Question: What criteria are used to determine if MCAs are feasible?
Answer: Seven factors help determine if Marine Conservation Agreements are feasible: conservation targets; threats and strategies; owners, managers and users; laws and policies; organizational capacity; stakeholders; and costs.
Intertidal ownership. Image courtesy The Nature Conservancy, Oregon
General criteria can be used to help organizations think strategically about when and where Marine Conservation Agreements (MCAs) can help them achieve their ocean and coastal conservation goals. Phase 1 of the Field Guide provides a full description of the criteria and details of the feasibility analysis process.
Organizations should keep in mind that MCAs are only one tool in the marine conservation toolbox. MCAs cannot and should not be applied everywhere, but under certain circumstances, when specific criteria are met, they can be a useful tool.
In brief, conditions might be right for MCAs if the following criteria are met:
- Conservation targets are established (see 1.1 Conservation Targets)
- Threats and strategies are determined (see 1.2 Threats and Strategies)
- Owners, managers and users are known (see 1.3 Ownership and Use)
- Laws and policies are supportive (see 1.4 Laws and Policies)
- Organizational capacity is sufficient (see 1.5 Organizational Capacity)
- Stakeholders and their issues are identified (see 1.6 Stakeholders)
- Costs and funding are assessed (see 1.7 Costs and Financing)