Preference classes in society for coastal marine protected areas

PeerJ

article

Ana Ruiz-Frau¹  James M. Gibbons³  Hilmar Hinz¹  Gareth Edwards-Jones³  Michel J. Kaiser⁴ 

[1] Department of Marine Ecology, Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados;School of Ocean Sciences, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Bangor University;School of Natural Sciences, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Bangor University;The Lyell Centre, School of Energy, Geosciences, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University

关键词: Marine protected areas;    Choice experiments;    Marine spatial planning;    Coastal;    Conservation;    Area based management;    Marine;    Marine reserve;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.6672

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly being used as conservation tools in the marine environment. Success of MPAs depends upon sound scientific design and societal support. Studies that have assessed societal preferences for temperate MPAs have generally done it without considering the existence of discrete groups of opinion within society and have largely considered offshore and deep-sea areas. This study quantifies societal preferences and economic support for coastal MPAs in Wales (UK) and assesses the presence of distinct groups of preference for MPA management, through a latent class choice experiment approach. Results show a general support for the protection of the marine environment in the form of MPAs and that society is willing to bear the costs derived from conservation. Despite a general opposition toward MPAs where human activities are completely excluded, there is some indication that three classes of preferences within society can be established regarding the management of potentially sea-floor damaging activities. This type of approach allows for the distinction between those respondents with positive preferences for particular types of management from those who experience disutility. We conclude that insights from these types of analyses can be used by policy-makers to identify those MPA designs and management combinations most likely to be supported by particular sectors of society.

【 授权许可】

CC BY