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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Evolution
of Village-based Marine Resource Management in Vanuatu between l993
and 2001
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There were a total of 40 MRM measures in the 21 villages in 1993. By 2001 five of these had lapsed and 51 new ones had been implemented (Table 1, 2). Village-based MRM measures thus more than doubled in the 21 villages we surveyed, rising from a mean of 1.9 per village in l993 to 4.1 in 2001 (Table 2).
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TABLE
1 More detailed explanations of the information are given in Appendix I. |
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TRO
|
F.C
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TUR
|
BDM
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SPR
|
NET
|
MPA
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G.CL
|
CRA
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HAB
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MSC
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#
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| Anelgauhat |
D
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|
|
o
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|
4
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|||||||
| Mele |
|
|
2
|
||||||||||
| Mangililiu |
|
|
o
|
|
4
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| Tanolio |
o
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o
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
5
|
|||||||
| Siviri |
|
o
|
o
|
o
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4
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| Saama |
o
|
o
|
2
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||||||||||
| Emua |
o
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x
|
o
|
|
3
|
||||||||
| Paunangisu |
D
|
x
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
3
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|||||||
| Epao |
x
|
o
|
|
o
|
3
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||||||||
| Eton |
D
|
o
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o
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o
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3
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||||||||
| Erakor |
o
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o
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o
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3
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| Marae |
D
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|
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o
|
3
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| Lamen Bay |
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2
|
o
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|
5
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| Pescarus |
|
|
o
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o
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|
|
o
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o*
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|
8
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|||
| Lutas |
|
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
o
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7
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|||||
| Pelongk |
|
|
|
o
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*
|
o
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o3
|
10
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||||
| Litslits |
D
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o
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2
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| Uri |
o2
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o
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o
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|
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o2
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o*
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o2
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12
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|||
| Uripiv |
D
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o
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o
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o
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4
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| Norsup |
D
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x
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x
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0
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| Tautu (see append |
D
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0
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| TOTAL |
11
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18
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11
|
10
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8
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7
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5
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5
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4
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2
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9
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86+
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| Key: | |||||||||||||
| Operating in both 1993 and 2001 | |||||||||||||
| o Operating in 2001 | |||||||||||||
| x Operating in 1993 but since lapsed | |||||||||||||
| D Marine tenure disputes current |
| The following relate to management involving: | |||||||||||||
| TRO | Trochus | ||||||||||||
| F.C | Fishing ground closures | ||||||||||||
| TUR | Turtles | ||||||||||||
| BDM | Beche-de-mer | ||||||||||||
| SPR | Spearfishing | ||||||||||||
| NET | Use of nets | ||||||||||||
| MPA | Marine Protected Areas | ||||||||||||
| G.CL | Giant clams | ||||||||||||
| CRA | Crabs | ||||||||||||
| HAB | Fishing methods destructive of habitat | ||||||||||||
| MSC | Miscellaneous | ||||||||||||
| # | Total number of village management initiatives in effect in 2001. | |||||||||||||
| TOTAL | Total number of village management measures of each type in 2001. Numerals indicate more than one such initiative operating in a single village. | |||||||||||||
| * | Giant clam initiative that is also listed as MPA. | |||||||||||||
| + | This figure is 3 less that the sum of the totals for each MRM measure because the 3 giant clam sanctuaries in which all other species are also protected, are also listed as MPAs, but were not double counted to calculate the total. | |||||||||||||
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Table
2. Number of MRM Measures in 21 Vanuatu Villages, 1993 and 2001
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1993
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2001
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| Total MRM measures operating |
40
|
86
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| Average number per village |
1.9
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4.1
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| Lapsed MRM measures since 1993 |
5
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The most often used MRM measures in 2001 were fishing ground closures (18), trochus closures (11), tabus on taking turtles (11), bκche-de-mer closures (10), spearfishing tabus (8) and controls or bans on using nets (7). All of the turtle tabus had been implemented since l993.
Of the five measures that lapsed, three involved fishing ground closures. However, during the same period six such closures were initiated in five other villages.
The three Maskelyne island villages we surveyed had an average of 8.7 MRM measures - more than twice as many as the mean number (4.1) of MRM management measures for all 21 villages surveyed. We surmise that this may reflect their relatively heavy dependence on their rich marine resources as a means to generate cash and fill subsistence needs, thus creating the incentive to manage well. These villages are on small islands with limited agricultural potential (they have some additional agricultural land on the mainland but it is inconveniently far from villages).
A recurring theme among interviewers was that the experience of the past decade has shown that where village reefs are divided into several sections with different owners, MRM management operates more smoothly if the owners cooperate to manage the entire area as a single unit rather than managing different sections independently.
