Privatising fish? Barriers to the use of marine protected areas for conservation and fishery management in Melanesia: WORKING PAPER

This record describes, and links to a working paper produced through the Resource Management in Asia-Pacific (RMAP) Program based at The Australian National University in Canberra.\n*****\nIn this paper we examine the strengths and weaknesses of state-supported Customary Marine Tenure (CMT) systems in two independent Melanesian states in the context of burgeoning commercial and subsistence fisheries. Both Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands can be categorised as 'weak states' where access by foreign-owned fishing companies to state-owned resources (e.g. tuna) is typically easy to obtain by bribing the relevant politicians and bureaucrats at national and/or provincial level. By contrast, access to near-shore fishery resources necessitates negotiation with the landowners of adjacent coastal zones, and this in itself can provide some level of resource protection. However the expansion of markets and rapid increases in populations in the region are exerting pressures on subsistence and commercial fisheries that are already creating significant problems. In the Solomon Islands the recent collapse of the state in a militia coup has also meant that any escalation in marine resource piracy is likely to proceed unchecked and indeed in many cases unnoticed and unreported. The management tool of choice for multi-species fisheries across the world, and particularly in cash-poor developing countries is the Marine Protected Area (MPA), and this system has proved quite successful in many instances, particularly in rich, industrialised countries. However, with some exceptions, typical Melanesian CMT regimes make MPAs difficult to establish because many coastal zones are finely divided along clan boundaries, such that few clans would be willing to 'lock up' their own reefs for the benefit of neighbouring clans. How then can local communities in these countries most effectively manage their marine resources in an environment of escalating fishing pressure and weak governance? In this essay we analyse the social and institutional contexts of near-shore community-based fishery resource management, and explore options for the future. We look at the potential utility of educating reef owners about aspects of the life cycle of marine organisms that are mostly absent from local knowledge systems and how this information could empower villagers to better formulate their own management regimes.

本记录介绍了一份工作论文并提供其链接，该论文由位于堪培拉的澳大利亚国立大学发起的亚太资源管理（Resource Management in Asia-Pacific, RMAP）项目编制。
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本论文聚焦两个独立美拉尼西亚国家的国家支持型习惯海洋权属（Customary Marine Tenure, CMT）体系的优劣，研究背景为当地商业与自给自足渔业的蓬勃发展。巴布亚新几内亚与所罗门群岛均可被归类为"弱国家"，外资渔业公司通常可通过贿赂国家及/或省级层面的相关政客与官僚，轻松获取国有资源（如金枪鱼）的捕捞权。相较而言，获取近岸渔业资源需与邻近沿海区域的土地所有者进行协商，这一流程本身便可在一定程度上实现资源保护。然而，该地区的市场扩张与人口快速增长正对自给自足及商业渔业造成压力，且已引发诸多严峻问题。就所罗门群岛而言，近期因民兵政变导致的国家治理崩塌，还意味着海洋资源海盗行为的任何升级都可能不受约束，且在诸多情况下根本无人察觉或上报。
全球范围内，尤其是在资金匮乏的发展中国家，多物种渔业的首选管理工具为海洋保护区（Marine Protected Area, MPA）；该体系在诸多场景中已被证实成效显著，尤其在富裕的工业化国家中。但存在部分例外情况：美拉尼西亚地区典型的CMT体系往往难以建立海洋保护区，因多数沿海区域按氏族边界精细划分，鲜有氏族愿意为邻族利益而"封闭"自家所属的珊瑚礁海域。那么，在捕捞压力不断升级、治理能力薄弱的背景下，这些国家的当地社区应如何最有效地管理其海洋资源？
本论文分析了近岸社区主导型渔业资源管理的社会与制度背景，并探讨了未来的可行路径。我们探讨了向珊瑚礁所有者普及当地知识体系中较为缺失的海洋生物生命周期相关知识的潜在价值，以及这类信息如何能够赋能村民，使其更好地制定自身的资源管理方案。