Resumo

STRATOUDAKIS, Yorgos et al. Ecological, socioeconomic and governance conditions after the implementation of the first spatial plan in the Prof. Luiz Saldanha Marine Park (Arrábida, Portugal): II - user perceptions. RGCI [online]. 2015, vol.15, n.2, pp.167-178. ISSN 1646-8872.  https://doi.org/10.5894/rgci572.

The Prof. Luiz Saldanha Marine Park (PMLS - Arrábida, Portugal) was created in 1998 and has been managed according to a spatial plan since 2005. This study presents the results from an inquiry on the perceptions of PMLS users in relation to the ecological, socioeconomic and governance situation in the Park 4-7 years after the phased implementation of spatial rules in this Marine Protected Area (MPA). The 37 questions on the social-ecological system and some auxiliary questions were answered by 64 PMLS users from six categories: fishers operating outside the MPA, recreational fishers, divers, researchers, public administration and others. A distinct sampling strategy was followed for each user category depending on the level of previous knowledge of people with high level of familiarity with the questionnaire issues (close to a census on researchers and public administration members with specific activity in PMLS; snowball sampling for professional and recreational fishers; and provision of contacts of experienced divers from the Portuguese Centre of Sub-aquatic Activities). Respondents were asked to indicate their perception of improvement (moderate or large), stability or deterioration (moderate or large) on an ordinal scale of possible responses (5 levels Likert-type scale) for each of the issues at question. In total, 1694 replies were obtained to the 2368 questions placed (response rate of 71.5%, with the great majority of non-response being due to lack of knowledge). Aggregated replies were used to construct trend indicators on issues relevant for any MPA and were compared statistically with a series of samples from a theoretical distribution of replies centered in the lack of change (standardized normal distribution, truncated at 2 standard deviations). The effect of respondent opinion on the PMLS was tested by comparing the distribution of replies between “optimists” (people whose opinion of the PMLS improved in the last 4-5 years) and others. Overall, user replies indicate a positive view on the evolution of the PMLS and its interaction with small scale fisheries until 2012, with 2.04 replies of perceived improvement for every reply of perceived deterioration. This ratio was substantially lower for socioeconomic issues, where a perceived significant improvement in PMLS knowledge and its dissemination were counterbalanced by a perceived deterioration in the ability of excluded fishers to maintain a living related to fishing and the attraction of fishing as employment for youth. This contrast is also detected when comparing the distribution of replies to 5 socioeconomic and governance questions identically phrased with respect to fishers and other users: on two issues (earnings and management solutions) the same group of respondents considered that the evolution in the last 4-5 years was significantly better for other users than for fishers (although no significant difference was found in the evolution of group conflicts with the MPA managing authority). Variation in replies was detected among user categories (mainly in ecological issues), while significant differences between the replies of “optimists” and others were only found in 6 questions (PMLS acceptance by fishers, other users and local community; attraction of fishing as employment for youth; coverage by brown macroalgae and sightings of seabirds and marine mammals). Comparing these results with those of the inquiry to PMLS fishers (Stratoudakis et al., 2015) there is a prevalence of a divergence in perceptions for ecological issues (with PMLS fishers not detecting the improvements perceived by other users) and a convergence in socioeconomic and governance issues (both those indicating improvement and those indicating deterioration). The joint objective of these two studies is to inform the management effectiveness evaluation that is included in the process of revision of the spatial plan for the PMLS and to set the basis for a longitudinal monitoring plan focusing on participatory methods.

Palavras-chave : MPA; Social-Ecological System; Participatory Monitoring; Questionnaire; Management Effectiveness Evaluation.

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