Rapid Assessment of Management Parameters for Coral Reefs By Richard B. Pollnac Coastal Management Report #2205 ICLARM Contribution #1445 June 1998 COASTAL RESOURCES CENTER University of Rhode Island This book was prepared by the Communications Unit of the Coastal Resources Center at the University of Rhode Island: Lesley Squillante, Unit Leader; Chip Young, Editor and Designer; Noelle F. Lewis, Editor. This publication is available electronically on the Coastal Resources Center’s Worldwide Web site at: http://crc.uri.edu. For more information, contact: Coastal Resources Center, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett Bay Campus, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI, USA; Tel: (401) 874-6224/FAX: (401) 789-4670. PREFACE Coral reefs are a powerful symbol of both the economic and ecological significance of coastal ecosystems, as well as the rapid loss of marine biodiversity, and the resources upon which millions of coastal residents around the world depend. In 1995, the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) was launched to call attention to the alarming decline of the world’s coral reefs and to catalyze a response to reverse current trends. Through regional and global consultative meetings, action strategies were developed that focused on four elements: • Management • Capacity building • Research and monitoring • Review Critical to the success of ICRI and efforts to better manage coral reefs and associated marine ecosystems, is the need to track trends of their condition, use and governance. It was recognized early on that while considerable (though not sufficient) effort has been devoted to establishing methodologies for and collecting data on the condition of coral reefs worldwide, there was relatively little work concerning the role of humans in this complex ecosystem. To address this gap, Project RAMP (Rapid Assessment of Management Parameters) was conceived in 1994 as a joint initiative between the Coastal Resources Center of the University of Rhode Island (CRC/URI) and the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), through the United States Agency for International Development/URI Coastal Resources Management Project. RAMP was designed to expand upon ICLARM’s ongoing work on ReefBase, a global database of coral reef condition, by defining for the database a parsimonious set of indicators covering the range of human factors potentially impacting coral reefs. The results reported in this study represent a major step forward towards establishing such a suite of indicators which, as demonstrated in the two case studies, can be collected in the field. Indicators are defined for context at the national, regional and local levels, as well as for reef uses and reef governance. In all cases guidance is provided as to how to collect and report data. Coastal Resources Center - i Project RAMP is truly a pioneering effort. As with any such effort, it provides a basis for further discussion, refinement and testing by a broader community of users. In 1996, at the Panama World Congress on Coral Reefs, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) began a process to build upon the work of RAMP, as well as the work of other social scientists and community workers, to prepare a GCRMN socioeconomic monitoring manual. The RAMP team is a full participant in this important next step in the process of establishing widely accepted and utilized indicators. At the same time, ICLARM and CRC/URI continue to work to incorporate RAMP parameters for additional reefs within ReefBase. We would welcome feedback on efforts to utilize RAMP and encourage you to submit data resulting from its application to ReefBase. David F. Hales, Deputy Assistant Administrator Global Environment Center U.S. Agency for International Development Lynne Zeitlin Hale, Associate Director Coastal Resources Center University of Rhode Island John McManus Program Leader, Aquatic Environments Program Project Leader, ReefBase Project International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management ii - Coastal Resources Center ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to thank the Coastal Resources Center at the University of Rhode Island for its logistical support during the research process and the final publication of this book. Special thanks are directed to Lynne Zeitlin Hale. Without her support and encouragement the research and writing would not have taken place. Further logistical support as well as a stimulating research environment were provided by the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management, Makati, Philippines. Many thanks go to John McManus and his ReefBase staff, as well as Robert Pomeroy and his social science staff. In Jamaica, the author would like to acknowledge the considerable assistance provided by Jeremy Woodley (University of the West Indies, Mona) and Z. Sary (Fisheries Improvement Program, Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory of the University of the West Indies). Further thanks is extended to Peter A. Espeut of the South Coast Conservation Foundation, Kingston, Jamaica whose extensive knowledge of the coastal people and their activities contributed significantly to the preparation of the Discovery Bay chapter. Finally, and most importantly, the author would like to thank the many residents of the coastal communities of Atulayan Bay and Discovery Bay who graciously provided the time to answer the many questions that provided information essential to the completion of the two case studies. The editorial acumen of Noëlle F. Lewis and Chip Young did much to shape the final document. Financial support for much of the research and publication was made possible through the support provided by the Office of Environment and Natural Resources, Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and Research of the Center for Environment, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of Grant No. PCE-A-00-95-00030- 05. The views expressed herein are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Coastal Resources Center - iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface..................................................................................................i Acknowledgments..............................................................................iii Table of Contents...............................................................................iv List of Figures and Tables...................................................................v INTRODUCTION.............................................................................1 CHAPTER ONE Indicators of Assessing Human Factors..............................................5 CHAPTER TWO Guidelines for Entering Human Factors Into ReefBase...........................................................37 CHAPTER THREE Aspects of the Human Ecology of the Coral Reefs of Atulayan Bay...................................................77 CHAPTER FOUR Aspects of the Human Ecology of the Coral Reefs of Discovery Bay...............................................141 iv - Coastal Resources Center LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER THREE Figure 1 - Location of Atulayan Bay and Lagonoy Gulf in the Philippines...............................................................79 Figure 2 - Locations of barangays in Sagnay..............................................80 Figure 3 - Local place names in Atulayan Bay............................................97 Figure 4 - Diagram of the folk taxonomic structure of baraka’................100 Figure 5 - Humphead parrotfish................................................................102 Figure 6 - Napoleon wrasse.......................................................................102 Figure 7 - Folk taxonomic structure for linhawan not including wrasses in the category..............................103 Figure 8 - Folk taxonomic structure for linhawan including wrasses in the category...................................103 CHAPTER FOUR Figure 1 - Jamaica with places named in text...........................................145 Figure 2 - Map of Discovery Bay with locations named in text...............147 Figure 3 - Fishers’ place names for locations in Discovery Bay...............159 LIST OF TABLES CHAPTER THREE Table 1 - Income distribution of household heads in coastal barangays of Sagnay..........................................81 CHAPTER FOUR Table 1 - Fishery landings and value.........................................................142 Table 2 - Landing by species, 1981...........................................................143 Table 3 - Fishery imports for 1994............................................................144 Table 4 - Number of tourists and earnings................................................144 Coastal Resources Center - v Table 5 - Population of major towns in St. Ann .......................................145 Table 6 - Cumulative percent distribution of monthly household consumption expenditure...............................149 Table 7 - Catch composition in percent landed by family.........................155 Table 8 - Top ten species by weight in traps sampled between July and December 1994...................................156 Table 9 - Percent weight in traps sampled between July and December 1994...................................156 Table A1 - Source of drinking water for St. Ann Parish............................177 Table A2 - Percent distribution of toilet facility types in St. Ann Parish....................................................177