Marine Conservation

Marine Conservation

Events

turtle

Coastal ecosystems — including estuaries, coastal wetlands, seagrass beds and coral reefs — are extremely productive systems. However, their continued ability to provide important environmental and economic goods and services is threatened by human activities. To protect these systems and sustain the flow of goods and services, CRC uses a suite of tools that are appropriate to the place and part of a broader coastal management strategy. One such tool is marine protected areas (MPA).

In North Sulawesi, Indonesia, CRC and its partners introduced one of the first models for a network of community-based MPAs. In the Philippines, CRC’s research and assessments of the effectiveness of MPAs has identified factors that most influence community-based MPA success or failure. CRC is working in Ghana to establish a national policy framework for MPAs, while in the Indian Ocean region we continue our MPA PRO initiative — an innovative program for assessing and certifying MPA professionals based on recognized standards of excellence in the field of MPA management.

Projects

all projects

Activities

More Activities

Stories

More Stories

Publications

More Publications
  • The Estuarine and Mangrove Ecosystem-Based Shellfisheries of West Africa Spotlighting Women-Led Fisheries Livelihoods Chuku, E. O., Adotey, J., Effah, E., Abrokwah, S., Adade, R., Okyere, I., Aheto D. W., Kent, K., Crawford, B. 1 October 2021

    This report presents findings from a participatory assessment of the shellfisheries conducted under the Women Shellfishers and Food Security Project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The assessment was conducted in 11 coastal West African countries: Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. The findings are presented in two main sections. Section 1 describes the purpose and scope of the assessment and Section 2 presents the regional overview of shellfisheries in West Africa. The report covers key data gaps identified in an initial literature review conducted prior to this study including estimated mangrove cover, presence of women shellfishers, and number of women shellfishers. Detailed country reports were also produced as part of this activity and are compiled in separate documents. This report brings to the fore, for the first time, a regional perspective of estuarine and mangrove ecosystem-based shellfisheries, a small-scale fisheries sector that has long been overlooked. All 11 sub-Saharan West African countries assessed were found to have active shellfisheries interspersed along their combined 4,472 km coastline. For each country, there were at least four major sites practicing shellfish harvesting and trade. This indicates the potential for future efforts for scale-up through direct investments, research, and capacity building, as well as the development of value chains within this industry. The description of shellfisheries reveals the intensity of shellfisheries livelihoods across the West African coast. It documents that the shellfisheries sector presents an opportunity to scale up the enhancement of livelihood opportunities, especially for women, and an opportunity to scale and strengthen the contribution of shellfisheries to food and nutritional security and sustainable natural resource management across the sub-Region.

  • GUIDE D’ELABORATION DES PLANS D’AMENAGEMENT DES PECHERIES A MADAGASCAR Le Ministère de l’Agriculture, de l’Elevage et de la Pêche 1 December 2020

  • Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystems (SUCCESS) Program 2004- 2014 Final Report Coastal Resources Center, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island 30 September 2014

    This is the final report of the global Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystems (SUCCESS) Program 2004- 2014.

  • Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystems Program (SUCCESS) Quarterly Report: Jan. 1 – March 31, 2006 Coastal Resources Center, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island 31 March 2006

    Quarterly report of the SUCCESS Program

  • Coasts at Risk: An Assessment of Coastal Risks and the Role of Environmental Solutions Coastal Resources Center, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, The Nature Conservancy, United Nations University-Institute for Environment and Human Security 28 July 2014

    The Coasts at Risk (C@R) report: 1) examines the risks that nations face from vulnerability and exposure to coastal hazards; 2) identifies where environmental degradation contributes to risks; and 3) explores where environmental solutions can contribute to risk reduction.