Authority, capacity, and power to govern: Three marine protected areas co-managed by resource users and non-governmental organizations

Abstract

In Madagascar, when national government agencies lack the resources to govern Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), management may be legally transferred to local entities for co-management by community members and national or international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). We used the Natural Resource Governance Tool to quantify the governance effectiveness of three MPAs under this co-management model in Madagascar based on the critical attributes of authority, capacity, and power. We found that the governance groups of an MPA in the southwest, an area of intense fishing pressure on coral reefs, possess moderate to low capabilities for marine resource management with respect to authority (0.567), capacity (0.638), and power (0.49), indicating some success but also room for improvement. In contrast, governance capacity was notably deficient in two MPAs in the northwest, as reflected by their low authority, negative capacity scores, and insufficient power. Next, we used the Regulation Based Classification System to assess MPAs protection level. We found that while MPAs feature multiple zones based on allowed uses, the areas designated for extractive use are at risk due to exploitative activities and recurrent violation of regulations, suggesting that rules’ enforcement only provide moderate protection. The primary contributing factor to these infractions was the inadequate enforcement of regulations by the governance groups. Overall, the effectiveness of local MPA governance in Madagascar is variable but weak under the co-management frameworks studied here, with significant improvements needed in governance capacity. We suggest that each stakeholder should be responsible for carrying out activities that align with their primary missions and match their competencies, but that local community governance groups should remain the foundation of management.