Title
Socioeconomic thresholds that affect use of customary fisheries management tools
Author(s)
Cinner, J.E.; Sutton, S.G.; Bond, T.G.
Published
2007
Publisher
Conservation Biology
Abstract
Customary forms of resource management, such as taboos, have received considerable attention as a potential basis for conservation initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. Yet little is known about how socioeconomic factors influence the ability of communities to use customary management practices and whether socioeconomic transformations within communities will weaken conservation initiatives with a customary foundation. We used a comparative approach to examine how socioeconomic factors may influence whether communities use customary fisheries management in Papua New Guinea. We examined levels of material wealth (modernization), dependence on marine resources, population, and distance to market in 15 coastal communities. We compared these socioeconomic conditions in 5 communities that used a customary method of closing their fishing ground with 10 communities that did not use this type of management. There were apparent threshold levels of dependence on marine resources, modernization, distance to markets (<16.5 km), and population (>600 people) beyond which communities did not use customary fisheries closures. Nevertheless, economic inequality, rather than mean modernization levels seemed to influence the use of closures. Our results suggest that customary management institutions are not resilient to factors such as population growth and economic modernization. If customary management is to be used as a basis for modern conservation initiatives, cross-scale institutional arrangements such as networks and bridging organizations may be required to help filter the impacts of socioeconomic transformations. © 2007 Society for Conservation Biology.
Keywords
coastal zone; common property resource; comparative study; conservation; coral reef; fishery management; socioeconomic conditions; threshold; animal; article; cultural anthropology; economics; fish; food industry; human; physiology; socioeconomics; Animals; Culture; Fisheries; Fishes; Humans; Papua New Guinea; Socioeconomic Factors; Indian Ocean; Melanesia; Pacific islands; Pacific Ocean; Anthozoa; Common property; Coral reefs; Customary resource management; Social thresholds
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PUB10639