CommunityManagement

Characteristics of successful community-based management

It is important to create a coral reef management plan with community input that includes not only ecological conditions but also socioeconomic concerns such as environmental regeneration and preservation of the reefs and livelihood enhancement for communities. We must be careful to not trade off environmental preservation for poverty. The planning process should be transparent and fair. There must be successful communication between administrative/government officials and stakeholders in the community. Community members must have clear and concise rules of access, withdrawal, and exclusion in regards to reefs and reef fish. Some examples of effective rules include: issuing a limited number of fishing permits and creating user organizations so as to monitor any illegal withdrawal of reef fish.

Capacity building within the community, including education and empowerment, is a pivotal part of community-based management. It ensures that community members are both made cognizant of the importance of coral reefs in global biodiversity and take ownership of them. This can be made possible through comprehensive public awareness campaigns and institutional buy-ins. In the event of conflicts, this capacity building combined with effective communication between stakeholders will facilitate conflict resolution.

In the process of planning truly effective community based management, allowing for iterative feedback loops is essential. These feedback loops make it so that government, interested NGOs, and community members can learn from past mistakes and work together for a more sustainable future.