS have carried out workshops on
dynamite awareness-raising (2004), biological monitoring training
nd management plan reviewing (2005), and baseline biological
monitoring and socioeconomic surveys (2006). The Networks
esearchers also brieed a Tavua District Council Meeting on the
need to increase the licensing ees or commercial shing in 2007.
Numerous publications and reports have been produced base
these workshops. The ree, while still showing some evidenc
having been blasted, is showing signs o ecological recovery.
corals abound, as do sh and invertebrates, including high-v
species such as snapper and sea cucumber.
Success throughout the network
Tavua LMMA is just one example o the positive impact Fijis co
communities have had on their local marine environments thr
the FLMMA Network. Positive results have been replicated a
more than 250 FLMMA sites and the Network has brought toge
researchers rom local universities to assist in monitoring ecoloimpacts. Techniques dier rom site to site but have incl
underwater visual census, and belt and line transect sampling.
These monitoring data show that, in many cases, previ
extirpated (locally extinct) species have returned, and m
specimens have increased in number, species diversity, and biom
For instance, a new species o seaweed was recently discover
the Natokalau site. The outcome o such species sightings has
increased recognition o the benets o maintaining long-
MPAs as sae havens or signicant ood sh species and other
exploited animals and sea plants. A study conducted by Conserv
International at three LMMA sites (Navakavu, Malolo and Wait
ound all three sites to have signicantly greater mean totabiomass and mean targeted sh biomass compared to control
Additional positive indicators reported across FLMMA Net
sites include growth in the number and sizes o clams and c
inside and outside tabu areas, and the return o marine lie su
stingrays to oshore mudfats. Navakavu witnessed the return o
smooth or red-spotted box crab (Calappa calappa, known loca
burebure matatolu) ater a 50-year absence. They were last se
the area in 1953.
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At Fijis rst LMMA, in Ucunivanua, community members were trained
by USP-IAS experts to monitor the clam population. A comparison
o the resultant data rom 1997 and 2004 demonstrated a dramatic
ncrease in the number and size o clams, in both the tabu and
adjacent harvest areas (Aalbersberg et al., 2005; see Table 1). While,
at the start o the project, it was extremely rare to nd clams bigger
han ve centimetres in diameter the Ucunivanua community today
outinely nds clams over eight centimetres in diameter in the tabu
area. Due to its success, the Ucunivanua tabu area, which was initially
ntended to be closed to shing and collection or just three years,
was extended indenitely. Impressive results rom the monitoring
o shellsh have also led the community to set up no-take areas in
he mangroves and coral rees to encourage lobster and coral sh
production.
Similar successes have been achieved throughout the FLMMA
network. The village o Sawa, or example, imposed a tabu on a
mangrove island, with the result that the number o the mangrove
obsters (Thalassina anomala) increased roughly 250 per cent
annually, with a spillover increase o roughly 120 per cent outside the
abu area. In Nacamaki village on the island o Gau, meanwhile, one
year ater the declaration o a tabu area, the community harvestedapproximately eight tons o rabbitsh in one week.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
n addition to biodiversity monitoring, the FLMMA Network has
also undertaken extensive socioeconomic monitoring using such
echniques as household surveys and catch-per-unit-eort (CPUE)
data, with resultant data demonstrating the correlation between
biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. Booklets have
been issued to communities or recording CPUE data, which
quanties the time taken, the distance covered, the number o
people involved, and the equipment used, to catch a given amount
o sh. Increases in this index indicate an improvement in stockso commercial marine species, and, thereore, shers livelihoods.
Specic socioeconomic benets o the initiative include increased
household income, improved livelihood options, diversied income
ources, improved diets, greater gender equality, and substantially
trengthened local management capacity. Two specic cases, those
o the Navukavu LMMA and the Korolevu-i-wai LMMA, are described
below, with additional data reerenced rom across the FLMMA
Network.
