Our Sea of Islands Our Livelihoods Our Oceania - SPREP

itself. As well it argues the need for better policy integration between fisheries and environment and
sustainable development policies, which is a recommendation shared by all of the reviews that are
part of this synthesis. Worth noting is a reminder that MPA/MMAs targets should include and address
deep sea habitats within EEZs in addition to the more usual national and regional targets that seek to
protect inshore coastal marine areas, such as coral reefs and associated ecosystems, as few MPA/
MMAs address deep sea habitats within EEZs.
THE CHALLENGE OF ENSURING THAT A TOOL OR STRATEGy IS APPROPRIATE AND FIT-FOR-PURPOSE
MPA/MMA targets are a useful policy tool to drive change which must be placed within the
broader context of other tools and strategies for the protection and sustainable use of coastal
and marine resources and biodiversity such as ecosystem based management. (Benzaken et al.,
2007)
A review stemming from a regional inventory of locally managed marine areas (LMMAs) (Govan, 2009)
outlines the status and potential benefits of these to addressing the range of development challenges
facing Pacific Island countries such as food security, biodiversity and ecosystem integrity and,
adaptation to climate change, as well as for countries to meet their international (CBD) and national
(NBSAP) commitments for marine protected area coverage of EEZ or marine habitat types. The
report suggests that the spread and endurance of LMMAs can be attributed in part to communities’
perception that benefits such as recovery of natural resources, improved food security, increased
economic opportunities, improved governance, access to information and services, health impacts,
improved security of tenure, cultural recovery and strengthening community organisation are, or are
very likely to be, achieved. The report makes a number of recommendations, which seek to maximize
the potential of LMMAs in achieving widespread benefits to livelihoods, as well as meeting nature
conservation targets.
The recommendations are focused on three broad areas of (i) government and institutional (which
cover enhancing the role of government, practicing on-ground multi-sector integration, embracing
the goal of integrated island management, building on traditional tenure and governance systems,
and characterizing and defending local and cultural approaches); (ii) financial and economic (which
address the issues of cost effectiveness, sustainable financing and the debunking of alternative
income generation); and, (iii) operational and implementation (which includes recommendations on
appropriate (low-cost) monitoring, improved and enhanced participatory processes and appropriate
research needs). These along with recommendations from other reports and reviews will need to be
weighed and considered in the design of a Pacific Oceanscape.
36 Our Sea of Islands – Our Livelihoods – Our Oceania