The politics of participation: Evaluating stakeholder equity in co-management regimes

Within natural resource management, there is increasing criticism of the traditional model of top-down managementas a method of governance, as researchers and managers alike have recognized that resources can frequently bebetter managed when stakeholders are directly involved in management. As a result, in recent years the concept ofco-management of natural resources, in which management responsibilities are shared between the government andstakeholders, has become increasingly popular, both in the academic literature and in practice. However, while co-management has significant potential as a successful management tool, the issue of equity in co-management hasrarely been addressed. It is necessary to understand the differential impacts on stakeholders of co-managementprocesses and the degree to which diverse stakeholders are represented within co-management. Understanding theinterests of various stakeholders can be a way to more effectively address the distributional and social impacts ofcoastal policies, which can in turn increase compliance with management measures and lead to more sustainableresource management regimes. This research seeks to take a closer look at the concepts of co-management andparticipation through a number of case studies of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Caribbean. (PDF contains 4 pages)

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration

U.S. EPA Coastal Management Branch

U.S. Geolgocial Survey

NOAA Sea Grant