Case 2: Navukavu LMMA
The Navukavu community, located on Viti Levus southern c
is comprised o our villages (Muaivusu, Nabaka, Waiqanake
Namakala) which share customary rights to the Navukavu qol
The community is situated less than 10 kilometres rom the ca
city, Suva, which serves as the islands main port. In recent years
communitys ability to harvest sucient marine resources to
their basic needs has been severely impacted by the presenc
waste rom the nearby city, and rom large container ships that t
along the coast, littering the shoreline. Corroding metal rom rus
sunken ships washed up by heavy storms has damaged co
rees and poisoned marine lie. Being located close to an u
centre has also increased pressure on the areas marine resou
The community established an LMMA in 2002. Although e
to restrict poaching in the LMMA by outsiders have been par
successul, thanks to the authority to arrest intruders, granted b
local government, reliance on volunteers and a non-conrontat
approach has let the community unable to adequately deend
qoliqoli against armed poachers.
Despite such challenges, studies have shown the LMMA to had positive impacts on the social and economic situation o
Navukavu community. A 2007 study (van Beukering et al., 2
on the linkages between LMMAs and poverty at the Navakavu
showed monthly income to be ar higher there in comparison
control site. A survey o 300 households ound that monthly inc
in Navakavu averaged FJD 418 (USD 251), while income in co
sites with similar demographic and geographic character
averaged only FJD 197 (USD 118) per month.
Another important benet o LMMAs identied by various stu
has been increased household consumption o sh. In Navak
around 75 per cent o surveyed households reported eating m
sh in 2007 compared to ve years previously, while a siproportion o households in non-LMMA villages reported ea
less sh. A second study analysing changes in nsh catch over
in Navakavu suggested that there had been an average increa
three per cent per year in catches between 2002 and late 2007
increase, worth a total o around FJD 630,000 (USD 378,000) to
community, was attributed to the establishment o the LMMA
Beukering et al., 2007).
8
Source: Aalbersberg et al., 2005 ater Aalbersberg and Tawake, 2005
Table 1: Trends in Clam Size and Abundance, Ucunivanua (1997-2004)
Number of clams (per 50 m3)
Tabu Area Adjacent Harvest Site
Size class (cm) 1997 2004 1997 2004
5.5 8 530 1 91
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n an eort to reduce their dependence on marine resources, the
ommunity is also exploring new potential sources o income. A
womens group, established to explore new livelihood projects,
as sought unding rom the International Oceans Institute (IOI)
o purchase sewing machines. Workshops have been held by USP-
AS and the FLMMA Network on conservation, community-based
marine resource management, and biological and socioeconomic
monitoring to build the capacity o the community to manage
heir LMMMA. The case o Navakavu illustrates the Networks multi-aceted approach, helping rural communities overcome the range o
hallenges they ace.
Case 3: Korolevu-i-wai LMMA
Approximately 130 kilometres west o Suva, the Korolevu-i-wai
istrict qoliqoli spans six sq. km and encompasses our adjacent
illages, with a tourism resort situated in the middle. The Korolevu-
wai qoliqoli includes mangroves, seagrass beds and coral rees,
nd is home to mangrove crabs, clams, octopuses, lobsters, sea
rchins, trochus, and ree sh such as emperors, parrotsh, grouper,
nd mullet. Damage rom destructive shing methods (undersized
shing nets, poison shing, and breaking corals and rocks to catchctopus), coral harvesting, pollution, and damage to coral rom
ourists, prompted the local village chie to initiate discussions
with other chies and the local tourism resort. Ater hearing about
he Fiji LMMA Network through radio broadcasts, the Korolevu-
wai stakeholders contacted the Network or assistance, and the
Korolevu-i-wai LMMA was established.
Within the LMMA, the area o ree directly in ront o the resort
was subjected to a tabu that prohibited shing. Ater 18 months o
peration, initial biological monitoring indicated that key species,
uch as mullet, were recovering, while survey results indicated an
ncrease in the abundance o groupers, parrotsh, octopuses and
obsters both within and outside the tabu area.
he Korolevu-i-wai community has established a mutually benecial
elationship with the owners o a beach tourist resort whereby,
n return or making the shing ground available to the resort or
ow-impact tourism activities, the community receives substantial
nancial and technical assistance. The resort owners have provided
television or village youth, computers or schools, buoys or the
MPAs, building materials, and urniture, in addition to providing
cholarships or local school children, as part o an agreement that
as endured or over a decade.
