With the growth in human pressures on the marine environment and the increase in competition for space and resources there has been recognition by many governments of the need to use the marine environment sustainably and allow for its acceptable allocation for each sector. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the use of Marxan and Marxan with Zones as practical tools to enable the production of marine plans that integrate environmental and socioeconomic data and to suggest best practice in the types of data used. In this thesis three key aspects of data type and integration were identified and evaluated. The resolution and complexity of data required to protected marine biodiversity was assessed. The effects of using different substrate data resolution on the selection of sites to protect a range of biotopes using Marxan are determined. The nature of the data used in marine planning has significant implications for the protection of marine biodiversity. Using less complex data, of any resolution, did not adequately protect marine biodiversity. There is a need to determine what is an acceptable allocation of marine resource to each sector. Two case study areas were used to determine how to integrate conservation and socioeconomic data and objectives in a marine plan. Objectives for all the sectors could not be met completely in a single marine plan and each sector had to compromise. This research highlighted the potential compromises required and indicates that if marine heritage and biodiversity are to be protected each sector will have to change the impact it has on the marine environment. Currently marine conservation assumes that all data on habitats and species presented for use in marine planning are equal, in accuracy, precision and value. This is not always the case, with data based on a wide range of sources including routine government monitoring, specific innovative research and stakeholder based data gathering. A case study area was used to evaluate the impacts of using confidence levels in habitat data on marine biodiversity. It was found that data outputs that best protected marine biodiversity used data over 20% and over 30% confidence. With the data currently available for the UK marine environment it is not possible to be confident that a representative MPA network can be created. Together these studies contribute key recommendations for best practice in marine planning and demonstrate that the use of spatial decision support tools (Marxan and Marxan with Zones) are essential for the integration of data in marine planning, to assess how using different types of data will impact marine planning and marine biodiversity protection and to explore implications of different management actions.

Coral reefs are a vital resource in the low-island Republic of Maldives, where the sustainable use of these resources is central to the continued economic success of the country's two largest sectors: tourism and fisheries. This recognition has led to numerous reef conservation and protection activities, including the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). As in many MPAs of the world, those in the Maldives exist only as paper parks: areas protected on paper but not in practice. Despite general recognition of the importance of reef resources, insufficient funds are allocated by government to implement these parks. This situation is compounded by the absence of specific information and detailed understanding by policy makers of the true value and economic benefits of reef resources. This thesis examines the an economic valuation of improved management of MPAs in the Maldives using Dhigali Haa, an MPA in Baa Atoll, Maldives, as a case study. A contingent valuation survey to elicit the willingness to pay of tourists visiting Baa Atoll to see improved management at the MPA was used in estimating the potential benefits. In addition, local community consultations were conducted to understand local perceptions of MPAs and their effectiveness, and to develop a feasible improved management scenario. The local consultations confirmed that Dhigali Haa was not effectively managed, leading to continued illegal use and degradation of the reef. The results of the CV survey revealed support from tourists visiting Baa Atoll to pay for improved management of Dhigali Haa. A one-off conservation fee per visit for all tourists visiting Baa Atoll was preferred over a user fee solely for divers visiting Dhigali Haa. The estimate for the mean WTP for the conservation fee was US$35±5 compared to a mean WTP of US$15±5 for the user fee. Comparisons between the cost of implementing improved management and the benefits gained from tourist fees showed that a conservation fee would be more beneficial than a user fee. The estimated net present value for funding the improved management via a conservation fee was US$8.65 million.

This research is an ethnographic case study of the emerging ecotourism economies in the agricultural village of San Gerardo de Rivas, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica. Due to the village’s location as the main entry point to climb the country’s tallest mountain within Chirripó National Park, the majority of households in San Gerardo now derive some income from tourism. I conducted twenty household surveys, followed by twenty-one semi-structured interviews with male and female heads of households and representatives of local organizations and tourism businesses. Drawing on local perspectives, I found that ecotourism was a complementary income source to agriculture and that men and women were engaging differently in ecotourism employment. Local organizations were involved in the participatory management of ecotourism activities within Chirripó National Park. Ecotourism has affected environmental practices and local people are strategically negotiating the direction of tourism development, including through using environmental discourses, to optimize the benefits to their community.

