Page 94 - Binet_et_al2015

SUSTAINABLE FINANCING OF MPAs IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: A FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

8 APPENDIX 1: MPA SAMPLE SELECTION

Beyond achieving 10 percent of protected area coverage in the marine realm, the revised
CBD targets also call for Marine Protected Areas to be effectively managed.
Achievement of MPA goals can be directly monitored via preservation objectives and be
assessed by measuring change in the quality of habitats and ecosystems since the creation
of the MPA. But MPA goals can also be monitored indirectly via management objectives and
assessment of implementation level for actions identified as being necessary to guarantee
the preservation of habitats and ecosystems. The effectiveness of an MPA thus shows how
far activities implemented during its development allow for achieving MPA preservation goals
(Hockings et al., 2000). The effectiveness of an MPA is expressed with regard to its
management efforts, in contrast to efficiency which considers achievement of management
plan objectives (see box below).

Management effectiveness assessments help to understand how and why actions are
suitable for the local context or have to be improved, which often requires an additional
operating and investment budget. Management effectiveness is thus associated with sound
MPA governance, adequate management plan definition and the resources to implement
this plan.
Although research on MPA effectiveness is still in its infancy, there are global studies that
point to a significant shortfall in effectiveness — only 20-50% of Protected Areas (terrestrial
included) assessed were found to be effectively managed (Watson et al., 2014).
In the Mediterranean, MPA Status 2012 attempts an initial assessment of the management
effectiveness of the current network of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas. For 80 MPAs
analysed in 2012, only 19% cover the full range of technical, legal, scientific and human
measures available for governance, with relevant objectives on knowledge, conservation,
awareness raising and sustainable tourism (Zakynthos, Cerberus-Banyuls, Montgri-Medes
parks or reserves, etc.) (Gabrié et al., 2012). These MPAs, having the necessary
management resources for staff and equipment and also for governance, present a fairly
comprehensive management system that tends towards effective management.
Management effectiveness was measured via the following 11 parameters taken from the
responses of MPA managers:

o Existence or absence of a management plan
o Existence of baseline studies for the MPA

o Implementation of regular monitoring programs or occasional studies within
the MPA
o Type of governance (stakeholder participation)

o Presence of no-take zones
o Perception of overall changes in fishery resources

o Personnel assigned to the MPA (sworn staff, staff training)
o Scale of monitoring

o Existing infrastructure and equipment
o Awareness raising tools developed by the MPA

May 2015 – Vertigo Lab, for MedPAN, RAC/SPA and WWF Med. Page 94