Exploring the Social Dimensions of MPA Governance using Interactive Governance Theory

presentation‘Interactive governance’ is an emerging theory gaining traction in the field of fisheries social science but as yet largely unexplored in the field of Marine Protected Area (MPA) planning and management. According to ‘interactive governance theory’, MPAs are a form of ‘governing system’ established to manage the interaction between natural and social ‘systems to be governed’ in a way that maximizes conservation outcomes, while minimizing impacts on the social ‘system to be governed’. This is necessary because it is well recognized that social acceptance of an MPA is crucial to its success. To date, in Australia, incorporating social considerations into MPA planning has largely involved conducting socio-economic assessments and public participation exercises, often in isolation of each other, and using this information to apply social and economic constraints to a biological (or ‘ideal’) MPA model. Yet a series of interviews with coastal users of NSW marine parks suggest stakeholders have a complex, interconnected relationship with the coast which incorporates ecological, economic and social concerns. It is the relationship between different images, values and principles that appear to determine the way the parks are accepted, rather than the presence or absence of individual values, ideas or knowledge. This research suggests that considering social, economic and biological subsystems in isolation can be problematic and may result in over-simplification of the complex ways in which people form their responses to MPAs. It also highlights the dangers of treating stakeholder groups as homogenous subcultures with uniform ideas, concerns and ideas about MPA management