Nearshore populations have been depleted and some have not yet recovered. Therefore, theoretical studies focus on improving fisheries management and designing marine protected areas (MPAs). Depleted populations may be undergoing an Allee effect, i.e. a decrease in fitness at low densities. Here, I constructed a marine metapopulation model that included pre- and post-dispersal Allee effects using a network theory approach. Networks represent metapopulations as groups of nodes connected by dispersal paths. With this model I answered four questions: What is the role of Allee effects on habitat occupancy? Are MPAs effective in recovering exploited populations? What is the importance of larval dispersal patterns in preventing local extinctions due to exploitation and Allee effects? Can exploitation fragment nearshore metapopulations? When weak Allee effects are included, habitat occupancy drops as larval retention decreases because more larvae are lost to unsuitable habitat. With strong Allee effects habitat occupancy also drops at high larval retention because more larvae are needed to overcome the Allee effect. Post-dispersal Allee effects seem more detrimental for nearshore metapopulations. MPA effectiveness seems also lower in a post-dispersal Allee effect scenario. In overexploited systems, local populations that go extinct are also less likely to recover even after protecting the whole coastline. In exploited nearshore metapopulations with Allee effects, local occupancy or the recovery of local populations depends not only on larval inflow from neighbor populations, but also on larval inflow for these neighbors. Nearshore metapopulations with intense fishing mortality and Allee effects may also suffer a decrease in dispersal strength and fragmentation. Population fragmentation occurs when large populations are split into smaller groups. A tool for detecting partitioning in a network is modularity. The modularity analysis performed for red abalone in the Southern California Bight showed that exploitation increases partitioning through time before the entire metapopulation collapses. These findings call for research effort in estimating the strength of potential Allee effects to prevent stock collapse and assess MPA effectiveness, evaluating the predictability of local occupancy by centrality metrics to help identify important sites for conservation, and using modularity analysis to quantify the health of exploited metapopulations to prevent their collapse. / text

Η διατήρηση της φύσης μέσω της δημιουργίας προστατευόμενων περιοχών έχει θεσμοθετηθεί στην Ελλάδα εδώ και πολλά χρόνια. Με τη δημιουργία του Οικολογικού Δικτύου NATURA 2000 επιδιώκεται να διατηρηθούν οι οικότοποι και τα είδη της αυτοφυούς χλωρίδας και της άγριας πανίδας στην επιθυμητή κατάσταση διατήρησης. Οι προστατευόμενες περιοχές περικλείουν ότι πιο σημαντικό διαθέτει σήμερα η Ελληνική φύση σε τοπία, οικοτόπους και είδη, αλλά και πολύτιμα στοιχεία της ιστορίας, των παραδόσεων και γενικότερα της πολιτισμικής μας κληρονομιάς. Οι βασικές αυτές παράμετροι οικολογικής αξίας χαρακτηρίζουν περιοχές που κρίνονται ιδανικές για την ανάπτυξη πολλών ηπίων τουριστικών δραστηριοτήτων, με στόχο την επανανακάλυψη της φύσης και της ιστορίας. Η ελκυστικότητα των φυσικών και πολιτιστικών πόρων μίας περιοχής σε συνδυασμό με την επιτακτική ανάγκη για προστασία και ανάδειξη του φυσικού πλούτου που την διακρίνει, απαιτεί την υιοθέτηση ενός πολυσύνθετου και πολυεπίπεδου αναπτυξιακού σχεδιασμού, αποτελούμενου από συγκεκριμένα μέτρα και δράσεις, με απώτερο στόχο να επιτευχθεί η στενή σύνδεση της προστασίας με την αειφορική χρήση των φυσικών πόρων της περιοχής, ώστε να αναπτυχθούν δραστηριότητες όπως η αναψυχή και ο τουρισμός. Στα πλαίσια αυτής της εργασίας εξετάζονται οι προστατευόμενες περιοχές « Στενά και Εκβολές του ποταμού Αχέροντα», που ανήκουν στο δίκτυο ΝATURA 2000 και αποτελούν πόλους συγκέντρωσης των επισκεπτών στην ευρύτερη περιοχή. Πραγματοποιήθηκε έρευνα με τη βοήθεια ενός