MANAGEMENT APPROACHES in MARINE PROTECTED AREAS a Case Study of Surin Marine National Park, Thailand
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MANAGEMENT APPROACHES IN MARINE PROTECTED AREAS A Case Study of Surin Marine National Park, Thailand A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Queensland in September 2007 Suchai Worachananant BSc (Fisheries) (KU), MS (Marine Science) (KU) School of Natural and Rural Systems Management Chapter 1 Managing Marine Parks in Thailand CHAPTER 1 MANAGING MARINE PARKS IN THAILAND The University of Queensland 1 S. Worachananant Management Approaches in Marine Protected areas Chapter 1 Managing Marine Parks in Thailand 1.1 Chapter overview 1.2 Clarification 1.3 Thailand’s of the study Marine National 1.2.1 Before the Parks great wave 1.2.2 After the crisis 1.4 Research questions and methodology 1.5 Dissertation structure Figure 1-1 Chapter 1 structure 2 School of Natural and Rural Systems Management Chapter 1 Managing Marine Parks in Thailand CHAPTER 1 MANAGING MARINE PARKS IN THAILAND 1.1 Chapter overview This chapter introduces the thesis topic. It includes background information, and an introduction to problems in managing marine protected areas in Thailand, using Surin Marine National Park (hereafter as Surin) as a case study. The condition of Thailand’s Marine National Parks is reviewed, emphasising that flexibility in management and regulation are needed to adapt to changing circumstances. Research questions are defined and the rationale for the research approach is outlined. The broad methodology and methods used in this research are presented. 1.2 Clarification of the study This study was prompted by the questions ‘how might we know which factors limit the effectiveness of management strategies of Thailand marine protected areas? and ‘how this situation can be improved?’. Based on the understanding that management will be more effective if affected stakeholders support management action or, at least, appreciate the rationale for management tools being applied, then, the additional question arises, ‘how acceptable are management actions and tools to stakeholders?’. However, during the middle of the research period, one of the most destructive natural events in human history occurred – the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. This necessitated that the objectives and aims for this study be modified to suit the unusual circumstances. For example, application of some management strategies was no longer possible, and ad hoc approaches were applied in marine national parks around Thailand including at Surin (the focus of this study). Major stakeholder behaviours changed and the ‘natural’ condition changed from the pre-tsunami state. As a result, the dissertation is divided into two sections; before and after the tsunami. 1.2.1 Before the great wave This study commenced by examining the literature and international case studies on the range of possible management tools for marine park management, considering their strength and weakness in relation to conditions in Thailand. From this work, a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of current strategies being applied to Thailand marine parks was developed by identifying the range of problems occurring in the marine environment worldwide and how management has responded to those threats. Emphasis is given to the management of direct anthropogenic causes of change to marine environments. Then, limitations of the effectiveness of Thailand’s current management approaches were assessed and possible management strategies proposed. After nearly ten years experience in marine national park activities, especially in Surin, it has become evident to me that the views of tour operators, marine park researchers, park staff, visitors and university researchers differ considerably and create conflict that does not assist in achieving the ideals of park management. Different stakeholders seek to use Surin’s natural resources for different and competing purposes. The National Park Service attempts to manage the site with a management plan derived from a general terrestrial Thailand national park master plan with only minor modification to suit marine conditions. The University of Queensland 3 S. Worachananant Management Approaches in Marine Protected areas Marine park management often focuses on accommodating visitor use rather than on resource protection and regulation of activity. In Thailand, new policies have been implemented (e.g. a user- pay system for SCUBA divers) which permit diving operators (both SCUBA and snorkelling) to use underwater resources; a change in policy that put pressure on marine park management resources. This research was motivated by a belief that it is time to review the approaches to management adopted at Surin (and throughout Thailand) in the interests of guiding the long-term management of the Thai marine park estate. Many management approaches have been employed in Surin, however, the question is: Are these approaches effective in achieving the primary objective of conserving the natural environment while providing opportunity for people to use the resources? More visitors, especially divers, arrive each