title: Marine protected areas and children's dietary diversity in the Philippines.
abstract: Fish living around the coral reefs in the Philippines provide livelihoods for more than a million local fishers and are an important source of protein for coastal communities. However, this rich resource is at risk from myriad threats, which consequently threaten human livelihoods, nutrition, and health. In this paper, we examine the degree to which marine protected areas (MPAs), which aim to conserve marine biodiversity, are associated with improved nutritional outcomes in children under age 5. This analysis, which uses data from the 2008 Philippines Demographic and Health Survey and MPA data from the Coastal Conservation and Education Fund, found a positive association between MPAs and children's dietary diversity when the MPAs were located closer than 2 km to a child's community. MPA characteristics such as age or type of management were not consistently associated with dietary diversity. These results suggest a positive association of proximity to MPAs with certain aspects of children's diet.
authors.affiliation: John Snow Inc., 1616 N Fort Myer Dr., 16th Floor, Rosslyn, VA 22209 USA ; ICF International, 530 Gaither Rd, Rockville, MD 20850 USA.
authors.forename: Soumya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alva
authors.affiliation: Westat, 1600 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850 USA ; ICF International, 530 Gaither Rd, Rockville, MD 20850 USA.
authors.forename: Kiersten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: ICF International, 1725 I St NW #1000, Washington, DC 20006 USA.
authors.forename: Anila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.affiliation: U.S. Agency for International Development, Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20523 USA.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: D'Agnes
authors.affiliation: ICF International, 9300 Lee Hwy, Fairfax, VA 22031 USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mantovani
authors.affiliation: The DHS Program, Blue Raster, 2200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 210, Arlington, VA 22201 USA.
authors.forename: Thea
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Evans
keywords: Biodiversity; Children; Dietary diversity; Marine protected areas; Nutrition; Philippines