Putting MPAs to Work:
A Mexican Case Study on Community Empowerment
Maiken Bjørkan
Norwegian College of Fishery Science, University of Tromsø
maiken.bjorkan@uit.no
ABSTRACT There are increasing pressures on the coastal zone on a global basis. Marine Protected Areas (mpas) are employed in order to soften pressures on coastal environmental integrity. As a result, the establishment of mpas usually encounters opposition locally. This is so since softening the pressure typically means reduced access and use of the given area, which can have great impact on local communities. The case study presented here is an exception to this general rule. Drawing on empirical data from Yucatan, Mexico, I show how a small fishing community managed to create an mpa for local purposes. Like most coastal communities in the region, the village depends on fisheries for both subsistence and commerce. In order to protect their interests, increasingly under pressure from overexploitation, immigration and hurricanes, the villagers turned to the global environmental discourse and to the mpa. Here, I demonstrate how the mpa in the village in my case study was used to empower fishers and their communities, and how the global discourse on environmental protection and biodiversity was made to work for local interests.
Last update:
August 28, 2010
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