<p>Predmet Disertacije je lovni turizam u za&scaron;tićenim područjima Vojvodine. Prostor&nbsp; Vojvodine dominantno čine poljoprivredne povr&scaron;ine dok se&nbsp; očuvani prirodni<br />kompleksi &scaron;tite kroz zakonski determinisana za&scaron;tićena područja. Na velikom broju za&scaron;tićenih područja odvijaju se aktivnosti lova i lovnog turizma. Kako Vojvodina tradicionalno ima razvijen lovni turizam u za&scaron;tićenim područjima, ovaj oblik&nbsp; turizma je<br />dominantan a često i jedini oblik turističkih aktivnosti. Odvijanje lova i lovnoturističke aktivnosti u za&scaron;tićenim područjima je, naročito u poslednjih, ne&scaron;to vi&scaron;e od dve<br />decenije, stalan izvor nesuglasica i konflikata. Sa jedne strane su protivnici lova i lovnog turizma koji smatraju da ovim aktivnostima nije mesto na za&scaron;tićenim područjima, dok su sa druge oni koji smatraju da ove aktivnosti nemaju &scaron;tetnih efekata po za&scaron;tićena područja. Postoje i oni koji smatraju da lov i lovni turizam, ukoliko&nbsp; se odvijaju uz po&scaron;tovanje zakonskih odredbi i akta o za&scaron;titi, kao i uz usklađivanje interesa svih<br />korisnika prostora, ne mogu da na&scaron;tete za&scaron;tićenim područjima. U radu su pored analize teorijskih sadržaja koji tretiraju predmetnu problematiku analizirani rezultati ankete ispitanika koji su radno angažovani u za&scaron;tićeni područjima, lovstvu i nevladinim<br />organizacijama koje se bave problematikom za&scaron;tite prirode kao i rezultati intervjua koji su urađeni sa eminentnim stručnjacima iz nave denih oblasti. Takođe je&nbsp; analiziran odnos lova i lovnog turizma na 15&nbsp; odabranih za&scaron;tićenih područja. Op&scaron;ti zaključak ovog<br />istraživanja je da je sprovođenje lovnog turizma u za&scaron;tićenim područjima Vojvodine moguće, opravdano i celishodno pod uslovom da se sprovodi u skladu sa naučnim standardima i relevantnim zakonskim propisima.</p> / <p>The Dissertation topic is hunting tourism in the protected areas of Vojvodina Province. Vojvodina region predominantly consists of agricultural areas while preserved natural complexes are protected through legally established protected areas. In a large number of protected areas there are activities of hunting and hunting tourism. As Vojvodina has traditionally developed hunting tourism in protected areas, this form of tourism is dominant and often the only aspect of touristic activities. The activities of hunting and hunting tourism in the protected areas are, especially in a few recent decades, a constant source of disagreements and conflicts. On the one hand there are opponents to hunting and tourist hunting who claim that protected areas are not&nbsp; the place for these activities at all, while on the other hand there are those who believe that these activities do not have any harmful effect on the protected areas. There are also those who think that hunting and hunting tourism, if enforced while respecting the law and the protection&nbsp; act, as well as with compromising the interest&nbsp; of all users of the region, that they cannot do any harm to the protected areas. Besides the analysis of the theoretical contents which deal with the issues on the subject, the work also analyses the results of a poll given by respondents who were hired to work in protected areas, in hunting and non-government organisations which deal with the problem of environment protection, and also analyses the results of the interviews made with eminent experts in the mentioned fields. Furthermore the ratio between hunting and hunting tourism was analysed in 15 selected protected areas. General conclusion of this research is that enforcement of hunting tourism in the protected areas of Vojvodina is&nbsp; possible, justified and expedient, if and only if it is enforced in accordance with the scientific standards and relevant law.</p>

To evaluate the niche of coastal fish populations in the Beaufort Sea, stable isotopes (SI) and fatty acids (FA) were used to characterize species-specific niches, niche overlaps and resource partitioning (nicheROVER) of the Shingle Point fish populations. Fishes were grouped into three isotopic groups: marine, coastal, and freshwater (Ward’s clustering analysis), and five dietary groupings (using FA), where benthic feeding strategies were prevalent (correspondence analysis). Niche metrics were used to evaluate if total mercury (THg) could contribute complementary trophic information (residual permutation procedure (RPP)). Three THg groups (high, intermediate, low) were identified (boxplot analysis). High THg was identified in high trophic and benthic feeders, high THg ranges were observed in species with large niche sizes, high trophic feeding, and freshwater influences (RPP). The bioavailability of freshwater introduced THg to marine biota was assessed, however further research needs to be performed. Combining dietary indicators SI, FA, and THg, allowed for the characterization of the diet and habitat use of coastal fish populations, better understanding of the niches of these species, and developed baseline information for future monitoring in an MPA, as climate change continues to effect the Beaufort coastal environment. / February 2017

Protected areas such as national parks are an important part of nature-based tourism all over the world. Over the past years there have been an increase of visitors to Sweden’s 30 national parks. Most of the visitors are domestic, however about 7% of the international tourist travel to Sweden in the purpose of visiting a national park. The aim of this thesis is to examine different factors that potentially could impact the visitor numbers. Factors such as availability for disabled, transport modes, population and visitor centers. Furthermore, the presence of certain elements is compared in a qualitative analysis. According to the results the presence of a visitor center, naturum, have a positive impact on the number of visitors. As well as national parks established after 1960. During the 1960s grater investments were made to make nature accessible for everyone. This thesis shows that there is a connection between high visitor numbers and easily accessible national parks, which could be a result of the change in the 1960s. At the same time, the most inaccessible national parks have seen an increase of visitors over the past years.

