A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

78 MARINE AND COASTAL
PROTECTED AREAS
their self-esteem. Although communities will generally need law enforcement officers
to keep non-village “poachers” out of their exclusive management zones, they can be
very effective at controlling illegal activities through the existing community
mechanisms. Prosecution systems can be streamlined by the following:
– Increasing awareness among the judiciary: including them in technical workshops
and providing specially designed training courses is an effective way of sensitizing
them to the seriousness of specific illegal activities, such as poaching, dynamite
fishing, deforestation and coral mining.
– Increasing awareness among the community: villagers need to understand the
constraints on management or other enforcement agents in cash-short societies,
and generate realistic expectations of what they can achieve. These will help
motivate villagers to take up some responsibility and establish realistic partnerships
with the enforcement agency.
– Improving prosecution: when there is confusion about what procedures are to be
followed when making arrests or when suspect boats refuse to stop, there need to
be clear guidelines on arrest procedures for community and enforcement officers,
as well as training on how to implement the procedures. Arranging specialized
training in evidence recording and presentation, and for a few management officers
as prosecutors can enhance the success of prosecution.
– Funding enforcement: a portion of revenues from license fees and fish landing levies
or whatever means are in place locally should go into supporting enforcement
activities directly, without the need to transit the national treasury.
– Monitoring enforcement: use of log books to monitor patrols can be a useful
method to assess the effectiveness of the patrols, demonstrate performance of
officers in the field for evaluation purposes.
– Formalizing enforcement responsibility: formal agreements help ensure that each
of the collaborating partners is clear on their respective authority, roles and
responsibility, and is essential to ensure the smooth operation of patrols.
3.9 Collaborative Monitoring Approach
In addition to supporting enforcement, the management authority can assist
communities to design and implement monitoring systems for measuring the impact
of management actions. An example of a collaborative monitoring system is provided
in Table I-2.