With technical advice rom USP-IAS and the FLMMA Network, theMMA management committee launched a coral arming project
long rees adjacent to the resort, at Tagaqe village. The resort hired
marine biologist to help establish the coral arming programme
nd to train hotel sta. Visitors to the resort can now take part in a
ee walk (a tour along a careully marked path through the ree)
o appreciate the marine environment and to view the coral racks.
or a ee o USD 5.00, they can sponsor a coral in their name with
he proceeds split between the Tagaqe Village Environment Trust
und and the resort (to cover expenses). Several youths rom the
illage are now employed by the resort to guide tourists to a coral
garden, plant corals, and help police the protected area. The num
o tourists engaged in the project increased rom 16 per mon
August 2003 to 62 per month in March 2004.
Research on the Korolevu-i-wai LMMA identied notable pos
outcomes in its rst two years o implementation (Fong, 2
As well as comparing avourably to ormer attempts at reso
management, the LMMA system was shown to have strengthe
social cohesion amongst the community members. The aveCPUE and the income level o shers in the district also increase
Positive socioeconomic impacts, such as those describe
Navukavu and Korolevu-i-wai have been noted in commun
throughout the FLMMA Network.
Increased household income
In Ucunivanua, a study that described the increased abund
o mangrove lobsters by approximately 250 per cent ann
(Aalbersberg et al., 2005) also detailed how average house
income rose rom just over FJD 430 (USD 258) per month in 2
to about FJD 990 (USD 594) in 2006, an increase o 130 per Similarly, the community o Daku in Kadavu province experie
an increase o just over 30 per cent in average income in one
rom about FJD 235 (USD 141) per month in 2005 to FJD 307
184) in 2006. Across the communities o Ucunivanua, Kumi
Votua, all with LMMAs, household income increased by an ave
o 43 per cent between 2000 and 2003, as illustrated in Figure 1
Various studies have examined the wider economic impacts o
LMMAs as part o studies o the role o MPAs in poverty reduc
Van Beukering et al. (2007) claim that LMMA sites generated a
three times the income rom shing that non-LMMA sites gener
and argue that the ability o shers rom LMMA villages to se
9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Ucunivanua Kumi Votua
WeeklyIncome(FJD$)
Villages With Established
Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs)
1997 2000 2003
Source: Aalbersberg et al., 2005
Fig. 1: Weekly household income from sales of marine
products (1999-2010)
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arger sh catches rom a smaller harvest zone was evidence o
ubstantial spillover eect rom tabu areas into the harvesting zone.
Diversied income sources
nterestingly, despite the above claim, other studies have noted that
ouseholds in LMMA villages were likely to be less reliant on income
rom shing than households in non-LMMA villages. Twenty-eight
er cent o households near LMMA sites have alternative income
ources versus only 17 per cent in comparable, non-LMMA villages.
ncome diversication is a key component in ensuring ecosystem-
ased resilience, and LMMA communities have substantially
ncreased their ability to withstand threats to uture sheries income
rom the impacts o ree degradation due to coastal pollution,
evere storms and climate change. This resilience is underpinned bydditional LMMA-related benets as well, such as improved planning
nd management skills and closer community cooperation.
Strengthened community cohesion
eyond producing economic benets or individual households, the
ngoing work o the FLMMA Network has strengthened channels
communication and cooperation within LMMA communities.
n some cases, this has helped in confict resolution between
lans or villages. In Votua, or example, social cohesion was seen
o have improved ater three years o LMMA work that acilitated
ialogue between three clan chies ater decades o dispute. The
mphasis placed on collective decision-making regarding resourcemanagement has revitalised traditional systems o community
ooperation, with a survey o villagers in the Navakavu revealing
hat over 80 per cent o villagers elt there had been a higher level
participation in community meetings, that women had a stronger
oice, and that the community had become more united, since the
stablishment o the LMMA (van Beukering et al., 2007).
MMAs have also played a role in undraising eorts or communal
urposes, such as supporting local schools or churches as households
arning additional income rom selling surplus sh and shellsh are
better able to meet their traditional social obligation to contribu
village undraising. In Waiqanake village in Navakavu, or exam
a community undraising project amassed some FJD 20,000 (a
USD 12,000) in donations, three quarters o which came rom
sale o sh and shellsh rom the LMMA.
