Browsing by Subject "marine protected areas"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Counterpoint to Obura
    (ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2018-05-01) Basurto, Xavier
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    Integrating simultaneous prosocial and antisocial behavior into theories of collective action.
    (Sci Adv, 2016-03) Basurto, Xavier; Blanco, Esther; Nenadovic, Mateja; Vollan, Björn
    Trust and cooperation constitute cornerstones of common-pool resource theory, showing that "prosocial" strategies among resource users can overcome collective action problems and lead to sustainable resource governance. Yet, antisocial behavior and especially the coexistence of prosocial and antisocial behaviors have received less attention. We broaden the analysis to include the effects of both "prosocial" and "antisocial" interactions. We do so in the context of marine protected areas (MPAs), the most prominent form of biodiversity conservation intervention worldwide. Our multimethod approach relied on lab-in-the-field economic experiments (n = 127) in two MPA and two non-MPA communities in Baja California, Mexico. In addition, we deployed a standardized fishers' survey (n = 544) to verify the external validity of our findings and expert informant interviews (n = 77) to develop potential explanatory mechanisms. In MPA sites, prosocial and antisocial behavior is significantly higher, and the presence of antisocial behavior does not seem to have a negative effect on prosocial behavior. We suggest that market integration, economic diversification, and strengthened group identity in MPAs are the main potential mechanisms for the simultaneity of prosocial and antisocial behavior we observed. This study constitutes a first step in better understanding the interaction between prosociality and antisociality as related to natural resources governance and conservation science, integrating literatures from social psychology, evolutionary anthropology, behavioral economics, and ecology.
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    Linking MPA effectiveness to the future of local rural fishing societies
    (ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2018-05-01) Basurto, Xavier