Balancing Sustainable Livelihoods
and Conservation in the Marine
Environment
Mark C. Mifsud
1 Introduction to MPA Management and People’s
Livelihoods
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are now a widely used tool for marine conservation and fisheries management (Charles and Westlund 2016). In coastal areas, it has
become clear that the success of MPAs, and the achievement of sustainable fishery
production, requires a combination of effective management and conservation frameworks, maintenance of decent fisheries livelihoods, and a governance system that
allows for effective participation of coastal communities, fishing people, and other
users in considering, designing and implementing MPAs (Charles and Westlund
2016).
MPAs are an important management tool that can either help or hurt local livelihoods, depending on how they are developed, designed, and implemented. It is not
unusual that fishermen resist the establishment or expansion of MPAs. This is usually
done because fishermen may fear a reduction in their livelihood and also a decrease
in their ability to access to their fisheries. The establishment of MPAs may therefore
result in conflicts between fishers and state agencies. A further issue is that there
may be increased conflicts between fishers and the tourism sector. This stems from
the fact that the objectives and programmes of MPAs often in favour of tourism at
the expense of other sectors (CANARI 2005).
Research generally points towards the effective importance of incorporating stakeholders in meaningful participation for effective marine conservation planning and
management (Pomeroy and Douvere 2008; Voyer et al. 2012). In actual fact, some
M. C. Mifsud (B)
CEER, University of Malta, Valletta, Malta
e-mail: mark.c.mifsud@um.edu.mt
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities, Sustainability and Society: Supporting
the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, World Sustainability Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63399-8_2
19
and Conservation in the Marine
Environment
Mark C. Mifsud
1 Introduction to MPA Management and People’s
Livelihoods
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are now a widely used tool for marine conservation and fisheries management (Charles and Westlund 2016). In coastal areas, it has
become clear that the success of MPAs, and the achievement of sustainable fishery
production, requires a combination of effective management and conservation frameworks, maintenance of decent fisheries livelihoods, and a governance system that
allows for effective participation of coastal communities, fishing people, and other
users in considering, designing and implementing MPAs (Charles and Westlund
2016).
MPAs are an important management tool that can either help or hurt local livelihoods, depending on how they are developed, designed, and implemented. It is not
unusual that fishermen resist the establishment or expansion of MPAs. This is usually
done because fishermen may fear a reduction in their livelihood and also a decrease
in their ability to access to their fisheries. The establishment of MPAs may therefore
result in conflicts between fishers and state agencies. A further issue is that there
may be increased conflicts between fishers and the tourism sector. This stems from
the fact that the objectives and programmes of MPAs often in favour of tourism at
the expense of other sectors (CANARI 2005).
Research generally points towards the effective importance of incorporating stakeholders in meaningful participation for effective marine conservation planning and
management (Pomeroy and Douvere 2008; Voyer et al. 2012). In actual fact, some
M. C. Mifsud (B)
CEER, University of Malta, Valletta, Malta
e-mail: mark.c.mifsud@um.edu.mt
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities, Sustainability and Society: Supporting
the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, World Sustainability Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63399-8_2
19