Empowerment o women
Furthermore, the FLMMA Network has begun to conrontprevailing culture in which women are typically excluded
decision-making processes. This situation has proved to
particular disadvantage, as women are oten those most invo
in collecting inshore marine resources and have unique knowle
o them. In Verata, or example, only the women o the commu
knew how to locate and accurately count kaikoso clams. Altho
women typically collect seaood or the community, it is men
traditionally make all decisions regarding the managemen
such activities. The inclusion o women on LMMA committees
addressed this disparity somewhat. Collaboration with ou
researchers has also helped to boost the prole o women at LM
sites, while the network has introduced a gender programm
which meetings are held with local womens groups to dis
progress o LMMA action plan.
POLICY IMPACTS
Among the positive results o the FLMMA Networks growth
been greater bargaining power and advocacy capacity o LM
communities to aect policy change at the national level. Organ
communities into a network has given them greater acces
decision makers and greater infuence in the policy making pro
The eorts o the FLMMA Network have helped to se
recognition by national governments o the value o traditresource management approaches, and o the importance o
communities as stakeholders in resource governance. Ind
Fijis government has ormally adopted the LMMA approach
has devoted a division o the Fisheries Department to coord
with the Network to promote inshore conservation. The FLM
Secretariat is now housed in the Fisheries Department. Establis
locally managed marine areas has been enabled to some degre
customary shing rights regulations under Fijis Fisheries Act, w
the decentralized nature o the FLMMA Network has encoura
the active engagement o provincial and district governmen
stakeholders in LMMA management processes. The FLMMA Net
has also played an advisory role in the countrys National Biodive
Strategy and Action Plan.
The success o the initiative has also driven national level p
change in support o sustainable sheries management. In 2
during a Small Island Developing States (SIDS) conerenc
Mauritius, the Fijian Government declared that, by 2012, 30 per
o Fijis Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), including both inshore
oshore marine borders, would be established as protected areas
FLMMA Network was tasked with overseeing the implementati
this commitment within Fijis internal waters, while the governm
oversees its implementation in oshore waters.
hrimp at the Suva market. Photo: Toni Parras
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Community-based resource management programmes that result
n the establishment o locally-managed MPAs contribute to the
ommitment made by Fiji. To this end, the Network held a workshop
hat resulted in the creation o a 20-year provincial vision or marine
esource management and conservation within the traditional
shing grounds surrounding Kadavu, including moving toward
stablishing a community-led, provincial network o MPAs. The
rocess and activities used during this workshop are to be adapted
or uture application within other Fijian provinces as a step towardhe creation o a national MPA system.
he creation o environmental committees at the district level has
elped to streamline the work o local government and community
takeholders. Meanwhile, the devolution o resource management
o the grassroots level has been supported by legislative eorts
o reduce large scale pressures on marine resources. As a result o
ommunity pressure on the Fisheries Ministry, Fiji implemented a
2-nautical-mile limit to keep oreign shing vessels rom qoliqoli.
his is expected to reduce external pressures on shing grounds
rom commercial activities. Meanwhile, the government enacted the
nvironment Management Act in 2007 to tackle the issues o waste
management and Environmental Impact Assessments.
Constrained by insucient enorcement powers
One constraint to the eectiveness o LMMA sites remains the
nability o local communities to eectively enorce their marine
esource use regulations against unlicensed poachers. In some sites,
the eects o poaching have led community members to lose
in the sustainable management approach as they ail to reap
rewards o their own eorts. Greater legal recognition o commu
managed marine areas would help to strengthen the enorcem
o customary regulations. As o 2009, however, only one site i
had been legally gazetted by the government. There, commu
sh wardens have been trained and given the legal power to a
oenders, but in most cases, this process relies on volunteers
amicable confict resolution with poachers.
Inconsistent support rom regional and national ocials
inadequate resources both cause problems. Fish wardens o
experience diculties carrying out their assigned duties du
a lack o resources. Many LMMA villages consider the availa
o a specially designated, motorised patrol boat a prerequ
or successul enorcement, particularly in areas o confict
commercial shers. While some communities have been
to secure the use o such a boat, they oten lack the mean
purchase uel or it. Only sanctioned sh wardens have the
to take individual violators to the police. Some transgressors
be brought beore community meetings or traditional orm
punishment, such as shaming, but a general lack o consistency
the occasional unwillingness o ocial law enorcement age
to get involved oten undermine the eectiveness o enorcem
New inshore sheries legislation will establish clearer regulation
tabu areas, greatly increase nes or violators and give more sup
to sh wardens, which it is hoped will improve the situation.
