Small-Scale Projects Can Influence National and International Policy. The success of the early projects at Ucunivanua, Cuvu, and Ono was persuasive. The Fijian government subsequently adopted the LMMA methodology in the national Fisheries Department, while other government departments have applied the program’s participatory management techniques. Through the LMMA network, the benefits of local marine management have spread throughout the Pacific region— a demonstration of how community-based ecosystem management can be scaled up for greater poverty reduction.
Success in Marine Conservation Can Promote Broad Economic Growth. As well as conserving marine resources for village consumption, the LMMAs at Ucunivanua and other villages have generated income through commercial sales, bioprospecting, and tourism, demonstrating that ecosystem management can be the first step to broadening the sources of wealth in a rural community. In addition to gaining economic benefits, the villagers participating in local marine management have learned management skills that they have applied to other problems facing the village.
Traditional Management Methods Can Be Fused With Modern Expertise. At Ucunivanua, marine specialists from the University of the South Pacific worked with villagers, and within village traditions, to teach the skills needed for siting a tabuarea, measuring it, monitoring it, and assessing its recovery. Experts provided the how-to skills, but villagers had the final word on what should be done within the framework of their goals and values.
Traditional Social Norms Can Impede Genuine Participation. For generations, Fijian culture has excluded women and young people from central roles in decision-making, which is traditionally dominated by male elders. Thus, despite a concerted effort to involve the entire village, not all community members participate equally in the Ucunivanua LMMA. A locally managed marine area may have to operate within traditional norms to gain acceptance yet promote participatory equality in ways that challenge those traditional values.
Success Can Bring New Problems. The very success of local marine management—the restoration of fish stocks—has attracted outside fishers to LMMA sites and brought new threats to village resources. The capacity to monitor and protect a tabuarea requires new capacities from village members, who must take on enforcement duties as fish wardens, battling encroachment through both public education and legal means.
