Examples
United States of America
- A large developed country with a long coastline and high fish demand
- Fish demand is generally not for subsistence
- GDP: $13.13 trillion USD (2006 est)
Political Style: Democratic, Federal Republic
The United States has an established system of 14 National Marine Sanctuaries, covering an area of 18,000 square miles (4 million hectares).
China
Background:
-A developing country with long coastline (18,000 km) and large fish demand.
-Freshwater resources rank 6th in the world, but the resources per capita is only one fourth of the world's average due to large population. (Chinese Information Office 1998)
-GDP: $10.17 trillion (2006 est.)
Political style: communism, strict government control.
108 marine nature reserves at different levels have been established, covering a total area of 7.69 million hectares (Liu & Qin). Among these reserves, 30 are at provincial level, more than 60 at national level and others at county level. All known endangered marine species are covered (Xinhua 2006).
China has established legal management system for marine resource protection. Its general principle is "conservation first, appropriate exploitation and sustainable development" (Xue 2005).
Problems:
1.) The inefficiency of the management system constrains protection.
The system is divided into national, provincial and municipal levels, and above each level there is a very complex bureaucracy. Various departments have their own management structure and funding sources. Each department is only actively developing part of the department's protected areas, which leads to competition between departments, redundant construction, fragmentation and overall inefficiency. Whether at the national level or in the provincial and municipal levels, it is difficult to achieve the unity of the construction of protected areas planning.
2.) The contradictions between Protection and Development
As a developing country with a large fish demand, the contradiction is notable. Unlike inland nature reserves, marine reserves are divided into different areas for protection and exploitation. This is an apparent conflict of interest to have areas under protection used for both protection and exploitation.
3.) Most protected areas do not have adequate funding, so protection and management is difficult to implement.
The central government only supports national level reserves. Funding for other reserves comes from local government. Because of this, some of the underdeveloped regions are not capable of operating effective management. Most of the funds are only for basic facilitates, but rarely for scientific research. Independent scientific research in these areas is very limited. Due to the lack of operational funds, the hard conditions and the high cost of management, the effectiveness of the management of marine reserves is therefore greatly reduced.
4.) The overall layout of marine reserves stays to be improved
China's state-level distribution of marine nature reserve is extremely uneven; concentrated distribution is a very prominent phenomenon: There are seven national level marine reserves in the northeast side of the Bohai Strait; eight in the southwest of the Beibu Bay and Hainan Island; but only nine along the long coastline from Shandong to Guangdong.
Suggestions:
Based partially on a report from China's Oceanic Administration Institute of Marine Development Strategy---an official department doing research and supplying suggestions and strategies to the government
1.) Adjustment of management system of marine reserves
The system needs to be changed for the future. All of the reserves must be under central government control instead of the local government. But for short term this is not feasible. The temporary solution would be to set up a team with members from all the departments in charge of marine reserves now. Its goal would be connecting all the departments to make the management more effective and practical.
2.) The overall development objectives of marine reserves should explicitly include conservation and development
The goal must be clear in the regulations and policies. Both the local people and the region's economic interests and the natural ecological protection should be taken into consideration.
(a) As to China's rapid tourism development, the institute proposes to research to develop the marine nature reserves into eco-tourism spots and improve the development of tourism management capacity.
(b) Utilizing the research within the reserves to help develop ecologically-friendly aquaculture of surrounding communities
3.) The sources of funding can be both government budget and private sources.
As to reserves especially for endangered species, the government is responsible for the full cost of the reserves' operation; for reserves under local government's control, the government departments at all levels should actively encourage various ways to raise operating funds, and offer necessary assistance, guidance and management. For example, allowing private investment protection on the premise of abidance to the government policy.
4.) Setting up more marine reserves
As a developing country, it is hard to manage marine reserves. So the main point is developing reserves in areas with high species diversity and endangered species. Other possible solutions may be developing provincial level reserves into national ones.
Perú
Peru is a nation located in South America, bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the south by Chile, and on the east by Brazil. More importantly, it is bordered on the west along the extent of its coastline by the Pacific Ocean, which makes fishing a staple of the Peruvian economy. According to the FAO, exports accounted for more than one billion dollars in 2002 alone. This fishing is little regulated, and thus it is no surprise the fisheries have historically collapsed multiple times. For example, while anchovy catch peaked in the mid-1960s at about 13 million tons, after the fishery's collapse in 1973 that number fell to less than half a million tons. (Loayza, 1992) A plan that promotes the sustainable use of marine resources in Peru is therefore a must and needs to tailor to Peru's interests, both at the individual and governmental levels.
By default, putting limits on what, when, and how much can be fished will be ineffective. For example, IMARPE, the Peruvian Sea Institute, reported in 1998 that 90% of the fish caught was illegally smaller than the size limit. This is due to the lack of an ethical norm among the fishing class. Because of their usual indifference to the government in power, they do as they please, and there is not much in their way to stop them from fishing in a way convenient to them. The fact that the government is having difficulty enforcing current regulations will make new ones useless.
Instead, the quickest and most effective way of increasing the fish population in said waters is to advocate the establishment of intelligently placed marine protected areas, along with new aquaculture programs to bring fish up to sustainable levels. The former is easier to enforce, because it is no longer a question of when, what, and how much but rather a yes or no question.
Currently, approximately 15 percent of Peru's territory is protected under the charge of SINANPE, the protected areas division of INRENA, the National Institute of National Resources. (INRENA, 2007) However, Ing. Jorge Ugaz, the head of this division, has said that there currently exists only one marine reserve--the Paracas National Reserve (Reserva Nacional de Paracas), founded in 1975.
