Abstract
This article examines one MPA—the Gulf of Mannar National Park and Biosphere Reserve—located in southern India, and four types of social conflict that have surrounded its establishment. Taking the strength of wellbeing aspirations as point of departure, we focus on two themes: the implications of MPA embeddedness in wider societal systems, and the consequences of natural and social variety for governance. We conclude first of all that conflict resolution depends on MPA authorities’ willingness to engage with the interferences that emerge from outside the MPA area. Secondly, we point out the varying wellbeing aspirations of the population and the need to develop governance partnerships. The latter are argued to contribute to more balanced decision making, as well as to a greater appreciation among the target population of the ‘fairness’ of MPA policy.
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Notes
The fisheries sector currently resides under the Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu, whereas forestry and wildlife is under the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. We abbreviate these official designations as Fisheries Department and Forest Department in the following.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge support provided by the 6th Framework EC-funded ECOST project (nr 003711) and the NERC/ESRC/DfID-funded ESPA project (nr NE/G008337/1). They also thank three anonymous reviewers and Andy Thorpe for their useful comments on earlier versions of this article.
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Bavinck, M., Vivekanandan, V. Conservation, Conflict and the Governance of Fisher Wellbeing: Analysis of the Establishment of the Gulf of Mannar National Park and Biosphere Reserve. Environmental Management 47, 593–602 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9578-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9578-z