Recently adopted global marine protection targets aim to protect 10-30% of marine habitats within the next 3 to 5 years. However, these targets were adopted without prior assessment of their attainability. Moreover, our ability to monitor progress towards such targets has been constrained by a lack of robust data on marine protected areas (MPAs). In this thesis I present the results of the first explicitly marine-focused, global assessment of MPAs in relation to three global marine protection targets. Approximately 2.35 million km2, equivalent to 0.65% of the world’s oceans, are currently protected, and only 12% of that is ‘no-take’. Over the last two decades, the marine area protected globally has grown at ~5% per year. At this rate, even the most modest target is unlikely to be met for at least several decades. The utility of large-scale conservation targets has been repeatedly questioned, although mainly on ecological grounds. However, if, as is suggested here, their primary role is to motivate behavioural change, then a more serious problem is that they seem to be failing in this regard, too. I explore possible reasons for this and suggest two main problems: firstly, an as yet unmet need to develop a hierarchical system of targets that reflects the multi-scale and pluralistic nature of ecological and political systems; and secondly, feedback mechanisms between political will, perceived attainability, and target formulation which may impede implementation of the targets. Since the adoption of the global targets, no implementation strategy has been developed, which may also impede target attainment. In order to fill this gap, I applied a rarity-complementarity heuristic place prioritisation algorithm (PPA) to a dataset consisting of 1038 global species distributions with 0.5° latitude/longitude resolution, under ten scenarios devised to reflect the global targets. This is the first time that species distribution ranges of marine species have been used in a globally synthetic way, and is by far the largest application of a PPA to date. Global priority areas for protection are identified for each scenario, which may be used to identify where regional-scale protected areas network design efforts might be focused.

Securing the interactions between plants, animals, microorganisms and the physical environment forms the foundation of sustainable development (Global Biodiversity Strategy, World Resources Institute, 1992). Facing the ongoing depletion of the natural resources, new strategies to ensure biodiversity conservation were developed. The establishment of protected areas by governmental authorities rarely led to successful results, in terms of environmental protection and social justice (Alcorn, 1993). A shift of thinking in the 1970s allowed the conservationists to see the indigenous peoples no longer as barrier to biodiversity conservation but as the holders of complex and historical knowledge of the natural environment. Consequently, partnerships were developed between governments and indigenous communities within the protected areas. This study investigates the results of the creation of partnership, whether it is a good means to achieve biodiversity conservation or not, and under which conditions it can be successful. It also aims to find the perceived benefits and potential limitation of cooperation. Through the analysis of two case studies: the World Heritage site in Laponia, Sweden and the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park in Bolivia, the study finds that partnership for biodiversity conservation is utterly related to social and political claims: because a successful partnership cannot be imposed from above, a process towards indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination must be initiated.

This research is an ethnographic case study of the emerging ecotourism economies in the agricultural village of San Gerardo de Rivas, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica. Due to the village’s location as the main entry point to climb the country’s tallest mountain within Chirripó National Park, the majority of households in San Gerardo now derive some income from tourism. I conducted twenty household surveys, followed by twenty-one semi-structured interviews with male and female heads of households and representatives of local organizations and tourism businesses. Drawing on local perspectives, I found that ecotourism was a complementary income source to agriculture and that men and women were engaging differently in ecotourism employment. Local organizations were involved in the participatory management of ecotourism activities within Chirripó National Park. Ecotourism has affected environmental practices and local people are strategically negotiating the direction of tourism development, including through using environmental discourses, to optimize the benefits to their community.

Climate change threatens the integrity of many parks and protected areas worldwide. Mountain parks are amongst the most vulnerable, facing changes in temperature, hydrology, glaciation, fire frequency, and pest and disease outbreaks. Species migration is a key tool in climate change adaptation, but often physical and jurisdictional fragmentation makes it impossible for species to migrate, putting species at risk of extirpation or extinction. Transboundary collaboration and regional planning are tools that can help physically connected parks and protected areas overcome jurisdictional fragmentation and allow for species migration, giving species a greater chance at being able to adapt to climate change. However, there are many barriers to transboundary collaboration and regional planning that makes this difficult to achieve. This research aims to address the challenges parks face with regards to transboundary collaboration and regional planning, and provide possible solutions for overcoming these challenges. A qualitative research project was conducted to determine the state of transboundary collaboration and regional planning in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, using Jasper National Park, Mount Robson Provincial Park, and Willmore Wilderness Park as the study area. A document review, questionnaire, and Importance-Performance Analysis were conducted to determine: the current policy within the Parks Canada Agency, British Columbia Parks, and Alberta Parks in regards to the management implications of climate change; the degree to which transboundary collaboration and regional planning are occurring in and around the study area with regard to climate change; the challenges parks face with regards to transboundary collaboration and regional planning; how these challenges should be addressed; and to determine what park agencies and managers need to be able to participate in transboundary collaboration and regional planning. Ultimately, it became clear that while transboundary collaboration is a potentially effective tool for climate change adaptation, little transboundary collaboration is occurring within the study area. In order for this to occur, all parks must have appropriate legislation, policies, and plans in place; British Columbia Parks has these, but both Parks Canada and Alberta Parks do not. Parks planners and managers are not able to put priority on transboundary collaboration until it is mandated within the management plans. However, parks managers are supportive of transboundary collaboration for climate change and it seems likely that the parks will use this tool as it becomes increasingly necessary over the next 25 years.