Virimi placing the nets at high tide on Nukunuku ree of the coast o Korotubu village. Photo: Meghan Kelly
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Sustainability and Replication
SUSTAINABILITYVarious actors have ensured that individual LMMA sites and the
LMMA Network as a whole enjoy relatively high levels economic
nd social sustainability. The LMMA extension and scaling approach
s a highly participatory one, requiring strong commitment rom
he communities themselves. This tends to enhance the resilience
individual sites, reinorced by visible, positive economic benets.
hese benets also arise within a relatively short timerame: even a
airly limited no-take zone restriction can have the positive result o
mproved sh catches. Rigorous monitoring and data collection have
lso helped to provide a quantitative evidence base or the ecacy
the LMMA approach. Experience with the earliest established
MMAs indicates that most communities engaged wholeheartedly
n the collective eorts needed or successul ongoing resource
management.
Value or money
Another actor contributing to the rapid uptake and replication o the
MMA approach is the relatively low cost o creating and managing
site. For instance, the total cost o establishing Navakavu LMMA
was estimated at less than USD 12,000 over ve years, a modest
nvestment that has led to a doubling o average household income
or about 600 people. A separate study in Navakavu showed that
he increase in sh caught over the same timerame provided aboutUSD 37,800 in benets to the community.
n addition to the benets o increased shing yields, individual sites
ave been able to develop supplementary sources o income to
eray the costs o LMMA management. As part o the conservation
nitiative in Verata, the community agreed to a bio-prospecting
rrangement with a pharmaceutical company, under which the
ommunity was paid licensing ees or samples o medicinal plants
nd marine invertebrates collected in their district. These activities
arned the community USD 30,000, which was put into a trust und
o sustain their local sheries work.
At another site, a hotel pays USD 2 to a community trust und or
scuba diver that utilizes the villages protected area. This prov
an income o roughly USD 1,000 per year. Yet another village
planted articial live rock in its tabu area to sell to exporters o
aquarium trade ater marine lie has colonized it. A company m
the articial live rock substrate, brings it to the village, and assis
placing it on the ree. Within a year, the company harvests the
with local help. The potential return to the community is USD 4
a year. Although these sums are not oten large, they are at
sucient to cover LMMA management costs.
The country-wide network also generates management costs
estimated cost or the initial suite o community workshops prov
by the FLMMA Network is about USD 3,000 per site in the rst
USD 1,000 in the second year, and USD 500 per year therea
However, the costs o replicating the LMMA approach have decre
as a result o province-wide approaches established in Kadavu
other provinces o Fiji. This decentralised extension network m
is a highly eective, low cost method or extending LMMA wo
remote sites. Continued training is needed across sites, how
due to personnel changes over time, as well as with LMMA Net
partner organisations such as government ministries.
External unding covers the operational costs o the Netw
The total cost o the FLMMA Networks core operations, incluworkshops, monitoring equipment, and buoys or demarcating
areas, is about USD 500,000 per year, much o which has histor
been supplied by US-based charitable organizations, including
MacArthur Foundation and the Packard Foundation. It has
challenging or the Network to secure additional sources o na
support, however, especially or core costs. An FLMMA Network
Fund has been established to cover ongoing site assistance c
This was originally established with prize money rom internat
awards or the Networks work, but has also received some un
rom Conservation International.
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1313
Tailoring to local needs
dditional actors contribute to sustainability at the local level. Needs
ssessments are conducted with participation rom community
members during the LMMA preparation process, ensuring that the
esource management systems established are tailored to meet local
eeds, rather than adhering to a generic, one-size-ts-all model.
econdly, the various capacity building workshops undertaken have
ocused on skills such as nancial management, leadership, resourceovernance, and waste management, ensuring a high degree o local
management capacity. This also helps communities to withstand
xternal shocks and adapt to changing conditions, increasing their
esilience and sustainability.
REPLICATION
rom a single village in 1997, Fijis LMMA Network model grew
o include some 213 LMMAs by 2007, involving 279 villages and
overing almost 8,500 sq. km (850,000 ha) o coastal sheries, or
bout 25 per cent o Fijis inshore area. By 2009, this number had
ncreased again to 250 LMMAs, covering 10,745 sq. km. This rapid
eplication has been mirrored across the Pacic, as other countries
ave ollowed Fijis example, with fourishing LMMA networks
eveloping in areas o Indonesia, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea,
he Philippines, and Solomon Islands.
he Pacic island LMMA network has acilitated the international
issemination o the LMMA approach through workshops, site visits
nd the coordination o a range o publications documenting the
uccess o local marine management in the region. Fiji is the LMMA
etworks fagship country network, accounting or more than hal
the total number o LMMAs in the Pacic.
