Data_Sheet_2_Assessing the Effectiveness of Coastal Marine Protected Area Management: Four Learned Lessons for Science Uptake and Upscaling.pdf

For almost two decades, marine protected areas (MPAs) have been a central instrument of coastal conservation and management policies, but concerns about their abilities to meet conservation goals have grown as the number and sizes of MPAs have dramatically increased. This paper describes how a large (15 years) program of transdisciplinary research was used to successfully measure MPA management effectiveness (ME)—how well an MPA is managed, how well it is protecting values, and how well it is achieving the various goals and objectives for which it was created. This paper addresses the co-production and uptake of monitoring-based evidence for assessing ME in coastal MPAs by synthesizing the experiences of this program conducted with MPA managers. I present the main outcomes of the program, many were novel, and discuss four ingredients (learned lessons) that underpinned the successful uptake of science during and after the research program: (i) early and inclusive co-design of the project with MPA partners and scientists from all disciplines, (ii) co-construction of common references transcending the boundaries of disciplines, and standardized methodologies and tools, (iii) focus on outcomes that are management-oriented and understandable by end-users, and (iv) ensuring that capacity building and dissemination activities occurred during and persisted beyond the program. Standardized monitoring protocols and data management procedures, a user-friendly interface for indicator analysis, and dashboards of indicators related to biodiversity, uses, and governance, were the most valued practical outcomes. Seventy-five students were trained during the projects and most of the monitoring work was conducted with MPA rangers. Such outcomes were made possible by the extended timeline offered by the three successive projects. MPA managers’ and scientists a posteriori perceptions strongly supported the relevance of such collaboration. Local monitoring and assessment meets the needs of MPA managers, and forms the basis for large-scale assessments through upscaling. A long-term synergistic transdisciplinary collaboration between coastal MPA managers and research into social-ecological systems (SESs) would simultaneously (i) address the lack of long-term resources for coastal monitoring and SES-oriented research; (ii) increase science uptake by coastal managers, and (iii) benefit assessments at higher levels or at broader geographic scales.

近二十年来，海洋保护区（Marine Protected Areas，MPAs）一直是海岸保护与管理政策的核心工具，但随着海洋保护区的数量与规模大幅增长，学界与实务界对其能否达成既定保护目标的担忧日益加剧。本文阐述了一项为期15年的跨学科研究计划，如何被用于精准衡量海洋保护区的管理成效（Management Effectiveness，ME）——即海洋保护区的管理水平、其保护各类保护价值的能力，以及其实现设立初衷的各项具体目标的程度。本文通过整合该计划与海洋保护区管理者的合作经验，探讨了基于监测证据的评估成果的共同生产与推广路径，以用于海岸海洋保护区的管理成效评估。随后，本文呈现了该计划的主要成果，其中诸多成果均属首创，并讨论了支撑该研究计划期间及之后科学成果顺利落地的四大核心经验：（一）与海洋保护区合作方及全学科科研人员尽早开展包容性的项目共同设计；（二）共同构建跨越学科边界的通用参照体系，以及标准化的方法学与工具；（三）聚焦于面向管理者、且易于终端用户理解的产出成果；（四）确保能力建设与传播活动贯穿计划全程，并在计划结束后仍持续推进。其中最受认可的实用成果包括标准化监测规程与数据管理流程、用于指标分析的友好型用户界面，以及涵盖生物多样性、资源利用与治理的指标可视化仪表盘。本计划期间共培训了75名学员，且多数监测工作由海洋保护区护林员参与完成。得益于三个连续项目提供的长期时间跨度，这些成果才得以实现。海洋保护区管理者与科研人员的事后反馈均高度认可此类合作模式的实践价值。本地监测与评估能够直接满足海洋保护区管理者的实操需求，同时也是通过尺度上推开展更大范围评估的重要基础。长期的海岸海洋保护区管理者与社会-生态系统（Social-Ecological Systems，SESs）研究之间的协同跨学科合作，可同时达成三大目标：（一）弥补海岸监测与社会-生态系统导向研究长期资源不足的短板；（二）提升海岸管理者对科学研究成果的采纳率；（三）为更高层级或更大地理范围的评估提供有力支撑。