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SUSTAINABLE FINANCING OF MPAs IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: A FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

2.3.2 Methodology for assessment of the financial situation at site level

a) Survey development
Data quantifying the basic costs of maintaining an established MPA can be derived from
annual budgetary information (McCrea-Strub et al., 2011). With regard to local budget
analysis, the purpose of the survey was to obtain a clear understanding of the financial
structure characterising the activities and components included in the existing management
of MPAs. This overall understanding of financial transactions arising from the existence of
MPAs provides information on the costs of activities necessary to achieve MPA objectives.
Combination with qualitative analysis of MPAs would allow the financing requirements of the
various MPA management systems to be specified and indicate how additional effort could
ensure the long-term and optimal management of the MPA.
In order to collect such data, a local survey was undertaken that consisted of an online
questionnaire to which 20 MPAs responded out of 32 Mediterranean MPAs invited to fill in
the questionnaire. This questionnaire was supplemented by phone interviews in order to
complete data collection with the necessary qualitative information.
Sample MPAs were selected for the survey with regard their ability to provide either
information on the costs associated with 11 identified “effective” management parameters or
information on costs associated with their establishment (see Appendix 1).

To collect information on the costs associated with “effective” management parameters,
questionnaires were distributed to MPAs for which data had already been collected in the
context of the Mediterranean MPA 2012 inventory work and identified as being relatively
“more adequately” managed than other MPAs. These sampled MPAs were assumed to
mobilise the minimum resources required to operate actions identified as essential to achieve
and sustain effective ecosystem functioning in MPAs. These MPAs could thus theoretically
provide an approximation of the financial requirements for basic management of an MPA.
The survey was structured to financially characterise the activities and components of
existing MPA management. Assessing each use of resources – human, material and
financial – helped MPA managers identify those resources that need to be funded to allow
implementation of activities and hence achieve MPA objectives.
The questionnaire comprised three parts (
Figure 4) detailed below. The financial costs of an MPA include the initial, typically short-
term, investments for its creation, along with operating costs (including administration,
management and enforcement) (McCrea-Strub et al., 2010) (see Appendix 2 and Appendix 3
for details of data collection).

Needs assessment
Financial Management
accounting accounting “What resources are
“How much does “How are the needed to achieve
effective
current management resources management of your
cost?” distributed?”
MPA?"

May 2015 – Vertigo Lab, for MedPAN, RAC/SPA and WWF Med. Page 25