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• a decentralised approach, whereby a degree of autonomy to fulfil certain responsibilities is
granted to lower levels of government: deconcentration, delegation or devolution (see
glossary)
• a bottom-up (relying on user participation and community self-governance), or
• a market approach (relying on economic incentives), or
• a combination of different approaches, in which case, please try to identify the main approach
(i.e. the approach followed in driving the decision-making process)

From a top-down towards a bottom-up process
The Egadi MPA was established by the Ministry of the Environment in 1991 with a top-down
approach which did not consider any form of stakeholder participation to the design and planning of
the MPA. Local residents and fishermen were not given the opportunity to comment on the MPA
designation and most of them have opposed its existence from the beginning. The local politicians
involved in the MPA creation process tried to meet the requests of both fans and opponents of the
reserve in order to reach a “painless” compromise. The main fans were environmentalists, cultural
associations, research bodies; the main opponents were fishermen from Trapani and Marsala,
(especially trawlers - see conflicts section) and politicians of the opposite party to the one supporting
the MPA creation. This governance approach ended in the ungovernability of the area, which was
protected only on the paper until 2001 when, after a 10-year management by the Coast Guard, the
management responsibility was transferred to Municipality of Favignana. As a matter of fact the first
positive effects of the management change came out only in 2010, when an executive regulation of the
MPA was implemented.
The ineffectiveness of the governance approach adopted during the 1991-2010 period is confirmed by
the results of the interviews. All the twenty-three stakeholders stated that only after the adoption of the
MPA regulations and the designation of the current director, appointed by the Ministry of the
Environment, the Egadi MPA is starting to work. Some interviewees declared that they were initially
worried about certain rules and, above all, about the fines to pay in case of infringement. Another
positive perception which some stakeholders expressed was about the bottom-up approach that the
management body is finally adopting. The adoption of such new governance approach was evident
during the formulation of a proposal dealing with the re-zonation of the MPA. However, the new
bottom-up consultations for the MPA re-zonation involved mainly the trade association of fishers
while other stakeholders such as hotel owners, diving centres, tourist agencies and also some
enforcement bodies were not consulted.

Disconnections amongst the key sectoral policies involved in the governance framework
The key sectoral policies involved in the Egadi governance framework are still disconnected. As
described in the context, the Egadi archipelago is a mosaic of sectoral initiatives that aim to nature
conservation and to a sustainable use of resources. However there is a clear disconnection among the
legislation supporting the key sectoral policies involved in the Egadi. MPAs refer to the national
legislation while Nature 2000 sites, which include the Egadi Islands itself as a SCI, follow the EU
Habitat Directive for their creation and general principles and the Regional Department of the
Environment for their management. An analogous disconnection exists for the management of
fisheries in the area, which is split between the NFMP - which refers to the CPF and to the Ministry
of Agriculture, Food and Forests, and the LFMP - which refers to the Regional Department of
Fisheries and to the local management body (Co.Ge.Pa.) and is funded by the EFF (Fig. 3).
Different legislations and management bodies without any coordination or effective integration
mechanism affect negatively the objective of conservation and valorisation of nature and make the
solution of primary and secondary conflicts in the area difficult. These legislative and management
malfunctions are clearly perceived by the interviewed stakeholders who expressed the need for a more
effective integration among the key sectoral policies and for an effective coordination of the
management bodies involved in the conservation and use of nature in the Egadi.

Discuss the overall effectiveness of the governance approach in achieving the priority objective, using
both qualitative and quantitative descriptions wherever possible. This assessment of effectiveness can
be based on the results from the MESMA WP2 framework.

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