Abstract

Declared nationally by the Minister of Environment, Housing, and Territorial Development in 2005, the Seaflower is Colombia’s first marine protected area (MPA) and the largest in the wider Caribbean. It covers 65,000 km2 and is divided into three administrative sections. CORALINA, the local representative of Colombia’s National Environment System (SINA), is responsible for day-to-day management. The proposal to establish a locally managed MPA emerged during a search for solutions to the issues, threats, and conflicts posed by the historical open-access regime, which were identified during stakeholder consultations. The community and CORALINA agreed that establishing a multiple-use MPA would be a viable tool to improve conservation, reduce human-based impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity, and promote sustainable use. Early in the planning process, MPA objectives were developed in collaboration with stakeholders. To realize these objectives, the MPA was zoned for management levels ranging from total protection to controlled industrial fishing. The process to zone the Seaflower MPA was an on-going collaboration between institutions and resource users. Decisions were made jointly, with the community having input on boundaries and the last word on zoning. Formal agreements were signed with stakeholders; followed by the enactment of section boundaries, zoning, and general regulations by CORALINA’s Board of Directors to operationalize these agreements. This paper describes the zoning process, discusses challenges, and presents lessons learned during the five-year process

PDF Preview