κατάλληλα διαμορφωμένου ερωτηματολογίου, που εξετάζει τα ατομικά χαρακτηριστικά των επισκεπτών, τα μέρη που επισκέφτηκαν και το χρόνο παραμονής τους στην περιοχή, τις δραστηριότητες που αυτοί ασκούν κατά την επίσκεψή τους, καθώς και τις απόψεις και παρατηρήσεις τους για όσα η περιοχή προσφέρει. Από την ανάλυση και επεξεργασία των απαντήσεων που δόθηκαν, προκύπτει ένα χρήσιμο πληροφοριακό υπόβαθρο, για την παρούσα κατάσταση που επικρατεί στην περιοχή, με απώτερο σκοπό την αναβάθμιση της συγκεκριμένης περιοχής και την επίτευξη μιας ορθολογικής και αποτελεσματικής διαχείρισης, προσανατολισμένης στις απαιτήσεις των επισκεπτών της. Επισημαίνονται οι ανάγκες για περαιτέρω έργα, η βελτίωση της ποιότητας των υπαρχουσών εγκαταστάσεων και υποδομών, καθώς επίσης και των παρεχόμενων υπηρεσιών έτσι ώστε, να γίνουν πιο ελκυστικές στους επισκέπτες της περιοχής. / -

Concerns about declines in marine biodiversity led to the creation of marine protected areas and spatial fishery closures as tools for recovery. Yet many marine conservation areas suffer low levels of compliance from diverse fishing populations, including recreational fishers. Little research quantifies levels of recreational fisher compliance and its drivers, especially in temperate marine environments, despite the prevalence of this kind of fishing in some regions. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap through a study of recreational fisher compliance in Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) in British Columbia, Canada. One hundred and sixty four RCAs were implemented between 2003 and 2007 and now cover 4847.2 km2. These conservation areas were created in response to widespread concern from fishers and non-governmental organizations about inshore rockfish population declines. However, recent research suggested that recreational fisher compliance might be low. This thesis had two goals: 1) contribute to knowledge about, and develop methods of assessing, non-compliance within marine conservation areas, and 2) address the immediate problem of suspected recreational non-compliance in RCAs. I had the following objectives: 1) Assess ecological and social RCA effectiveness to date, using a framework for improving governance from the literature on common pool resources; 2) Assess recreational fisher knowledge and perceptions of RCAs, and 3) Quantify non-compliance and social and ecological compliance drivers in RCAs. Methods included a literature review, structured surveys with 325 recreational fishers at 16 locations in the Salish Sea (Southern Gulf Islands and Victoria area), and trail camera monitoring in 42 coastal locations (both RCAs and unprotected sites). Results show that recreational fisher knowledge and compliance to RCA regulations is low. The assessment of social and ecological effectiveness shows much room for management improvement for recreational fisheries. This finding is supported by my survey and trail camera data. I found that 25.5% of recreational fishers had never heard of RCAs and ~60% were unsure of RCA locations. The total non-compliance rate was 23% in RCAs. Seventy nine percent of trail camera monitored RCA sites showed confirmed or probable fishing activity, with no significant difference between fishing effort inside and outside RCAs. However, 77% of fishers surveyed believed that rockfish conservation is necessary with advertising, fisher education, and increased monitoring offered as solutions to non-compliance. I recommend managers implement a public outreach and education campaign to address low levels of compliance. This study suggests that positive perceptions of marine conservation areas and conservation initiatives are not enough to create high compliance. Educating stakeholders and creating high levels of awareness should be an essential first step when creating marine conservation areas. My research offers important insights into the study of non-compliance, and the immediate problem of recreational non-compliance in BC’s RCAs. My successful use of a simple and cost/time efficient multiple methods approach to assessing compliance provides robust tools for future compliance analyses, and hence provides a valuable contribution to the compliance literature. The study also suggests that trail camera monitoring could be a promising new method for monitoring coastal conservation areas. / Graduate / 0768 / 0792 / 0306

