Needs Assessment: Social Aspects of Marine Protected Areas Online Seminar

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and MPA networks are critical tools for managing human uses and impacts on the oceans. To effectively plan and manage MPAs, it is essential to understand the human dimensions - the social, economic, cultural, and institutional aspects connected to marine areas – as human dimensions encompass all social and human aspects of a system and are pivotal drivers of MPA success or failure, However, engagement with these dimensions is often limited, due to a tendency to prioritize ecological scientific knowledge, leading to limited capacity and funding for social research.

To address this gap, the Blue Nature Alliance and the Center for Protected Area Management (CPAM, Colorado State University set out to develop an online seminar for MPA managers, providing tools, best practices, and case studies focused on the human dimensions (social aspects) of MPAs. With the goal of ensuring seminar content addressed key concerns of MPA managers, a global needs assessment was completed in 2023. The assessment included a review of literature and existing courses, focus groups of MPA managers and academics, dissemination of a questionnaire to individuals involved in MPA management, and semi-structured interviews with marine protected area managers and academics, allowing for in-depth exploration of the topic.    

The International Water Experience Note features the report produced to summarize and share insights gained during the global needs assessment process. The comprehensive methodology of the assessment allowed for the collection of rich qualitative and quantitative data, providing a nuanced understanding of the state of and need for integrating social aspects and considerations into MPA management. Through analysis of this data, the report highlights success, challenges, and identified support needs across five human dimensions: governance, cultural, political, social, and economic. Together, the report and corresponding ‘Social Aspects of Marine Protected Areas’ online seminar, serve as resources to support managers in better understanding and integrating human dimensions into MPA design, planning, and management, ultimately supporting more equitable and effective conservation outcomes. 

The Blue Nature Alliance (Alliance) GEF Project will catalyze the conservation of 1.25 billion hectares of ocean ecosystems, to safeguard biodiversity, help build resilience to climate change, promote human well-being, and enhance ecosystem connectivity and function. 

The Alliance deploys a majority of project resources through site-based engagements to support the creation, expansion, or improved management of ocean conservation areas. These engagements work with partners at all levels – from local to national leadership – to enable the creation and implementation of bold, transformative conservation plans at scale. Project resources are, further, complimented by the provision of technical expertise, access to the Alliance’s global network, and sharing of lessons learned across partnerships and project geographies.

The Alliance set an explicit target of ensuring that 50% of engagement sites from Component 2 (new protections) and 75% of the engagement sites from Component 3 (improved protections) have a credible plan in place for achieving long-term financing and management effectiveness. To achieve this, the Alliance works directly with site managers and partners to construct sustainable financing plans to help form pathways towards identifying sources of sustainable revenue and leveraging more funds toward the sites. The workshop and corresponding project experience represents an example of such work.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and MPA networks are critical tools for managing human uses and impacts on the oceans. To effectively plan and manage MPAs, it is essential to understand the human dimensions: social, economic, cultural, and institutional aspects connected to marine areas. However, engagement with these dimensions is often limited, due to a tendency to prioritize ecological scientific knowledge over other ways of knowing, as well as insufficient funding for social research.

Incorporating human dimensions is vital for effective conservation planning and management, and whether or not they are effectively addressed can affect the legitimacy, public support, and ecological effectiveness of the areas under management. There is often an assumption that environmental outcomes will naturally lead to improved human wellbeing. However, this assumption is not consistently supported by evidence. Effective and equitable conservation requires a deliberate consideration of how the costs and benefits of conservation are shared. To achieve just and durable outcomes, MPA managers must understand the socioeconomic contexts, needs, and perceptions of rights holders and other stakeholders. Integrating traditional knowledge and local values into management processes is an important pathway for improving equity, strengthening governance, valuing ecosystems, and recognizing trade-offs.

Despite such as strong rationale pertaining to the benefits of adequately incorporating human dimensions into conservation work, engagement with the social aspects (social, governance, cultural, political, & economic), often remains lacking. There is a need to increase understanding of and engagement with human dimensions work, as well as access to learning and capacity building resources.

To address this issue, the Blue Nature Alliance (Alliance) and Colorado State University Center for Protected Area Management (CSU-CPAM) completed a global needs assessment in 2023 with the aim of identifying successes and challenges in the integration of human dimensions in MPA management, as well as support needs for effective management, including training topics, tools, and approaches.

Priority was placed on building from an understanding of the needs of MPA managers, and to ensure insights gathered addressed key concerns of MPA managers, an advisory committee of professionals in the field was established. The needs assessment included the following:  

• Focus groups of MPA managers and academics, allowing for a diverse range of perspectives to be captured.
• Questionnaire distributed in English, French and Spanish to individuals involved in MPA management to gather more insights on priorities in the five social aspect themes identified in the literature: social, political, cultural, economic and governance.
• Semi-structured interviews with marine protected area managers and academics provided an opportunity for in-depth exploration of these themes, allowing participants to share their experiences and insights in a more personalized setting. 

This comprehensive methodology enabled the collection of rich, qualitative and quantitative data that provided a nuanced understanding of the state of and needs for integrating social aspects considerations into MPA management.

Through the needs assessment, common themes and lessons surfaced. The integration of human dimensions into MPA planning and management remains limited, and MPA managers emphasized the need to better understand the socioeconomic contexts, needs, and perceptions of stakeholders, as well as the drivers of human behavior and pressure on marine ecosystems, as these factors shape compliance and overall effectiveness of MPAs.

