The politics of participation: Evaluating stakeholder equity in co-management regimes

Within natural resource management, there is increasing criticism of the traditional model of top-down management as a method of governance, as researchers and managers alike have recognized that resources can frequently be better managed when stakeholders are directly involved in management. As a result, in recent years the concept of co-management of natural resources, in which management responsibilities are shared between the government and stakeholders, has become increasingly popular, both in the academic literature and in practice. However, while co-management has significant potential as a successful management tool, the issue of equity in co-management has rarely been addressed. It is necessary to understand the differential impacts on stakeholders of co-management processes and the degree to which diverse stakeholders are represented within co-management. Understanding the interests of various stakeholders can be a way to more effectively address the distributional and social impacts of coastal policies, which can in turn increase compliance with management measures and lead to more sustainable resource management regimes. This research seeks to take a closer look at the concepts of co-management and participation through a number of case studies of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Caribbean. (PDF contains 4 pages)

A fisheries management plan for the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders

The River Tweed is, in rod-catch terms, the second most important river in Britain for Atlantic salmon, with an annual rod catch of ca.10,000 fish. This article gives an outline of the second edition of the Tweed Fisheries Management Plan, which is defined as "The co-ordination of data collection and analyses with fundamental research into relevant topics to devise management actions that will beneficially affect the future state of fish stocks". Much of the work set down for the present is concerned with setting up recording and measuring systems for fish catches and exploitation rates, and for the operation of monitoring sites for juvenile densities and adult trout and salmon spawning runs. While surveys show the present state of affairs, the collection of records and regular monitoring of sites will mean that in the future, the past will be better known through a longer series of records. Two case histories are described. The first is concerned with setting aims for managing the brown trout of the Tweed and defining the present state of the fishery. The second is an investigation into the spring salmon of the Tweed.