Prospects for community-based marine conservation in Nauru: Attitudes, policies & institutions

This paper is about Nauru and its people, institutions, policies and in particular the communitybased fisheries management programme (CBFM). This study aims to identify those elements in the CBFM that makes it successful, where the institution endures overtime with a well-managed and thriving fisheries resource. This study explores the success criteria of community-based resource management. The literature review covered broad and interdisciplinary literatures including the commons, comanagement, adaptive co-management and complex social-ecological systems in an attempt to identify some elements of success in community-based and co-management systems. The study explores some of the current co-management practices and approaches in the Pacific region. A small number of Pacific fisheries experts and community-based practitioners were interviewed to share their views and experiences on lessons learnt and the implications of climate change for fisheries management in the region. The study undertook a dwelling survey of 270 individuals and a gender-based focus group interviews in Nauru. This is to further investigate the willingness and capacity of the Nauruan people to participate in the CBFM while facing the poor economic conditions, the loss of traditional ecological knowledge and customary marine tenure, poor information about the state of marine resources, and limited opportunities for livelihood diversification. An enabling environment is critical for development of such a framework, a functioning of institutions and having appropriate policies and legislation in place. Adaptive learning is important in successful a management framework. It can foster the development of an individual through social learning institutions within and between governments and communities and further promotes information sharing and awareness-raising.