Οι περιοχές που ανήκουν στο Ευρωπαϊκό οικολογικό δίκτυο «Φύση 2000» γνωστές και ως προστατευόμενες περιοχές είναι κατάλληλες για την ανάπτυξη πολλαπλών και ήπιων τουριστικών δραστηριοτήτων που σκοπό έχουν εκτός από την αι-σθητική απόλαυση του τοπίου, τη γνωριμία με το φυσικό περιβάλλον. Η αναγκαιότητα προστασίας και ανάδειξης του φυσικού πλούτου των συγκε-κριμένων περιοχών απαιτούν την εφαρμογή μιας στρατηγικής, η οποία θα αποτελεί-ται από εξειδικευμένα μέτρα, ενέργειες και δράσεις με σκοπό τη συστηματικότερη διαφύλαξη και διαχείριση των εν λόγω περιοχών και κατ’ επέκταση την εξασφάλιση της βιώσιμης τουριστικής ανάπτυξης για την ευρύτερη περιοχή. Αντικείμενο της παρούσης εργασίας είναι η μελέτη της προστατευόμενης πε-ριοχής Εθνικού Πάρκου Χελμού- Βουραϊκού με στόχο την ανάδειξη των ιδιαίτερων στοιχείων του φυσικού και ανθρωπογενούς περιβάλλοντος που θα χρησιμοποιηθούν για την οικοτουριστική ανάπτυξη της περιοχής. Από τη μελέτη των βιοτικών και αβιοτικών στοιχειών της περιοχής και με τη χρήση της ανάλυσης SWOT, εξάγονται χρήσιμα συμπεράσματα για την εκτίμηση της παρούσας κατάστασης με απώτερο σκοπό την ορθολογικότερη αναβάθμιση και την επίτευξη μιας αποτελεσματικής διαχείρισης έτσι ώστε να είναι ανταγωνιστική και πιο ελκυστική για όσους επιλέγουν τέτοιου είδους προορισμούς. / The areas of the European ecological network "Natura 2000" also known as protected areas are suitable for the development of multiple and mild tourist activities designed not only for aesthetic enjoyment of the landscape, the acquaintance with the natural environment.The need for protection and enhancement of the natural wealth of the harvest - area concerned require the implementation of a strategy which will consist of specific measures , actions and actions to support the systematic preservation and management of these areas and thus ensure sustainable tourism growth for the region.The subject of this work is the study of protected area National Park Chelmou- Vouraikos to highlight the specific elements of the natural and human environment to be used for ecotourism development.The study of biotic and abiotic elements of the region and by using analysis SWOT, useful conclusions are to assess the current situation with a view to rational upgrade and achieve efficient management in order to be competitive and more attractive for those who choose such destinations .

This paper is about the persistent failure of social scientists to bring into the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process socially constructed environmental concerns held by potentially impacted communities. The failure to communicate perceived risks results from a two-communities divide based on both epistemological differences and obfuscation due to vernacular communication. The analysis provides robust modeling variables that can bridge this social-environmental divide. The case involves data collected from members of traditional communities regarding their perceptions of the potential impacts of proposed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The study is situated in the Bahamas where the government has approved setting aside 30 No-take MPAs to protect their sea. This analysis is based on 572 interviews conducted during eight field trips with members of six traditional settlements in the Exuma Islands and Cays in the central Bahamas. Confidence in the findings is high because the sample involves 34% of the census population of these settlements and the findings have repeatedly been returned for review and approval by the members of these settlements.

