Contribution of marine conservation agreements to biodiversity protection, fisheries management and sustainable financing in Fiji

Abstract

The marine environment is a vital resource for Fiji's tourism, yet industry and community efforts to conserve and improve it have largely gone unrecognised, and are under-utilised in Fiji's tourism marketing. The Wildlife Conservation Society and Marine Ecology Consulting conducted a study between 16 March and 30 October 2017 to document the degree and scale to which Marine Conservation Agreements (MCAs) are being used in coastal waters in Fiji, and what contribution they are making to biodiversity conservation, fisheries management and sustainable financing. The study focuses on partnerships involving local communities with land-sea tenure rights and the tourism sector. It concentrates on the experiences and perceptions of the tourism sector, some of whom are local operators and resource owners. Documenting the motivations and opinions of the community resource owners was outside the scope of this study, and could usefully form the basis of a companion study to better understand their perceptions and commitment to the MCAs, and the direct and indirect benefits they receive.