The workshop set out to open an inclusive and structured dialogue on the future of the Litoral Norte marine protected area (MPA) and to generate desirable (normative) visions capable of informing its integrated and adaptive management. Its specific goals were to:
– co-create plural, stakeholder-driven visions for the MPA over a 10-year horizon (to 2030);
– translate those visions into concrete, prioritised actions, each with identified responsible actors and timelines;
– map the MPA’s key habitats, ecosystem services, threats and conflicts through participatory mapping;
– surface and reconcile the diverse perspectives of fishers, tourism operators, managers and scientists on MPA’s present and future.
Underlying these was a broader aim: to test a social-ecological approach to MPA governance that draws on both scientific and local knowledge, strengthening the legitimacy and social acceptance of conservation measures. Outputs were shared with the local and national conservation authorities to feed into the revision of the MPA’s management plan.
Its main impact has been to deepen the use of participatory processes in the MPA’s new management plan, with the managing authorities taking up the workshop’s recommendations for consideration. In fact, there is now a strategic council where resource users actively participate in the MPA’s conservation decisions. It also opened a rare space for dialogue among institutions and scientists who rarely discussed the MPA together, and gave participants a clearer understanding of one another’s difficulties, needs and visions for its future.
The scenarios were made in: 2019
The scenarios look out to: 2030
