Economic constraints to the management of marine protected areas: the case of Kisite marine national park and Mpunguti marine national reserve, Kenya

Abstract

This document was produced in response to a growing interest by environment and wildlife agencies
\nin Eastern Africa in addressing issues relating to the financial and economic sustainability of MPAs,
\nand to their increasing recognition that economic and financial measures form important tools in
\nMPA management. This study is intended to document practical lessons learned, and to highlight
\nneeds and niches for the use of economic and financial tools for MPA management in the region.
\nThe case study was carried out as part of the Pilot Project on Partnerships for the Management of
\nKisite Marine National Park and Mpunguti Marine National Reserve Complex, implemented by
\nthe Kenya Wildlife Service and technical assistance from IUCN - The World Conservation Union.
\nThis project is part of a larger inter-regional project on Sustainable Marine Biodiversity
\nConservation: Linking Tourism to Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, involving IUCN Regional
\nOffices in Eastern Africa and Central America, with financial support from BMZ - the German
\nFederal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development. The overall goal is to contribute
\ntowards ecologically and economically sustained marine and coastal biodiversity conservation
\nthrough the integration of community livelihoods, development of coastal tourism and marine
\nprotected areas. Since 1998, the pilot project in Eastern Africa has been implementing a series of
\nactivities designed to facilitate communication between Kenya Wildlife Service and KMNP/MMNR
\nstakeholders, and to initiate a process of management partnerships.
\nThe study also forms a component of IUCN Eastern Africa Regional Office’s Economics
\nProgramme, and Marine and Coastal Programme. It is one in a series of case studies being carried
\nout on the economics of biodiversity conservation in different ecosystems and countries in Eastern
\nAfrica. These case studies aim to document existing conservation efforts from an economic
\nviewpoint, contribute to available biodiversity economics information and methodologies, and provide
\nrecommendations for the formulation of conservation policy and practice in the Eastern Africa region.