Common and recurring challenges in addressing the social aspects of area-based marine conservation, including:

• marginalization of Indigenous and local cultures within MPA decision-making;
• livelihood insecurity due to lack of viable alternative livelihoods and dependency on declining resources;
• poor governance due to lack of trained staff, weak enforcement systems, inconsistent funding, shifting management priorities, and overlapping institutional mandates; 
• and low levels of trust due to inadequate stakeholder and community engagement. 

The report provides detailed results of success, challenges, and support needs sorted by five human dimensions – cultural, economic, governance, political, and social. In short summary, high-level synthesis of findings across focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires, revealed the following:

• Cultural Dimension: Protection and promotion of traditional knowledge and cultural sites and practices emerged as key needs. Although examples of strong initiatives were shared, many participants described a lack of formal recognition and integration of cultural heritage into management. Challenges included marginalization of Indigenous and local cultures within MPA decision-making. Success factors were culturally driven governance structures and partnerships with Indigenous and local organizations working to sustain or revitalize traditions.
• Economic Dimension: Significant needs emerged around livelihood security and alternative livelihood options. Financial sustainability of MPAs was also raised, particularly regarding limited funding for operations and enforcement. Challenges consistently included few viable alternative livelihoods, dependency on declining resources, and limited access to financial mechanisms. Success factors identified were targeted support for sustainable livelihoods and externally funded projects that directly benefited local communities.
• Governance Dimension: Major needs emerged related to human resources and MPA management capacity and enforcement and compliance. Policies and laws were sometimes in place but inconsistently implemented or poorly coordinated. Regional differences were noted, with stronger institutional arrangements and clearer policy frameworks in some areas. Challenges included lack of trained staff, weak enforcement systems, and overlapping institutional mandates. Success factors included clear co-management agreements and trusted relationships between management bodies and communities.
• Political Dimension: Needs emerged related to political will and governance stability. A lack of sustained support from political leaders and frequent changes in government priorities were common challenges across regions. Political instability often led to inconsistent funding and shifting management priorities. Success factors included strong legal frameworks, consistent political support, and national recognition of the importance of MPAs in environmental and economic agendas.
• Social Dimension: Social vulnerabilities and resilience and human uses, activities and pressures were identified as prominent social needs. While stakeholder participation was emphasized as important, barriers such as exclusion of marginalized groups and low trust levels were frequently reported. Needs for improved inclusion and greater attention to social wellbeing were clear. Success factors included participatory planning processes and long-standing community engagement efforts that fostered social cohesion.

Across all dimensions, the following were identified as in the greatest need for further support:

• funding and investment;
• traditional and local ecological knowledge;
• ecosystems goods and services;
• human resources and MPA management capacity;
• enforcement and compliance;
• and livelihoods.

Further, few MPA managers reported feeling confident in constructing, assessing, or monitoring social outcome indicators. Increasing the capacity to conduct social research emerged as a key need as social research was identified as crucial for understanding stakeholder perceptions, trade-offs, wellbeing attributes, managerial capacity, and the influence of policy and law on MPA management. 

Informed by results of the needs assessment, an online seminar has been developed for MPA managers, providing tools, best practices, and case studies focused on the human dimensions (social aspects) of MPAs. The seminar aims to the capacity of MPA practitioners in the social aspects of MPAs enables their better integration into MPA design, planning, and management, ultimately supporting more socially acceptable, equitable, and effective conservation outcomes, ensuring that newly established MPAs do not undermine the rights of stakeholders and that existing MPAs become demonstrably more effective and equitable, directly contributing to the global 30x30 target.

The online seminar provides a dynamic platform for the development of skills, sharing of experiences, and growth of knowledge. By embracing inquiry-based, active learning, participants engage in a process of individual knowledge construction, drawing on their own past and present experiences. Throughout the seminar, participants are encouraged to actively participate and engage with the asynchronous material and live online meetings, fostering connections and facilitating professional exchanges with fellow participants. The interactive format is designed to foster a sense of community and collaborative learning, ultimately enriching the overall learning experience.

The seminar includes 14-weeks of virtual content, estimated 4 hours of content per week, as well as live online sessions held at the end of each module to foster connections with other participants around the globe. The seminar spans seven-modules. Participants are given two weeks to complete each module, with a four-week break scheduled midway through the seminar to allow time for catch-up and reflection.  The course will be offered annually, with the next offering in 2026 to feature tuition support for Blue Nature Alliance site participation.

Through the global needs assessment, common themes and lessons surfaced to inform future design and development of materials to provide MPA managers with the tools, best practices, and case studies needed to be understand and integrate human dimensions into the management of their MPA .

The integration of human dimensions into MPA planning and management remains limited, and MPA managers emphasized the need to better understand the socioeconomic contexts, needs, and perceptions of stakeholders, as well as the drivers of human behavior and pressure on marine ecosystems, as these factors shape compliance and overall effectiveness of MPAs. The assessment has, through the development of the Social Aspects of Marine Protected Areas online seminar, informed a platform to meet this need and has also highlighted, as a key lesson, the need for further resources and discourse on this topic.  For example, the Alliance will continue partnering with CSU CPAM to package a suite of videos from the Social Aspects course specifically for policy makers and donors to grasp key concepts and inspire them to support and advocate for social aspects of MPA’s as this is one of the most important factors to MPA effectiveness efforts.

REFERENCES

www.bluenaturealliance.org

https://warnercnr.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Needs-Assessment_Social-Aspects-of-Marine-Protected-Areas-Online-Seminar.pdf

https://warnercnr.colostate.edu/cpam/social-aspects-of-mpas-online-seminar/#1719682358898-17e165cd-c2aa