Economic Constraints to the Management of Marine Protected Areas: the Case of Kisite Marine National Park and Mpunguti Marine National Reserve, Kenya

Abstract

This document was produced in response to a growing interest by environment and wildlife agencies in Eastern Africa in addressing issues relating to the financial and economic sustainability of MPAs, and to their increasing recognition that economic and financial measures form important tools in MPA management. This study is intended to document practical lessons learned, and to highlight needs and niches for the use of economic and financial tools for MPA management in the region. The case study was carried out as part of the Pilot Project on Partnerships for the Management of Kisite Marine National Park and Mpunguti Marine National Reserve Complex, implemented by the Kenya Wildlife Service and technical assistance from IUCN - The World Conservation Union. This project is part of a larger inter-regional project on Sustainable Marine Biodiversity Conservation: Linking Tourism to Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, involving IUCN Regional Offices in Eastern Africa and Central America, with financial support from BMZ - the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development. The overall goal is to contribute towards ecologically and economically sustained marine and coastal biodiversity conservation through the integration of community livelihoods, development of coastal tourism and marine protected areas. Since 1998, the pilot project in Eastern Africa has been implementing a series of activities designed to facilitate communication between Kenya Wildlife Service and KMNP/MMNR stakeholders, and to initiate a process of management partnerships. The study also forms a component of IUCN Eastern Africa Regional Office’s Economics Programme, and Marine and Coastal Programme. It is one in a series of case studies being carried out on the economics of biodiversity conservation in different ecosystems and countries in Eastern Africa. These case studies aim to document existing conservation efforts from an economic viewpoint, contribute to available biodiversity economics information and methodologies, and provide recommendations for the formulation of conservation policy and practice in the Eastern Africa region.