Littorals in the in the Exuma Cays, Bahamas and the Bath Plantation, Barbados are comparative in many ways. These edges of the sea have provided critical services to local people during the time of slavery and since. More than food and medicine, the littoral is the nightly sea bath, where children are instructed, and the last ecosystem effectively used by the elderly. Independence and self- respect derive from use and protection of these littoral by individuals and communities. Local patterns of conservation and use are argued to be essential in the ecological structure and functions of the littoral. Development projects and marine protected areas alike are seen as potentially breaking local ties with the littoral causing trophic skew and damaging local society. If development occurs, mitigation solutions potentially derive from legally recognizing local people as partners in the co-management of their traditional littoral. Included with this article is a presentation prepared by Drs. Brent and Richard Stoffle.

Η αλιεία σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο παίζει σημαντικό ρόλο στην εξασφάλιση τροφής και κυρίως στην τροφοδότηση του ανθρώπινου πληθυσμού με χαμηλής εμπορικής αξίας πρωτεΐνη. Αρκετά κράτη με αναπτυσσόμενες οικονομίες στηρίζονται στην αλιεία, αλλά και πολλές τοπικές κοινωνίες έχουν υψηλή οικονομική εξάρτηση από αυτήν. Οι λανθασμένες εκτιμήσεις των αποθεμάτων και η ποιότητα των δεδομένων έχει προκαλέσει σε πολλές περιοχές του κόσμου μείωση των αποθεμάτων και/ή την κατάρρευση τους. Ο Κορινθιακός και ο Πατραϊκός κόλπος είναι ιδιαιτέρα οικοσυστήματα με μεγάλη ανθρωπογενή δραστηριότητα, η ανάπτυξη της παραλιακής ζώνης, η βιομηχανική ανάπτυξη, τα μεγάλα έργα υποδομής και η αλιεία επιδρούν στο οικοσύστημα και στους θαλάσσιους οργανισμούς. Όσον αφορά την αλιεία, ο αλιευτικός στόλος της περιοχής βάση του ΚΑΜ (2007) παρουσιάζει μια τάση μείωσης τόσο σε αριθμό όσο και σε τεχνικά χαρακτηριστικά. Η αλιευτική παραγωγή φαίνεται τα τελευταία χρόνια να ακολουθεί μία σταθεροποιητική τάση τόσο για τον Κορινθιακό όσο και για τον Πατραϊκό κόλπο πού υποδεικνύει σταθεροποίηση της αλιευτικής εκμετάλλευσης. Όμως τα δεδομένα που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για την εκτίμηση της αλιευτικής παραγωγής παρουσιάζουν έλλειμμα ποιότητας αφού η παραγωγή του Πατραϊκού κόλπου από το 1994 και μετά αυξάνει απότομα και παραμένει σε πολύ υψηλά επίπεδα. Άρα οποιαδήποτε εκτίμηση για υπεραλίευση ή μη των αποθεμάτων των δύο κόλπων δεν μπορεί να γίνει. Για να μπορέσει να γίνει εκτίμηση των πιέσεων που δέχονται οι δύο κόλποι πρέπει να υπάρχουν ακριβή και αξιόπιστα δεδομένα ώστε κάθε διαχειριστικό μέτρο που θα αποφασιστεί, να λειτουργήσει θετικά και να μην μεταθέσει ή οξύνει το πρόβλημα. Ο αλιευτικός στόλος της παράκτιας αλιείας παρουσιάζει ρυθμό μείωσης (25%) μεγαλύτερο από αυτόν του Ελληνικού μέσου όρου (22%), επιπροσθέτως ο μεγάλος μέσος όρος ηλικίας των αλιέων και η μικρή ή ανύπαρκτη είσοδος των παιδίων τους στο επάγγελμα μας οδηγεί στο συμπέρασμα ότι η παράκτια αλιεία συρρικνώνεται στην περιοχή μελέτης. Η δραστηριοποίηση των παρακτίων αλιέων γίνεται σχεδόν κατά μήκος όλης της ακτογραμμής και χρησιμοποιούν δίχτυα (απλάδια και μανωμένα) καθώς και παραγάδια βυθού. Το κύριο είδος στόχος είναι ο μπακαλιάρος που συλλαμβάνεται από όλα τα εργαλεία, ενώ δευτερεύοντα είναι ένας μεγάλος αριθμός ειδών που αλλάζουν από περιοχή σε περιοχή δείχνοντας μεγάλη ετερογένεια βιοτόπων. Τους θερινούς μήνες παρατηρείται αύξηση της αλιευτικής προσπάθειας τόσο της παράκτιας όσο και της ερασιτεχνικής αλιείας, δημιουργώντας ανταγωνισμό μεταξύ των δύο κλάδων τόσο για το απόθεμα όσο και για τον χώρο