Participatory assessment of the effects of community conserved areas (CCAs) on coral reefs to support enhanced adaptive management practices.

Abstract

Coastal communities in Kenya are highly dependent for food and livelihoods on coral reefs, yet these ecosystems are especially vulnerable to damage due to over exploitation and use of destructive and unsustainable fishing methods. Community conservation areas (CCAs) have gained increasing favour and efforts have been at the forefront of establishing them as means of protecting coral reef’s biodiversity and enhancing associated target fisheries. However, it is important to assess the impact of such community-based management tools and to demonstrate their benefits to local people involved in such endeavours. The study undertook participatory underwater surveys within and outside CCAs, in order to evaluate their performance with regard to conserving biodiversity, particularly target fisheries. Overall, the effect of CCAs on biodiversity and target fishery species was more pronounced at only two CCAs (Iweni and Kuruwitu), with older CCAs set on desirable reefs (i.e. high coral cover) performing better than younger ones set at habitat with less coral cover. This study shows that CCAs effectiveness is likely dependent on a suite of factors, particularly age and size of delineated area. It has also provided evidence in favour of the continued support of CCAs in Kenya and other parts of East Africa region. This participatory research project has been successful in terms of building monitoring and management capacity, increasing key stakeholders buy-in and stewardship needed to ensure CCAs initiatives achieve their desired objectives.