Pronaturaleza, a Peruvian non-governmental conservation agency, has developed two blueprints for the establishment of marine reserves in Peru. One advocates the establishment of the waters off Mancora, a northwestern province, as a marine protected area. The other advocates the setting aside of a series of islands parallel to the coastline as such.
Mancora is located on the northwest edge of Peru, in the department of Piura and the province of Talara, as seen in Figure 1. The waters off its coast are among the richest fishing grounds in the world, something due to the geography of the region.
The Humboldt Current (See Figure 2) is a stream of cold water that travels from the south bordering the coast of South America. Along the way, it "pushes" cold water from about 200 meters below the sea towards the surface, resulting in temperatures of about 20 degrees Celsius at the surface, something unusual given Peru's close proximity to the equator. (Islas del Punto Guanero) The Anti-Current pushes down from the north and collides with the Humboldt Current around northern Peru, displacing the latter towards the west where it meets up with the Equatorial Current which pushes on towards Polynesia. (Islas del Punto Guanero) The fact that these currents affect how marine wildlife displace themselves essentially means that northern Peru is abounding in them. Whales, marine turtles, tuna, sharks, stingrays, and a myriad of marine birds are only a few of the many species that can be found there.
Every so often a current of warm water known as "El Niño" pushes up from the South Pacific, disrupting the Humboldt Current and displacing marine wildlife, causing both damage to the ecosystem and the inhabitants of Peru who depend on the sea for a living. (Islas del Punto Guanero)
Aside from the problem of "El Niño," overfishing and petroleum ventures have proven to be devastating to the ecosystem. The latter, due to its very nature, causes damage to the ocean floor, and minor spills are a common occurrence. (Pronaturaleza, 2004) Pronaturaleza has therefore proposed to close off the area to all not motivated by scientific research by declaring it a marine protected area.
As Pronaturaleza said, "the Peruvian waters, in spite of being one of the most yielding [of fish] on the planet and possessing a high amount of biological diversity, paradoxically has been little studied and the studies and investigations that have been realized are almost none." In light of this fact, Pronaturaleza has also proposed the creation of a "Marine Scientific Station" (Estación Científica Marina) to conduct research in the area. This research would be focused on the ecosystem rather than the species that inhabit it, because the ecosystem is an essential aspect in the lifecycles of fish and other marine species. This is beneficial so that the implementation of aquaculture programs to restore fish populations can occur intelligently.
Difficulty arises in implementing this solution. Pronaturaleza, as a technologically well-equipped conservation agency, is willing to assume leadership. They have stated that initial funds necessary for the establishment of the proposed marine reserve will trickle in from sources such as the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Pronaturaleza will request the expertise of both the Institute of the Americas and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography for the purposes of research. The Peruvian Sea Institute (IMARPE) and the National Institute of National Resources (INRENA) will be expected to contribute to this project as well. Perhaps the most integral sources of cooperation, although the most difficult to acquire, will be the neighboring countries of Ecuador and Chile, because of their similar use of marine resources.
Pronaturaleza's other plan is to set a series of islands running parallel to the coast of Peru as a marine protected area (Figure 3), as well as expand the current Paracas National Reserve to include the Ballestas Islands. The latter is part of this series of islands currently under the charge of PROABONOS (Special Project to Take Advantage of Byproducts Provided by Marine Birds), but stands alone because of its place as a popular tourist destination.
Historically, the islands have been used as a source of guano, a world renown fertilizer. As stated above, these islands are currently under the control of PROABONOS, a government entity established in 1997 to protect the islands through the control of guano extraction. (Islas del Punto Guanero) The idea is that control over said areas should be transferred over to SINANPE, the protected areas division of INRENA.
Protecting the islands and surrounding waters should be of top importance precisely because it can serve as a haven for many species. The anchovy, a key species because of its location on the food chain, tends to seek cooler waters upon the impact of "El Niño," which it can find near the coast or in shallow waters where it is most likely to be fished. (Islas del Punto Guanero) A very productive fishing year can then very quickly result in at least a partial collapse of the species. Given that the islands are surrounded by shallow waters, the anchovies will have where to seek refuge, preventing the whole collapse of the fisheries, as happened in the 1970s.
The Ballestas Islands have been for many years the destination of choice for tourists seeking to experience nature in person, as shown in the pictures below. This is something which impacts the economy in a significant way. In fact, research has shown that, when all factors are taken into account, the Ballestas Islands generate three times as much revenue overall as the extraction of guano over the course of a year. (Islas del Punto Guanero) The desire is to expand this tourist activity to the other islands in a way that minimizes impact on the environment.
Works Cited:
1. Pronaturaleza. (2004, April) Planteamiento de la Fundación Pronaturaleza Para la Conservación Marina: El Banco de Mancora, Tumbes/Piura Perú.
2. Islas del Punto Guanero al SINANPE.
3. Peru. [Map/Still]. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-61680APA
.
4. Madl, P. (2000, December) Southern Oscillation [Map/Still] Retrieved November 19, 2007 from http://www.sbg.ac.at/ipk/avstudio/pierofun/atmo/elnino.htm.
5. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2003, November) Fishery Country Profile - Republic of Peru. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://www.fao.org/fi/fcp/en/PER/profile.htm.
6. Loayza, E. (Ed.). (1994, March) Managing Fishery Resources: Proceedings of a Symposium Co-Sponsored by the World Bank and Peruvian Ministry of Fisheries held in Lima, Peru, June 1992. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
7. INRENA. (2007, January) Areas Naturales Protegidas-SINANPE. Retrieved November 21, 2007 from http://www.inrena.gob.pe/ianp/ianp_sistema_sinanpe.htm.