και την αγορά. Η ερασιτεχνική αλιεία αναδεικνύεται 4 τρίτο σημαντικότερο πρόβλημα στην περιοχή, γεγονός που φαίνεται και από την ραγδαία αύξηση των σκαφών της μέσα σε μικρό χρονικό διάστημα. Το 1996 η αναλογία ερασιτεχνικών προς επαγγελματικών σκαφών για την περιοχή του Κορινθιακού και του Πατραϊκού κόλπου ήταν 4:1 ενώ το 2007 για τον Ν. Αχαΐας η αναλογία ήταν 5:1 και για τον Ν. Κορινθίας 10:1. Τα διαχειριστικά μέτρα που έχουν ληφθεί στην περιοχή φαίνεται να αποδίδουν αφού είδη που θεωρούνταν υπερεκμεταλλευμένα φαίνεται να έχουν επανακάμψει, όμως η σύγχρονη τάση είναι η ολιστική αντιμετώπιση των οικοσυστημάτων μέσω των Θαλάσσιων Προστατευόμενων Περιοχών (ΘΠΠ). Έτσι προτείνονται τεχνικού τύπου μέτρα, βάση των διεθνών πρακτικών, ώστε η διαχείριση και η προστασία των δύο κόλπων να τεθεί σε ένα πλαίσιο τόσο οικολογικό όσο και κοινωνικο-οικονομικό. / In a world wide level, fishery plays important role in human nutrition. Fishery supplies human populations with low commercial value protein. Many countries with developing economies depend on fishery, so as local communities are highly depended on this sector. Erroneous estimations about fish stocks and low quality data have caused, in many areas of the world, reduction of fish stocks and in many cases, their collapse. Corinthian and Patraikos gulfs are ecosystems which suffer from intense human activity, reflected in domestic and tourist industry growth in coastal area, industrial growth, big constructions such as the Rio- Antirrio Bridge, the new Patras harbor and fishery. All these factors have a major impact on marine ecosystems and organisms. Concerning fishery, reduction is observed in number and in technical characteristics of the fishery fleet for Corinthiacos and Patraikos gulf. Fishery production seems to be stabilized during the last years for the two areas, a fact that suggests stabilization of the fishing effort. However, we can’t make estimations about overexploitation of the stocks in the study area because the quality of the data seems to be low. We came to this conclusion after analyzing the fishing production of Patraikos gulf. In order to evaluate the impacts of the fishery sector, precise and reliable data are needed. Those help us to adopt measures that actually work and don’t transpose and accentuate problems. Coastal fishery shrinks during last years because of the fact that the age average is high for fishermen and their children do not intend to work to this sector. Coastal fishermen are active almost around the coastline, while the gears used are gill nets, trammel nets and long lines. The target species is Merluccius merluccius for almost all gears. The great number and variety of non target species caught with the same gears in different areas, suggests great heterogeneity of biotopes. Increased fishing effort observed in summer months for the coastal fishery as well as for the recreational fishery, promotes competition between the two sectors. The factors to compete for are the stock, the space and the market. This study shows that recreational fishery becomes third in the list of the problems that the professional fishery has to cope with; a fact confirmed by the great increase of the recreational boats in a very short term. These restrictions that go for the study area, appear to be effective, since stocks that are considered overexploited seem to recover. However, the modern tendency is being reflected in the holistic approach of the ecosystems through Marine Protected Areas (MPA). Thus, technical measures are proposed according to international practices, orientated to an ecological and socioeconomic aspect.

