Observed and perceived environmental impacts of marine protected areas in two Southeast Asia sites

Integrated coastal management (ICM) commonly utilizes marine protected areas (MPAs) as a management tool. The study demonstrates that MPAs, embedded within an ICM framework, have had positive impacts on coral reefs in Mabini, the Philippines and within tourism-reserved zones of the Bunaken National Park (BNP), Indonesia. ICM has not been able to stem all coral reef degradation, particularly in community-managed no-take areas within BNP. Also, coral reefs surrounding one island within the BNP, but without ICM-inspired coral reef management, have surprisingly high coral cover and fish abundance and diversity. The perceptions of most local people, analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively, generally agree with the field observations. However, differences between field observations and interview results are significant enough to warrant the use of both methods when attempting to measure environmental change and resource user's perceptions of these changes.