Mapping Tourism Pressure in the Sunda-Banda Seascape (Indonesia) MPA Network and Implications for MPA Management

Abstract

In the Indonesian archipelago – an epicenter of marine tropical biodiversity – local communities rely on marine resources to provide food and support livelihoods. The government has implemented an extensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to protect its marine resources. As tourism increasingly plays a role in Indonesia’s economy, the relationships between tourism, local communities and conservation is becoming increasingly relevant for effective MPA management. The WWF works closely with managers in Indonesia’s Sunda-Banda Seascape (SBS) MPA-network to support ecological and social monitoring efforts. Using location data sourced online, this study spatially mapped the distribution of tourism activities (dive centers, dive sites, hotels, homestays, liveaboards, and sea/air ports) in and around 10 MPAs in the SBS and modeled tourism pressure using economic “gravity” theory. Generalised linear mixed-effects models were then used to explore the effects of tourism pressure on fish biomass data collected by WWF. The results of this study aim to provide insight into the intersection between tourism and MPA management, particularly in light of communities potentially shifting from fisheries-based to tourism-based livelihoods.