Date of Completion
2025
Document Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Environmental Studies
Thesis Type
Honors College, College of Arts and Science Honors, Environmental Studies Electronic Thesis
First Advisor
Leigh Raymond
Keywords
British Indian Ocean Territory, Chagos, Marine governance, Palau National Marine Sanctuary, SIDS
Abstract
Large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs) have been important tools in marine management and conservation. Due to their size and remote nature, large-scale marine governance often overlooks the importance of including local communities in the creation process, diminishing the LSMPA’s overall success. To examine this, I conducted a structured search and review of literature surrounding two LSMPA case studies to compare local participation to each case study’s measured levels of ecological, social, and economic success. The Palau National Marine Sanctuary utilized high levels of local participation in LSMPA creation, leading to an overall successful LSMPA. In contrast, the Chagos MPA was created without the native islanders and in violation of human rights, which caused the MPA to fail both ecologically and socially. This demonstrates the essential role local communities play in LSMPA creation, leading to improved marine ecosystems, sustainable economies, and sociocultural wellbeing.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Beeler, Cassandra Smiles, "Managing the Commons: How Local Participation in Decision-Making Impacts the Success of Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas" (2025). UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses. 700.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/700