Using Peru as a Case Study for the examination of the effectiveness or lack thereof of marine reserves
Cambridge, November 5, 2007
Proposal to add 17 groups of islands and 10 main guano sources to the list of Marine Protected Areas in Peru
Guano is basically a fertilizer that comes from the waste of birds, seals, and bats. (Wise Geek)
1. Marine reserves were pushed as the quickest and most viable way to restore ecosystems, and these places were chosen strategically.
- These places harbor a diverse variety of marine resources.
- These places can be used as a haven by marine wildlife: When the weather phenomenon of "El Niño" (warming of waters) hits, marine wildlife generally go to colder waters, which is provided by the islands. Therefore, setting these islands as a protected area will preserve marine wildlife during these periods.
2. Marine reserves can be implemented in conjunction with aquaculture.
3. Open the reserves to tourism
- Investigate what tourism causes minimum disruption to the ecosystem before opening the areas.
- Great source of $$$
Cambridge, November 1, 2007
Working Paper: Proposal for Marine Conservation by the Pronaturaleza Foundation: Mancora Bank, Tumbes/Piura, Peru (2004)
This was a proposal to create a new marine protected area in the northern coast of Peru.
Why here? Well, this is an area of great richness in terms of marine wildlife because of its location. Here the Humboldt Current and the Equatorial Current of the Pacific come together, as well as the Sub-superficial Anti-current. These currents influence the movements of marine wildlife, they "influence patterns of migration, movement, reproduction, and eating patterns of a great number of species of regional and global relevance."
Problems in the area are both natural and man-made:
1. "El Niño": Weather Pattern which affects the movement of marine wildlife, something that can cause massive disruption in the area (e.g. The Mochica Civilization is believed to have gone extinct due to this phenomenon. Disruptions have more recently happened in 1983 and 1997.)
2. Contamination due to petroleum related activities in the area: Transport of crude petroleum, exploration and exploitation on land and in sea, petroleum refineries, and spillovers all contribute to the contamination of the ecosystem.
3. Unrestricted fishing and overfishing. This area also has the largest number of independent fishers of the country as a whole.
It was proposed that a "Marine Scientific Station" be created in the area to do research, because little studies have been done in the area thus far. That fact surprised me because Peru is one of the largest exporters of fish in the world, although right now their fisheries are not necessarily in a sustainable position.
Studies conducted would focus on the ecosystem as a whole because marine species are affected by its surroundings.
Also stated that many entities can be counted on for this project, including but not limited to:
- Scripps Oceanographic Institute (USA)
- Institute of the Americas (USA)
- National Universities, including the University of Piura
- Peruvian Sea Institute
- National Institute for Natural Resources (INRENA)
Time of Implementation for the project ~ 5 years
If successful, this project would be spread through the whole of Peru and be a model for other similar projects to be implemented.
Cambridge, October 29, 2007
I started at http://www.inrena.gob.pe: This is the webpage for INRENA, translated to the National Institute for Natural Resources a.k.a. the Peruvian Version of the EPA.
(By the way, my uncle is head of this department, so if you have any consultations just e-mail him at areas.naturales@inrena.gob.pe)
Under the protected areas tab, there was a link to a main webpage which dealt with marine reserves: http://www.inrena.gob.pe/ianp/web_sinanpe2006/sinanpe.htm
There I found a list of marine protected areas. Among others,
1. National Reserve of Paracas
2. National Reserve of Lake Titicaca
National Reserve of Paracas: Founded in 1975
Useful website for general information on Peru's fisheries:
http://www.fao.org/fi/fcp/en/PER/profile.htm
Peru produces about 10% of the world's fish, because of the currents in the South Pacific that push the fish into shallow waters.
Photos of my trip to the Paracas Marine Reserve:
Questions I'd like answered:
What is the status of fisheries in the nation? I don't seem to find much information on this, so I'll have to dig deeper into this.
What is the connection between the fishing industry and the marine reserves?
Are the marine reserves effective in creating a sustainable fish population?
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