Governing Marine Protected Areas

In this innovative volume, the author addresses some important challenges related to the effective and equitable governance of marine protected areas (MPAs). These challenges are explored through a study of 20 MPA case studies from around the world. A novel governance analysis framework is employed to address some key questions: How can top-down and bottom-up approaches to MPA governance be combined? What does this mean, in reality, in different contexts? How can we develop and implement governance approaches that are both effective in achieving conservation objectives and equitable in fairly sharing associated costs and benefits? The author explores the many issues that these questions raise, as well as exploring options for addressing them. A key theme is that MPA governance needs to combine people, state and market approaches, rather than being based on one approach and its related ideals. Building on a critique of the governance analysis framework developed for common-pool resources, the author puts forward a more holistic and less prescriptive framework for deconstructing and analyzing the governance of MPAs. This inter-disciplinary analysis is aimed at supporting the development of MPA governance approaches that build social-ecological resilience through both institutional and biological diversity. It will also make a significant contribution to wider debates on natural resource governance, as it poses some critical questions for contemporary approaches to related research and offers an alternative theoretical and empirical approach. Review: There are many books on how to design and create marine protected areas (MPAs), so vital for ocean conservation, but few on how to make them successful. This book plugs that crucial gap, distilling experience from across the world into sound and creative advice. - Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation, University of York, UK. The issue of governance is addressed in this book in a novel and important way. Through the lens of his review of a large number of MPA case studies, Jones makes the case for diversity and complexity in the governance of MPAs, which are themselves ecologically diverse and complex. This is a signal achievement which should greatly advance both policy and practice. - Bonnie J. McCay, Distinguished Professor, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, USA. There is a lot of scattered information about the value of MPAs, but we need a book that makes sense of all this information, informs us on how to make the best of the MPAs we have, and reviews why we need more. Dr. Jones' is that book. - Daniel Pauly, Professor of Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Canada. MPAs are mystifyingly prone to failure. Using a robust case study analysis approach, Jones clearly demonstrates a broad variety of ways to achieve management-to-scale via different governance arrangements, in order to harness the significant potential of MPAs in achieving conservation and sustainable use objectives. - Tundi Agardy, Executive Director, Sound Seas, Author of Ocean Zoning: Making Marine Management More Effective (Earthscan, 2010). This book addresses the challenges of implementing and effectively managing MPAs for narrower habitat protection. It also places MPAs in the broader context in terms of both governance and ecological theories. These issues are addressed in a novel, thorough and trans-disciplinary way. This is an important contribution to the field of marine conservation and natural resource management. - Richard Kenchington, Professor, Ecosystem and Resource Management, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia. Peter Jones examines a very timely topic: governing marine MPAs within nations' waters. He sees the big picture and the diversity of details that governments and stakeholders need to shape if MPAs are to benefit biodiversity and people. Read this book! - Elliott Norse, Founder and Chief Scientist, Marine Conservation Institute, Seattle, USA. Here is a