Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 375-381).

Thesis (M.S.) in Marine Policy--University of Maine, 2002. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-114).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1981. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-68).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-106).

Thesis (M. Sc. (Zoology & Entomology))--Rhodes University, 2005.

Thesis (M.S.) in Marine Policy--University of Maine, 2002. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves - ).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

This study formed part of a larger provincial marine systematic conservation plan for KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, called SeaPLAN. Owing to budget and time constraints, not all ± 1640 fish species that occur in the region were considered. A method to prioritise species was therefore developed to identify those species which were most at most risk of being excluded by a conservation plan based primarily on habitat representation (i.e. SeaPLAN). The method was based on three underlying principles: (i) species with limited conservation options; (ii) threatened species; and (iii) inherently vulnerable species. From these three principles, seven criteria were defined (e.g. endemic or rare species). Sixtyseven species met the qualifying conditions for these criteria and were consequently included in this study (FishPLAN). In order to map the distributions of these 67 fish species, the spatial and temporal accuracy of existing marine fish data for KZN was investigated. Only 17 percent of the data evaluated met the spatial resolution requirements of 1 km2, while temporal resolution was high: >99 percent of the data were collected at daily resolution. A resulting recommendation is that future data collection employ handheld data recording devices (with GPS capability), in order to increase the spatial accuracy of data, minimise human error and improve the efficiency of data flow. Species life cycle envelopes (SLICES) were developed to capture spatial differences in areas occupied during three life-cycle phases (reproductive, juvenile and feeding). Two distribution modelling techniques were used: Maxent, which uses quantitative data, and CHARMS (cartographic habitat association range models), which uses qualitative range data. A combination of statistical and biological criteria was used to determine the most informative and appropriate model for each species. Species distribution models (SDMs) were constructed for three temporal partitions of the data: annual, summer and winter. Patterns of species richness developed from the seasonal models showed seasonal differences in patterns that conformed to known seasonal distributions of fish assemblages: richness was higher in southern KZN during winter, while it was higher in northern KZN during summer. The resulting SDMs were used to develop a conservation plan for fish: conservation targets were set using the minimum recommended baseline of 20 percent of a species’ range, to which biological retention targets (additional proportion of the range) were added, in an attempt to ensure species persistence. The conservation targets were then adjusted using catch per unit effort (CPUE) data to match seasonal abundance of a given species. Within the existing network of marine protected areas (MPAs), none of the species’ targets are met by MPA sanctuary zones (zone As) alone, and all species require greater areas of protection. Three areas, namely offshore of the Tugela River mouth, the reefs offshore of Durban, and Aliwal Shoal, were consistently identified as being important in addition to existing MPAs for conservation of the fish species investigated. The greater efficiency of a seasonal MPA network to protect seasonally varying distributions of biodiversity, suggests that this may be a useful tool to consider in conservation management. The outcome of a conservation plan from this study (FishPLAN) was finally compared with the broader, more inclusive conservation plan, SeaPLAN. This comparison demonstrated how conservation plans based on a single group of species run the risk of identifying areas that are appropriate only for the relevant species, and might fail to conserve biodiversity as a whole.

The South African marine environment is utilised for both consumptive and non-consumptive activities and for those activities to continue sustainably it is important that these activities be monitored and policed. South Africa's environmental legislation is structured to do just that; outlining specific regulations for all consumptive and non-consumptive activities that can be conducted in the marine environment. Some disparities have been observed regarding the policing of consumptive and non-consumptive marine activities, and these disparities were analysed by means of several case studies and semi-structured key informant interviews. Case studies covered both consumptive (abalone poaching and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing) and non-consumptive activities (the sardine run and tiger shark diving) currently being conduct in the marine environment. Key informant interviews collected opinions from legal practitioners who felt that the legislation was solid but poorly implemented; and non-consumptive operators who felt that the legislation was implemented in a way that made it difficult for non-consumptive and ecotourism activities to thrive. The poor implementation has resulted in a situation which seems to promote consumptive crimes instead of curbing them.

This study focuses on communities in conservation in central Philippines, with reference to marine protected areas. It analyzes communities as intersections of multiple actors with stratified interests and power, involving complex processes of place-making, ecological knowledge, tenure, governance, markets, and negotiation with domestic and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). As rights to places are fundamentally at issue with protected areas, matters of tenure are central for the study. And because marine protected areas (MPAs) are community-based, questions of local empowerment have equal centrality. / The ownership of rights to marine resources by village members is a necessary if not sufficient condition for the political empowerment of communities in conservation. The issue of property rights in the Philippines is irrevocably linked to issues of equity, as social actors confront prevailing unequal relations of power. The development of community commitment to the reconfigured arrangements of marine protected area establishment depends on substantial economic gains for marginalized villagers, an equitable distribution of those gain, the ecologically sound management of resources over which rights are negotiated and gains generated, and a socially meaningful realignment of relations of power among nested sources of authority. / My analysis points to the advantages of a reinforced community property regime that would call for measures by the national government to enhance villagers' tenure over their settlements and community waters (katubigang barangay). Such a regime is no panacea for the manifold social and environmental challenges faced by communities, but it would enable them to engage more confidently and constructively with state, NGO and other interests in conservation, and to address the real or perceived threats of dislocation by externally proposed schemes. / Two villages with MPAs in the province of Bohol in central Philippines serve as case study sites to explore intertwined social, economic and political variables that influence issues of conservation, equity and empowerment.