Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Determining the Feasibility of Establishing New Multiple-Use Marine Protected Areas in Chile

  • Published:
AMBIO Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper evaluates the feasibility of establishing a multiple-use marine protected area. The methodology was applied to evaluate three proposed sites in Chile with diverse conservation needs, social stress and poverty levels, and different economic activities (small-scale fishing, heavy industry, and mining activities). We use two broad categories for the evaluation: socio-economic and political–institutional. The methodology uses a combination of secondary data with personal interviews, workshops, and focus groups with stakeholders (e.g., fishermen, unions, politicians, social organizations) from different political, social, and economic backgrounds to characterize current and potential natural and social resources and to evaluate in an ordinal scale the feasibility of establishing the protected area. The methodology allows us to correctly identify the challenges faced in each site and can be used to develop appropriate strategies for balancing economic, social, and environmental objectives. This methodology can be replicated to evaluate the feasibility of other marine or terrestrial protected areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The three areas were Punta Morro-Río Copiapó, in Northern Chile (declared in December 2004), Lafken Mapu Lahual (August 2003) and Francisco Coloane (October 2005) in the southern Chile.

  2. SERNAPESCA: National Marine Fisheries Service.

References

  • Bess, R., and R. Rallapudi. 2007. Spatial conflicts in New Zealand fisheries: The rights of fishers and protection of the marine environment. Marine Policy 31: 719–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, L., and J. Maidens. 2005. Arrecifes en peligro en el Caribe. Reef at risk in the Caribbean, 84. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Camus, P.A. 2001. Biogeografía marina de Chile continental. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 74: 587–617 (in Spanish).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castilla, J.C. 1986. ¿Sigue existiendo la necesidad de establecer parques y reservas marítimas en Chile? Revista Ambiente y Desarrollo II: 53–63 (in Spanish).

    Google Scholar 

  • Centro de Estudios Ambientales de la Universidad de Concepción (EULA). 2009. Informe Final Expediente Técnico para la Solicitud del AMCP-MU Sitio Prioritario Península de Hualpén. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, Santiago (in Spanish).

  • Chrislip, D., and C. Larson. 1994. Collaborative leadership how citizens and civic leaders can make a difference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Comisión Nacional del Medio Ambiente- Gobierno de Chile (CONAMA). 2005. Política Nacional De Áreas Protegidas (in Spanish).

  • Evans, P. 1996. Government action, social capital and development: Reviewing the evidence on synergy. World Development 24: 1119–1132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feeny, D., F. Berkes, B. McCay, and J.M. Acheson. 1990. The tragedy of the commons twenty-two years later. Human Ecology 18: 1–19.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Foell, J., E. Harrison, and R.L. Stirrat. 1999. Participatory approaches to natural resource management: The case of coastal zone management in the Puttalam District, Sri Lanka. Summary findings of DFID-funded research project No. R6977. University of Sussex, United Kingdom, 1999.

  • Forest, N.B. 1998. Assessment of coastal regulations and implementation: Case study of Roatán, Bay Island Honduras. Coastal Management Journal 26: 125–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaymer C., C. Dumont, and W.U. Stotz. 2007. Evaluación de línea base de las reservas marinas “Isla Chañaral” e “Isla Choros-Damas”. Proyecto Fondo de Investigación Pesquera (FIP) N° 2006-56 (in Spanish).

  • Global Environmental Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2005. Conservación de la Biodiversidad de Importancia Mundial a lo Largo de la Costa Chilena. Documento Proyecto número 40493, UNDP (in Spanish).

  • Gordon, H.S. 1954. The economic theory of a common-property resource: The fishery. Journal of Political Economy 62: 124–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, A., S.E. Smith, G. Lipsett-Moore, C. Groves, N. Peterson, S. Sheppard, P. Lokani, R. Hamilton, et al. 2009. Designing a resilient network of marine protected areas for Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Oryx 43: 488–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimble, R., and K. Wellard. 1996. Stakeholder methodologies in natural resource management: A review of principles, contexts, experiences and opportunities. Agricultural Systems 55: 173–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardin, G. 1968. The tragedy of the commons. Science 162: 1243–1248.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kelleher, G. 1999. Guidelines for marine protected areas. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, C., A. Chain, L. Kircher, A.J. Cundiff, N. Gardner, Y. Hrovat, A. Scholz, B. Kendall, et al. 2008. Striking a balance between biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic viability in the design of marine protected areas. Conservation Biology 22: 691–700.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McCrea-Strub, A., D. Zeller, U.R. Sumaila, J. Nelson, A. Balmford, and D. Pauly. 2011. Understanding the cost of establishing marine protected areas. Marine Policy 35: 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno-Bonilla, M., R. De Andrade, and A. Cabezas. 2009. Proyecto Conservación de la Biodiversidad de Importancia Mundial a lo Largo de la Costa Chilena: Logros, lecciones y desafíos para la conformación del Subsistema de Áreas Marinas Protegidas en Chile. Memorias I Congreso Nacional de Áreas Protegidas, Bogotá (in Spanish).

