Tourism And Marine Conservation Agreements
Contributions of tourism-based Marine Conservation Agreements to natural resource management in Fiji

By MARITA MANLEY
I’ve always been a passionate believer, as a traveller and a tourism business owner, of the ability of the tourism sector to contribute to environmental protection.
This study sought to provide evidence to demonstrate some of the existing partnerships between tourism operators and marine resource stewards in Fiji.
As an environmental economist with most of my working career in the Pacific, the findings that 72% of the marine conservation agreements did not rely on explicit monetary incentives, but benefits such as employment and ongoing relationship with operators and their guests that contributed to community development and education, is important in the context of the payments for ecosystem services debate.
Pacific culture has reciprocity as a core part of its value systems so more research on whether formal payments for ecosystem services undermine or reinforce these values would be useful.





Contributions of tourism-based Marine Conservation Agreements to natural resource management in Fiji
A study from March to October 2017 documented the extent and scale to which ‘Marine Conservation Agreements’ (MCAs) between tourism operators and indigenous, resource owning communities are used in Fiji, and their contribution to biodiversity conservation and fisheries management.
Title: Contribution of tourism-led marine conservation agreements to natural resource management in Fiji
Authors: Sangeeta Mangubhaia Helen Sykes bMarita Manley Kiji Vukikomoala d Madeline Beattiee
- a Wildlife Conservation Society, 11 Ma’afu Street, Suva, Fiji
- b Marine Ecology Consulting, P.O. Box 2558, Suva, Fiji
- c Talanoa Treks/Talanoa Consulting, 28 Disraeli Rd, Suva, Fiji
- d Fiji Environmental Law Association, 22 Dhanji Street, Samabula, Fiji
- e University of Chicago, 5730 S. Woodlawn Avenue Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Publication: Ecological Economics