Community involvement in marine protected areas: the case of Puerto Morelos reef, México.
The case of Puerto Morelos reef marine protected area (MPA) provides an example of a community-based marine conservation initiative to protect a coral reef ecosystem. The establishment and maintenance of this MPA had five stages: (a) identification of community leaders who would participate in the project; (b) generation of consensus on the need to protect the reef through discussions among local stakeholders, NGOs and reef scientists; (c) involvement of government agencies in establishing the status of a MPA; (d) take-over of decision-making by centralized governmental agencies; and (e) continuous problem-solving process between the government and stakeholders. Over a 9-year period, the control of the MPA was taken over by government and stakeholders' participation downgraded from a decision-making to an advice-giving role. Government shortcomings to manage this MPA could be circumvented via collaborative co-management. Given the small population size of the community and strong sense of ownership, there was a high level of participation in the decision-making processes and scientific advisors are present in the area.
Rodríguez-Martínez
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Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 1152, C.P. 77500 Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. rosaer@mar.icmyl.unam.mx
D003256:Community Participation; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D008386:Marine Biology; D008800:Mexico; D009938:Organizations; D012623:Seawater