Agreements: Bioprospecting/Live Rock Harvesting for Coral Conservation in Fiji

Location

Fiji, South Pacific

Description

This case study was presented in June 2008 at the workshop, A Private Sector Approach – Conservation Agreements in Support of Marine Protection. The information below is a short abstract of the case study. A complete case study will be posted on the toolkit prior to October 2008.

Local participants in a shellfish survey. Photo ©William Aalbersberg, University of the South Pacific

A Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) is an area of nearshore waters actively being managed by local communities or resource-owning groups, or being collaboratively managed by resident communities with local government and/or partner organizations. An LMMA strategy offers an alternate and complementary approach to the centrally-managed system where a body (such as a national government agency) largely uses “command-and-control” to manage a marine area, often from a remote location. As of 2007, 200 LMMAs involving more than 300 communities had been declared in Fiji, covering about 30% of the country’s inshore fishery. The LMMAs in Fiji protect reefs, sea grasses, and mangroves. Management plans associated with LMMAs include income-generating activities. Under this guise, contractual arrangements between private companies and communities have been entered into for bioprospecting, artificial live rock harvesting, and SCUBA diving. This case study will explore these arrangements as a means to augment local incomes and create tangible value in protecting the marine environment through LMMAs.1

Contact Information

Dr. Bill Aalbersberg, Director
Institute of Applied Science, University of the South Pacific
E-mail: aalbersberg@usp.ac.fj

See Also

Locally Managed Marine Areas