Alifereti Tawake, Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Network.

1. Use of Evaluation Results for Adaptive Management:Case study: Veratavou district Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Project in Fiji. Alifereti Tawake, Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Network.

2. What is a Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA)?LMMA is a Strategy that advocatesactive participation of communities and other local stakeholders in developing, implementing and evaluating their marine area management plans through adaptive management approaches: • Categories • Community-based marine area management initiatives. • Collaborative management (national, NOGs, institutions and resource owners/users) of marine resources • LMMA Tools (3 types): • No take areas, MPA, marine reserves, sanctuaries. • Species specific harvest refugia • Restriction of Fishing or harvesting effort. • For more information: www.Lmmanetwork.org

3. Adaptive management Cycle C Develop a Monitoring Plan B D Implement Develop a The Management & Management Plan: Monitoring Goals, Objectives, Project Plans & Activities Cycle E A E Develop Analyze Conceptual Data and Model Based Communicate on Local Site Results Conditions Start Iterate Clarify Group's Use Results to Mission Adapt & Learn

4. Presentation Overview 1. Brief site description 2. History of project activity implementation and evaluation of monitoring results leading to Adaptive Management 3. Lessons learned on • Challenges • Opportunities for applying evaluation results to improve the management of a protected area (LMMA) and replication beyond boundaries of specific sites 4. Recommendations

5. Source: FAO Review of the State of World Fishery Resources: Marine Fisheries (1997) Veratavou Project, Fiji Islands Veratavou project

6. Project Site Description • Verata is a district with 8 villages and approx. 2500 resident population • Fishing ground that they have customary tenural control over and access to is 95sq km. • Protected or tabu areas is not an alien concept as it is part of our traditional management practices but only for a short period of time.

7. History of the Project Implementation Initiation Implement monitoring plan Request Assess interest/expectation and awareness raising Collect and analyze data to evaluate management plan effectiveness and communicate results Monitoring plan Developed and training on monitoring skills Marine Resource management Planning workshop Implement management plan (review and discuss how to improve the plan) Ongoing management

8. Adaptive management Cycle C Develop a Monitoring Plan B D Implement Develop a The Management & Management Plan: Monitoring Goals, Objectives, Project Plans & Activities Cycle E A E Develop Analyze Conceptual Data and Model Based Communicate on Local Site Results Conditions Start Iterate Clarify Group's Use Results to Mission Adapt & Learn

9. Veratavou’s mission • To rehabilitate and improve degraded habitats and depleted economically important species to improve the livelihood of the Verata people that heavily depended on them.

10. Adaptive management Cycle C Develop a Monitoring Plan B D Implement Develop a The Management & Management Plan: Monitoring Goals, Objectives, Project Plans & Activities Cycle E A E Develop Analyze Conceptual Data and Model Based Communicate on Local Site Results Conditions Start Iterate Clarify Group's Use Results to Mission Adapt & Learn

11. Management Plan

12. Adaptive management Cycle C Develop a Monitoring Plan B D Implement Develop a The Management & Management Plan: Monitoring Goals, Objectives, Project Plans & Activities Cycle E A E Develop Analyze Conceptual Data and Model Based Communicate on Local Site Results Conditions Start Iterate Clarify Group's Use Results to Mission Adapt & Learn

13. Monitoring and Evaluation Step • Community Monitoring and analysis Training • Monitoring and evaluation plan implemented • Biological surveys • socio-economic surveys • Implementation of a Learning Framework

14. Adaptive management Cycle C Develop a Monitoring Plan B D Implement Develop a The Management & Management Plan: Monitoring Goals, Objectives, Project Plans & Activities Cycle E A E Develop Analyze Conceptual Data and Model Based Communicate on Local Site Results Conditions Start Iterate Clarify Group's Use Results to Mission Adapt & Learn

15. Collect data –community monitoring Analyse data and information Present results Socialize information

16. Adaptive management Cycle C Develop a Monitoring Plan B D Implement Develop a The Management & Management Plan: Monitoring Goals, Objectives, Project Plans & Activities Cycle E A E Develop Analyze Conceptual Data and Model Based Communicate on Local Site Results Conditions Start Iterate Clarify Group's Use Results to Mission Adapt & Learn

17. April 1997 June, 2003 RESULTS and Learning.Results of clam species (indicator) at tabu site. 90 Survey area: 50 x 1 m2 quadrats = 50 m2 80 70 60 Clam Frequency 50 30 Lomo (tabu site) 20 10 0 <2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 >6 Size Class (cm)

18. April 1997 June, 2003 RESULTS AND LEARNING.Results of clam species (indicator) at harvest site 90 Survey area: 50 x 1 m2 quadrats = 50 m2 80 70 60 Clam Frequency 50 40 30 Matanaiverata (harvest site) 20 10 0 <2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 >6 Size Class (cm)

19. Results Tracking, Reporting and Learning.Effectivenessof refuge area application

20. Use of Results to adapt and learn • Shift from Temporary tabu area or rotational closure to Permanent Protection. • Shift from single species protection to total protection of species

21. Commercial Fishing license 1996-6 tons/year of fish/invertebrate stocks worth US$125,000 are extracted from their fishing ground by commercial fishermen After banning it for 5 yrs, fish catches have tripled and are allowing 1 license/yr again High Dependence on marine resources Action: Encourage farming Result : Household depending on fishing decreased from 54% to 27% Household depending on farming increased from 46% to 73% 35% increase in household income from 1998 to 2002 AM: Encourage fishing outside protected area Use of Results to adapt and learn

22. Iteration and Replication. Increasing scale reflects their awareness of the benefits.

23. Replication and Adaptation at Fiji Network Level: - • 1997- 3 LMMA sites, 2 districts • 2001- 20 LMMA sites, 6 districts • 2003- over 70 known LMMA sites in 36 of the 187 districts in Fiji and covering approx. 11 % of Fiji’s inshore area

24. Ongoing (adaptive)management ∞

25. Challenges A lot of investment and commitments is required to train communities in AM Not to lose the objectivity of the evaluation Need to continuously and systematically evaluate management actions Simplify and standardize evaluation methods Opportunities Engage communities in monitoring, evaluating and communicating results Continuous follow-up of management plans and evaluation results Learning Framework as a guide to systematically evaluate LMMA projects Encourage communities to tell their own success stories and mistakes Lessons learned

26. Recommendations • Encourage scientific community to trial and test the credibility of local communities to judge and communicate themselves the effectiveness of their management actions. • Evaluation results to be periodically communicated to communities in a simplified and “user friendly” way in order for adaptive management and learning to occur