No description available.

This study seeks to contribute to an understanding of the patterns of environmental governance in Chile which is both an international model for natural resource-led economic development and an emblematic case of "free market" policy-making. It asks how the typical challenges of environmental governance--the coordination of multiple uses of land/seascapes and resources, the resolution of conflicts, and the reconciliation of competing claims--are addressed given the constraints on state regulatory capacity and authority associated with decades of neoliberal restructuring. My general research proposition is that in this context, property rights have become the key sites where the political and institutional logics of environmental and resource governance are expressed and contested. The dissertation consists of four appended articles that analyze different aspects and implications of this "property-centric" approach to governance. These cover the emergence of environmental legislation, the growth of private land conservation and the political and legal barriers it faces, the policy and political dynamics associated with the allocation of public coastal waters, and the role of property rights in shaping the development and regulation of aquaculture. The analysis draws on and integrates political ecology-oriented literature on environmental governance, legal property theory, and a focus on institutions for common resource management. From this theoretical foundation it develops a legal geographic approach that moves between a focus on formal policy-making and a ground-level view of law as it is interpreted and enacted in specific contexts. Research relied on a combination of primarily qualitative methods and materials including the review of archival and documentary sources, semi-structured interviews with key informants, participant observation, and the mapping of resource rights. Common or overlapping findings in the four studies provide support for several general conclusions regarding the relationships between environmental governance, neoliberalism, property rights, and the management of common resources. a) In the first place, and contrary to expectations, market-based environmental regulation (in a strict sense) has been limited in Chile. b) The legal frameworks which, following neoliberal prescriptions, are designed so as to avoid public deliberation and governmental interference in the economy have facilitated rapid growth in many areas but only by deferring key governance tasks. c) These same arrangements tend to displace and channel politics through property rights, and in the process produce a variety of unintended consequences. d) The privileged position of property rights has resulted in self-reinforcing and path dependent tendencies associated with the collective action of resource users in the pursuit of various political and economic ends. e) At the same time, this project documents the institutionally diverse nature of private property rights, including a multivalent orientation toward markets. f) Finally, the research documents how common property arrangements and ideas have emerged through efforts by various actors to address governance challenges in contexts as diverse as private land conservation and the management of salmon aquaculture production.

There are concerns that many national parks worldwide are ineffective at conserving biological diversity and ecosystem processes, are socially unjust in their relations with Indigenous communities, or both. This dissertation asks: can national parks protect ecological integrity and concurrently address social equity issues? It presents empirical results of a systematic evaluation of six case study national parks in Canada and South Africa. Purposive sampling was used to select the six case study national parks. Data sources included State of the Park Reports; park ecological monitoring data; archival data; and semi-structured interviews with park biologists, managers, and Indigenous members of park co-management boards. Status and trend assessments and effectiveness evaluations of park ecological monitoring data were used to evaluate how effectively the parks addressed three ecological integrity criteria. Results show that all six parks effectively addressed the priority indicators for which they had monitoring data. However, the effectiveness ratings of each park decreased when all indicators, including those identified as priorities but lacking monitoring data, were analysed. This indicates that the parks had generally identified more priority indicators than they were actually able to address (for reasons including lack of budget or trained staff, managerial challenges). Thematic coding of semi-structured interview and archival data, and the assignation of numerical ratings to these data, were used to evaluate how effectively the parks addressed three equity criteria. Results show that all but one of the case study parks were equitable, parks with more comprehensive co-management and support from neighbouring Indigenous groups were more equitable than parks with lower levels of co-management, the parks with settled land claims were not necessarily more equitable overall, and a few parks were found to be co-managed in name only. The overall results of this evaluation demonstrate that parks effective at protecting ecological integrity can also successfully address social equity, but that further efforts to integrate these two realms are both possible and necessary. A logical starting point would be to build upon those existing integrative processes already institutionalised in many parks and protected areas: the co-management and integrated conservation and development efforts.