  • Ostrom, E. 1990. Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, E. 1998. A behavioral approach to the rational choice theory of collective action: Presidential Address, American Political Science Association, 1997. American Political Science Review 92: 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, E. 2005. Understanding institutional diversity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, E., and T.K. Ahn. 2003. Foundations of social capital. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pauly, D., V. Christensen, S. Guenette, T.J. Pitcher, R. Sumaila, C. Walters, R. Watson, and D. Zeller. 2002. Towards sustainability in world fisheries. Nature 418: 689–695.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • PISCO (Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans). 2007. La Ciencia de las Reservas Marinas (2da Edición, Versión para Latinoamérica y el Caribe), 22 (in Spanish). www.piscoweb.org.

  • Pomeroy, R.S., L.M. Watson, J.E. Parks, and G.A. Cid. 2005. How is your MPA doing? A methodology for evaluating the management effectiveness of marine protected areas. Ocean and Coastal Management 48: 485–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Promar Pacífico Ltda. 2009a. Informe Técnico de Sustentabilidad AMCP- MU Península de Mejillones: Elaboración de plan de gestión para el sitio marino costero Península de Mejillones. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, Santiago (in Spanish).

  • Promar Pacífico Ltda. 2009b. Informe Técnico AMCP- MU Punta Patache. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, Santiago (in Spanish).

  • Ramírez, L.F., D. Alonso, C. Segura-Quintero, R. Moreno, S. Mendoza, J. Maldonado, A.P. Castro, L.A. Calero, et al. 2009. Viabilidad de una red de áreas marinas protegidas, Caribe colombiano. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (INVEMAR), Santa Marta (in Spanish).

  • Rockloff, S.F., and S. Lockie. 2004. Participatory tools for coastal zone management: Use of stakeholder analysis and social mapping in Australia. Journal of Coastal Conservation 10: 81–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sale, P.F., R.K. Cowen, B.S. Danilowicz, G.P. Jones, J.P. Kritzer, K.C. Lindeman, S. Planes, N.V.C. Polunin, et al. 2005. Critical science gaps impede use of no-take fishery. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 20: 74–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salm, R.V., J. Clark, and E. Siirila. 2000. Marine and coastal protected areas: A guide for planners and managers, 371. Washington, DC: IUCN.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Servicio Nacional de Pesca (SERNAPESCA). 2006. Anuario Estadístico de Pesca y Acuiculturaaño 2006. Chile (in spanish)

  • Sierralta, L., R. Serrano, J. Rovira, and C. Cortés. 2011. Las áreas protegidas de Chile. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, Santiago (in Spanish).

  • Stefansson, G., and A.A. Rosenberg. 2005. Combining control measures for more effective management of fisheries under uncertainty: Quotas, effort limitation and protected areas. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 360: 133–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan-Sealey, K., and G. Bustamante. 1999. Setting geographic priorities for marine conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Arlington: The Nature Conservancy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vásquez, F., J.C. Castilla, S. Gelcich, M.A. Quiroga, P. Carrasco, X. Paz, and J. Riquelme. 2008. Evaluación económica de los activos ambientales presentes en la red de reservas marinas decretadas en el país bajo la Ley General de Pesca y Acuicultura. Proyecto Fondo de Investigación Pesquera (FIP) N° 2008-56 (in Spanish).

Download references

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the project “Análisis de factibilidad de proyectos de réplicas de áreas marinas de conservación” (Comisión Nacional del Medio Ambiente, CONAMA, 2010). Felipe Vásquez Lavín also acknowledge financial support from the Scientific Millennium Initiative of the Chilean Ministry of Economics, Promotion and Tourism under Project NS 100007.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business and Economics, Universidad del Desarrollo and Research Nucleus on Environmental and Resource Economics-MSI, Department of Economics, Universidad de Concepción, Ainavillo 456, Concepción, Chile

    Felipe Vásquez-Lavín

  2. Departamento de Administración Pública y Ciencia Política, Universidad de Concepción, Edmundo Larenas 140, Concepción, Chile

    Jeanne W. Simon

  3. School of Business and Economics, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Alonso de Rivera 2850, Concepción, Chile

    Ximena Paz-Lerdón

Authors
  1. Felipe Vásquez-Lavín
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jeanne W. Simon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ximena Paz-Lerdón
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Felipe Vásquez-Lavín.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 80 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vásquez-Lavín, F., Simon, J.W. & Paz-Lerdón, X. Determining the Feasibility of Establishing New Multiple-Use Marine Protected Areas in Chile. AMBIO 42, 997–1009 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0455-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0455-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation