Projects

Raja Ampat MPA Network Management and Cost Analysis (2008)

Clients: Conservation International (CI) and Trust for Conservation Innovation (TCI)
Partner: Conservation International (CI)

Project overview

Raja Ampat constitutes a series of islands off of the west coast of West Papua, Indonesia. It is part of a larger eco-region known as the Birds Head Peninsula, or Seascape. It covers over 180,000km2 and contains more than 1,300 species of coral reef fish and the highest coral reef biodiversity recorded for an area of this size anywhere in the world. Through the Birds Head Seascape initiative, Conservation International (CI) is working to develop conservation in a manner that protects biodiversity, enhances local livelihoods, sustains fisheries, and maintains marine tourism potential – generating sustained benefits for local communities and for the entire Seascape. A core focus of this effort is to support the design and management of a growing network of new marine protected areas (MPAs).

Challenges

CI and their partners believe it is necessary to establish a multiple-use network of connected and well managed MPAs that is supported by, and embedded in, local and national legislation, and co-managed by local communities and local government agencies. At the start of the project formal management plans were not yet in place and the government had yet to issue formal guidelines for management plan development. The long-term programmatic needs and associated financial needs remained to be well understood for the initial 4 MPAs that the CI team chose to focus on. These included: Dampier Strait, Wayag Sayang, Ayau Asia, and Teluk Mayalibit.

Approach and Outcome

The Starling team lead the assessment of future management plans to be implemented in each MPA as determined by the CI team. Starling then proceeded to conduct a cost analysis for each. To do so Starling utilized the following approach:

• Initial Assessment. Achieving financial sustainability across a network of protected areas requires a clear understanding of the objectives and effective functions and activities required to achieve them. Starling therefore started by conducting an initial assessment of the four MPAs in terms of their ecological profile, functional status, stakeholders, and threats and challenges. This helped to define the network-level objectives and functions, and also to identify existing capacity and resource gaps.

• Cost and Revenue modeling. Once there was a clear understanding of the objectives and functions, Starling created a comprehensive, bottom-up, MPA network cost and revenue model. Working with CI staff, Starling facilitated the design and development of a ‘minimum’ scenario profile and cost model based on assumptions for what a functioning MPA network might look like over the next ten years.

  In absence of true management plans or a clear understanding of the government’s political and financial commitments to the MPAs it was difficult to design a formal financing strategy for this early network of MPAs in Raja Ampat. This early work is now being incorporated into a larger study that Starling is designing with partners to understand the sustainable financing requirements, capacity, and options for the entire 10 MPA Birds Head Seascape. This new project will provide additional support to CI and their partners during the upcoming management and financial planning processes for the Birds Head in 2010 and beyond.

Additional Information

• CI Bird’s Head