Social Science Research Strategy for Marine Protected Areas

Wahle, Charles

This protocol is meant to provide research strategies for marine protected areas. Studying these can be difficult, because they typically have human restrictions, so this protocol advises some helpful research techniques that abide to the restrictions. Author Introduction: As concern over the health of the oceans grows, many nations, including the United States, are considering marine protected areas (MPAs) to conserve their most important marine habitats and resources. MPAs can be an effective tool to balance sustainable use with long-term conservation of the ocean, especially when they are planned, managed and evaluated using sound natural and social science. Because MPAs often involve some restriction of human uses within the protected area, and thereby have the potential to adversely affect specific users and associated communities, they often generate considerable debate and concern among stakeholders. In many cases, this debate stems from, and hinges upon, the relative costs (often measured in socioeconomic terms) and benefits (often measured in ecological terms) of specific site-based proposals for MPAs, and the potential for subsequent reallocation of impacts within coastal communities. Although we are beginning to understand the natural ecology of these systems more fully, federal and state management agencies are often faced with a dearth of information on the social, cultural and economic aspects of MPAs. This critical information gap about the socioeconomic implications of MPAs jeopardizes the nation’s ability to make science-based decisions that include the human environment as well as the natural environment. To fill this need, the National Marine Protected Areas Center (NMPAC), working with several agency and nongovernmental partners, has developed a national strategy for social science research. This document identifies high priority needs for social science information that are fundamental to the planning, management and evaluation of MPAs and recommends practical ways to meet them through research, assessment, capacity building and leveraged funding. The issues identified here are national – and even international - in scope and apply to MPAs designed for many purposes under many jurisdictions. A series of regional workshops is planned beginning in 2003 to develop detailed research priorities based on the specific needs of particular areas around the U.S. This national social science research strategy, along with the resulting regional research action plans, will form the foundation for the national research program that will inform and guide agencies, funders and Congress in the allocation of resources toward this increasingly critical national information need. This document addresses three primary needs for social science information and capacity.

Social Science Research Strategy for Marine Protected Areas

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