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7 Conclusion

Please summarise and highlight the key messages and conclusions from your case study.
The Egadi archipelago is a complex system of spatially-based sectoral initiatives that aim at nature
conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in the area.
The Egadi MPA is a component of such complex system. It has proved an interesting case study that
highlighted many institutional, legislative and management lacks that have determined an inefficient
governance approach in the area in the last twenty years. Local policies have often been perceived as a
mix of impositions to many people and subsidies to few. Such approach has promoted the pursuit of
personal interests, as opposed to the responsibility of bearing efforts for attaining collective benefits.
The lack of a management plan in the MPA hampers any effective governance aiming at meeting the
primary objective of maintaining or restoration to a favourable conservation status in the area. Without
an implemented management plan the objectives cannot be fulfilled, the measures contained in the
MPA regulations cannot be effectively enforced and a monitoring and evaluation program cannot be
launched.
Several intra- and inter-sectoral conflicts exist among the main activities going on in the MPA.
Unsolved conflicts represent an important deterrent to the achievement of the primary objective
because they involve politicians, trade associations and managers in a sort of “game of roles” aimed
only at defending the interests of single sectors.
However some positive elements of governance have been recently adopted in the Egadi. First of all
the implementation of the MPA regulations and a new bottom-up approach, started during the MPA
re-zonation process underway. Then, the implementation of the Trapani LFMP, which includes a
governance body that involves many local stakeholders as well as the MPA director. This is the first
attempt to an integrated management approach in the Egadi archipelago and it could contribute to
higher effectiveness in achieving the priority objective. Also the recent implementation of the “Isole
Egadi” management plan for the governance of the Natura 2000 sites represent another important step
towards an integrated management of the conservation and sustainable use of the Egadi natural
resources.
However, to date no strategic governance approach has been set to coordinate all existing initiatives
with spatial elements related to nature conservation, fisheries and tourism. The lack of a coordinating
body encompassing the whole area hampers the achievement of the priority objective.
A possible new governance scenario should be based on a clear management structure, which could be
represented by a permanent committee that includes representatives of (i) local institutions (Egadi
MPA, Province of Trapani, CoGePA Trapani), (ii) research, (iii) local NGOs, (iv) local entrepreneurs,
especially those involved in tourism and fisheries. Such committee should coordinate and integrate all
activities aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Moreover, thanks to a
thorough knowledge of marine activities and uses gained from the participation of the different
stakeholders, the committee could adopt appropriate management approaches for promoting
interactions and dialogue between different sectors in order to reduce primary and secondary conflicts
in the area. Using the “power” of the incentives, the knowledge from research and the intermediary
role of NGOs the fundamental issue of intra- and inter-sectoral conflicts could be concretely addressed
with benefits for the governance of the Egadi Archipelago. However, in order to attain an operational
status the committee should be appropriately funded and its opinion should be implemented by
decision makers.

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