In Tanzania, marine protected areas benefit the local economy
Aiming to reconcile local economic activity with biodiversity, multi-use marine protected areas remain understudied. In Tanzania, research shows that the standard of living of residents in villages located near or within MPAs has doubled compared to those further away.
Antoine Leblois, INRAE; Julia Girard, University of Montpellier and Sébastien Desbureaux, University of Montpellier
Faced with the alarming decline in marine biodiversity, multiple-use marine protected areas (MPAs) seek to reconcile nature conservation with economic development.
Although these areas allow certain human activities, they sometimes impose strict regulations to reduce the impact of fishing,aquaculture, shipping, or other sectors on marine ecosystems. Their actual effects, both on the environment and on local communities, remain debated and understudied.
Recent research conducted in Tanzania sheds light on the long-term socioeconomic effects of MPAs. It highlights the significant benefits for local communities while emphasizing the persistent challenges for biodiversity protection.
Marine protected areas, poorly assessed
Marine biodiversity, which is constantly deteriorating, is essential to the proper functioning of the oceans and their capacity for regeneration. This deterioration has a direct impact on the ecosystem services on which human populations depend, making it imperative to adopt sustainable policies that benefit both humans and nature.
Among these policies, marine protected areas (MPAs) are zones that allow certain economic activities, particularly fishing, while imposing stricter regulations than those in force outside the areas.
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These restrictions, particularly on fishing, often give rise to fears that hinder the creation of these areas. However, there is no solid evidence of negative effects on the surrounding economy. Existing studies, which are generally very local and based on short time series, offer only a fragmentary view of their true impacts.
However, it is essential to document these impacts, particularly in low- and middle-income countries such as Tanzania, given the major challenges involved in balancing conservation objectives and economic development imperatives, which are often perceived as contradictory.
Countering the collapse of marine biodiversity
The coasts of the western Indian Ocean, particularly those of Tanzania, illustrate well the challenges facing marine resource management. These ecosystems are under increasing pressure due, among other things, to overexploitation and climate change.
Since the 1980s, fish stocks have declined dramatically due to overfishing by local and international fishing fleets, affecting the 4.2 million Tanzanians who depend on fishing for their livelihoods. To address this crisis, marine conservation initiatives emerged in the 1970s and expanded in the 1990s.
Among these initiatives is the creation of marine protected areas, which now incorporate socio-economic activities such as beekeeping, agriculture, and aquaculture, alongside conservation efforts.
What are the long-term effects?
An interdisciplinary group of international researchers, bringing together marine ecologists, geographers, fisheries specialists, and economists, recently published a study based on highly detailed economic data, enabling the long-term effects of MPAs to be studied.
This research follows on from a study conducted in 2003, which revealed that MPAs in Tanzania had had a very limited impact three to eight years after their creation. Two decades later, researchers re-examined the initial data and replicated the survey protocol in 24 villages located on the Tanzanian coast, at varying distances from MPAs. In each village, around 30 households were interviewed to characterize and assess their economic activities and standard of living.
Using a statistical analysis method that involves constructing a comparable sample of units (in this case, villages) that did not benefit from the intervention (in this case, the implementation of protection, i.e., MPAs), this new study enriches the existing literature by analyzing longer-term effects than those usually documented and draws robust conclusions.
A standard of living that increases by 50%
The study results highlight a significant improvement in the standard of living of communities living near MPAs, which increases by 50% compared to more distant villages. These economic benefits are enjoyed by all residents, whether poor or rich.
Interestingly, this increase is not directly linked to an increase in fish catches but to a diversification of economic activities, particularly toward jobs in the secondary and tertiary sectors, such as nature tourism. These findings challenge the assumption that the economic prosperity of local communities depends on thriving marine biodiversity.
However, the sustainability of these benefits remains uncertain. The continued degradation of marine ecosystems could ultimately harm the entire tourism sector, causing a cascade of negative effects on the local economy. To avoid this scenario, it is crucial to strengthen the protection of ecosystems within MPAs.
Strengthening biodiversity protection
Considering that fishing catches provide a good estimate of the quality of ecosystems, their functionality, and the presence of marine biomass, it appears that marine protected areas have not led to an increase in biomass. Changes in catches per unit of effort between 2003 and 2021 show no improvement in the state of resources in protected areas.
Investing in biodiversity conservation could therefore prove to be an economically sound decision. The additional costs associated with stricter protection of flora and fauna are likely to be minimal compared to the long-term economic benefits that healthy marine ecosystems could generate. By filling financial gaps and strengthening enforcement of regulations, MPAs would play a central role in creating a sustainable and prosperous economy.
Aleksandra Barczak, research engineer at INRAE, contributed to the writing of this article.
Antoine Leblois, Research Fellow, Environmental and Development Economics, INRAE; Julia Girard, PhD student at the University of Montpellier, University of Montpellier and Sébastien Desbureaux, Researcher, University of Montpellier
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