A novel framework for analyzing conservation impacts: evaluation, theory, and marine protected areas.
Abstract
Environmental conservation initiatives, including marine protected areas (MPAs), have
proliferated in recent decades. Designed to conserve marine biodiversity, many MPAs
also seek to foster sustainable development. As is the case for many other environmental
policies and programs, the impacts of MPAs are poorly understood. Social-ecological
systems, impact evaluation, and common-pool resource governance are three complementary
scientific frameworks for documenting and explaining the ecological and social impacts
of conservation interventions. We review key components of these three frameworks
and their implications for the study of conservation policy, program, and project
outcomes. Using MPAs as an illustrative example, we then draw upon these three frameworks
to describe an integrated approach for rigorous empirical documentation and causal
explanation of conservation impacts. This integrated three-framework approach for
impact evaluation of governance in social-ecological systems (3FIGS) accounts for
alternative explanations, builds upon and advances social theory, and provides novel
policy insights in ways that no single approach affords. Despite the inherent complexity
of social-ecological systems and the difficulty of causal inference, the 3FIGS approach
can dramatically advance our understanding of, and the evidentiary basis for, effective
MPAs and other conservation initiatives.
Type
Journal articleSubject
biodiversity conservationcommon-pool resources
ecological integrity
governance
human well-being
impact evaluation
protected areas
social-ecological systems
Animals
Aquatic Organisms
Biodiversity
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecosystem
Environmental Policy
Humans
Marine Biology
Models, Theoretical
Socioeconomic Factors
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15410Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1111/nyas.13428Publication Info
Mascia, Michael B; Fox, Helen E; Glew, Louise; Ahmadia, Gabby N; Agrawal, Arun; Barnes,
Megan; ... White, Alan T (2017). A novel framework for analyzing conservation impacts: evaluation, theory, and marine
protected areas. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 1399(1). pp. 93-115. 10.1111/nyas.13428. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15410.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Xavier Basurto
Associate Professor of Sustainability Science
I am interested in the fundamental question of how groups (human and non-human) can
find ways to self-organize, cooperate, and engage in successful collective action
for the benefit of the common good. To do this I strive to understand how the institutions
(formal and informal rules and norms) that govern social behavior, interplay with
biophysical variables to shape social-ecological systems. What kind of institutions
are better able to govern complex-adaptive systems? and how can societies (la
David Antonio Gill
Assistant Professor in the Division of Marine Science and Conservation
David’s research centers on marine coupled human-natural systems, focusing predominantly
on marine management and tropical coral reef systems. Overall, his research aims to
provide evidence-based insights into how marine management and conservation can lead
to equitable and sustainable outcomes. This work is by nature both interdisciplinary
and collaborative, drawing on key theories and analytical approaches from disciplines
such as economics, community ecology, and political science, a
Alphabetical list of authors with Scholars@Duke profiles.

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