Case Studies UNDP: FIJI LOCALLY-MANAGED MARINE AREA NETWORK, Fiji

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: FIJI LOCALLY-MANAGED MARINE AREA NETWORK, Fiji

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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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4

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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55

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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6

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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7

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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10

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

Case Studies UNDP: FIJI LOCALLY-MANAGED MARINE AREA NETWORK, Fiji

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