Scotland’s coastal and island communities are core to the protection and restoration of marine environments. In Scotland, we already have examples of bottom-up initiatives like the Lamlash Bay No Take Zone and the Fair Isle Demonstration & Research MPA, which show the benefits that community leadership in marine management can bring.
When properly supported, community leadership in marine management can bring huge benefits. However, there are currently several barriers to this potential being realised, such as a lack of routes to community participation, challenges in enforcement of protective measures, a lack of community capacity, and limited support and information clearly available.
Last year, CCN, along with Fauna & Flora and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, brought together environmental and marine organisations and community groups to discuss how communities can be supported to lead on the management of their local marine areas. Some recommendations include:
🗺️ Collaborative design of MPAs on a local scale to protect and restore biodiversity while incorporating the needs of various stakeholders.
🐟 Establishment of marine ranger roles on a local level to play a role in monitoring and governance of protected marine sites.
🔍 A commitment to increasing enforcement of pre-existing management measures to ensure that they are effective.
🌊Piloting a series of community-led management projects, building on past initiatives.
Read the full policy brief of our co-developed recommendations here:
We are really grateful to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for their support in this work.