Factors influencing the success of community-based marine protected areas in North Sulawesi Indonesia

The purpose of this research was to examine factors that influence the success of community based marine protected areas in North Sulawesi Indonesia. The research took place in North Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. A multi-methods approach was used including administration of a survey questionnaire to a random sample of household respondents, use of secondary data, key informant interviews and direct observations within the field sites. Results demonstrate that community-based management interventions and community responses are complex and varied. Progress in establishing community-based marine protected areas was related to community context and the amount and type of project interventions provided. The role of community organizers was also an influencing factor. Compliance with resource management and conservation rules was related to the distance of the reef area to a settlement. Effective enforcement measures can be tailored to the type of violator and the type of rules. Local rules can be effectively enforced when the violator is from the community. Enforcement is more difficult when the violator is from outside the village. Alternative livelihood strategies provide only a small degree of impact on reducing fishing effort if not coupled with effort restriction or limited entry strategies. Community development interventions play an important role in promoting successful conservation strategies. The dynamic nature of the human ecology of coastal communities defies any form of highly predictive cause and effect linkages assumed in most project logic models Since complexity is inherent in the human component of the ecosystem, the uncertainty of human responses to management interventions requires an adaptive and ecosystems-based management approach.