year. Conflict between groups of users is increasing and the maritime environment is affected. When working as a tour operator, I found information about the marine park to be lacking. After talking with the marine park superintendents, I commenced working as a volunteer researcher gathering biological information that would contribute to knowledge of Surin’s resources as well as my masters degree thesis on the distribution of soft corals and gorgonians in the Thai Sea. While undertaking the research, I perceived that the management approaches being used were not delivering desired results. Illegal activities still occurred and reef condition continued to decline. I began asking: How has this situation occurred, and why, and how can the park prevent or manage this? With these issues in my mind, I gained employment at Kasetsart University as a lecturer. In this position, I was able to undertake research related to marine park management and presented many training programmes to park staff and students. However, I continued to concentrate on biological science. Marine biodiversity information gathered by my colleagues and me was used to divide Surin’s reef into sections, and to create the zoning plan for Surin (2000-2004 Zoning Plan). However, the plan has not been able to fulfil its primary objective because of changing circumstances such as increased demand for user access. The plan, developed without any consultation with stakeholders, is in need of review and modification to address the demands of visitors and in response to the experience gained in managing the resource and its use. Perceptions and behaviour of stakeholders needs to be considered along with the biological information to create a plan that facilitates management within the resources and expertise of park management. This realisation pressed me to start my PhD study into: defining effective management approaches that suit Thai conditions. The work for the thesis was planned and structured to meet these objectives. Information was gathered on management models, in both a sociological and biological context. Data acquired from field studies (biological and stakeholder surveys) were analysed and some of the major research questions were addressed, at least partially. Some of the information and analyses were presented to the public in a series of presentations in Thailand and modification of the study was ongoing in response to biological and stakeholder feedback. The study progressed as planned, but as I prepared to do a second round of surveys, the tsunami hit! 1.2.2 After the crisis On 26 December 2004, a massive earthquake occurred off-shore of Sumatra and resulted in the tsunami that struck many countries around the Indian Ocean. At about 9.55 am, the first of a series of waves hit the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand. The waves, up to 10 metres high, had a severe 4 School of Natural and Rural Systems Management Chapter 1 Managing Marine Parks in Thailand impact on the six coastal provinces along the Andaman Sea. Within half an hour, major damage occurred along the shoreline. Local residents and tourists were killed or injured, some being swept out to sea. Surin, the study site for this work, was one of the worst affected places. Most land facilities were destroyed. At least one reef suffered severe damage and management capacity was critically constrained. Findings from the study, before the tsunami, were providing valuable insight to an effective management scheme; however, the destructive power of the tsunami limited the effectiveness of management in many ways and changed the context for management. As a result, research questions were extended to cover the effect of a major perturbation on management, using the effect of the tsunami as the focus, and how effective management can respond to constraints caused by such a perturbation. After the tsunami, Thailand’s marine science education institutes formed a taskforce to assess the impact of the tsunami on the natural environment. I took responsibility for the survey of Surin. Biological surveys were conducted on 3-4 January 2005, 9-15 January 2005, and 27 March-1 April 2005. The first surveys sought to evaluate the effect on management capacity and a preliminary assessment of the reef condition. Then, a tsunami assessment survey was undertaken in mid January 20051. Finally, the March survey again assessed change after what was expected to be a recovery time (3 months after the tsunami) for both management and the reef resource. At the same time, major stakeholders (e.g. tour operators, visitors, SCUBA divers) were surveyed on their perception of management and acceptability of management schemes. Questionnaire surveys of general visitors were cancelled due to the sharp decline in the number of visitors to Surin2. The low number of respondents to the social surveys means that these cannot be analysed satisfactorily using statistical approaches. Thus, an incomplete data set from social surveys represents a significant limitation for this work. However, information on SCUBA divers, the industry that bounced back most quickly, was acquired, analysed and compared with the data gained from pre-tsunami surveys3.