Within Fiji, various strategies have been used to communicate the
uccess o the LMMA approach. News o the Network has been
isseminated through newspaper articles, radio shows, television
roadcasts, newsletters and brochures, leading to request or
echnical advice rom individual communities.
Replicating LMMAs through sub-networks
particularly eective method o enabling replication has been the
reation o sub-networks to extend LMMA work to more remote
reas o Fiji. This is being carried out by province-wide teams which
rovide systematic support to communities. Qoliqoli Management
upport Teams (QMST) are comprised o community members,sheries ocers, overseas volunteers, USP-IAS students, and
rovincial government ocials. They hold management planning
workshops and link LMMA groups across provinces. The approach
as worked especially well in Kadavu, Fijis th largest island, located
o the south o Fijis main island o Viti Levu, where communities rely
eavily on shing and arming or their livelihoods. Kadavu QMSTs
orts to extend the LMMA approach throughout the province
esulted in a rapid increase in the number o communities that have
stablished tabu areas, rom ve in 2002, to 30 in 2005, to 52 in 2008.
The provincial council endorsed the teams work and has pass
resolution calling on every community to set up both terrestria
marine protected areas. Similar province-wide approaches are
being pursued in Cakaudrove and Macuata, two o three provi
based on Vanua Levu, Fijis second largest island.
PARTNERS
The University o the South Pacics Institute o Applied Science (
IAS) collaborated with the FLMMA Network in the implementa
o training workshops. As well as an initial management plan
workshop, these have included workshops on dynamite awarenraising (2004), biological monitoring training and managem
plan reviewing (2005), and baseline biological monitoring
socioeconomic surveys (2006). USP-IAS also provided tech
advice or the launch o the Tagaqe village coral arming project
The Government o Fiji has supported the FLMMA Network thro
its Fisheries Department (a department o the Ministry o Fish
and Forests). The government has ormally adopted the LM
approach and has devoted a division o the Fisheries Departme
coordinate with the Network to promote inshore conservation
FLMMA Secretariat is now housed within the Fisheries Departm
The MacArthur Foundation and the Packard Foundation both contributed signicant amounts to help cover the cos
the FLMMA Networks core operations, which come to about
500,000 per year. Conservation International has contributed u
to the establishment o the FLMMA Network Trust Fund to c
ongoing costs.
World Wildlie Fund (WWF), the Wildlie Conservation Society ( W
and Fiji Institute o Technology have also contributed to the suc
o the initiative.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2
Fig. 2: Growth of number of sites in the LMMA Network (Fij
Indonesia, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines
and the Solomon Islands), 2000-2010
Source: LMMA Network http://www.lmmanetwork.org
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FURTHER REFERENCE
Locally-Managed Marine Area Network website: http://www.lmmanetwork.org
Aalbersberg, B., Tawake A. & Parras, T. 2005. Village by Village: Recovering Fijis Coastal Fisheries. World Resources 2005: The Wealth o
Poor - Managing Ecosystems to Fight Poverty. http://www.wri.org/publication/world-resources-2005-wealth-poor-managing-ec
tems-ght-poverty
Fong P.S. 2006. Community-based coastal resources management in Fiji Islands: case study o Korolevu-i-wai. MS thesis, University o
South Pacic, Suva.
Van Beukering, P.J.H., Scherl, L.M., Sultanian, E., Leisher, C. & Fong P.S. (2007) Case Study 1: Yavusa Navakavu Locally Managed Marine
(Fiji). The Nature Conservancy; Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management; Department o the Environment and Wate
sources; Worldwide Fund or Nature. http://www.prem-online.org/archive/19/doc/Country%20Report%20Navakavu%20_Fiji_.pd
Scaling up local management o coastal sheries in Fiji. 2008. World Resources 2008: Roots o Resilience - Growing the Wealth o
Poor. World Resources Institute. http://www.wri.org/publication/world-resources-2008-roots-o-resilience
http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348164353.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348164253.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348161473.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348150348.pdf