Ensuring sustainability of community participation in locally-managed marine protected area in north-western Cagayan, Philippines

Abstract

The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) by the local or national government is a popular conservation tool in the Philippines. Participation among community members is an important consideration for the success of its implementation. While remarkable community involvement is observed during planning and establishment of MPAs, sustaining this voluntary participation is a challenge in the implementation stage. To ensure sustainability of participation, this paper investigates the socio-economic conditions and factors that influence the participation of villagers using the probit model taking the case of a locally-managed MPA in north-western Cagayan, Philippines. The results of the study showed that participation is affected by socio-economic and demographic factors (income, age, gender, household size), fishing characteristics (gears and boat ownership), the presence of incentives (livelihood projects and payao), and the manifestation of leadership (village leaders). The findings of the study could be used to increase the tendency of a community to participate in MPA management by instituting policies geared towards sustaining their involvement.