IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i5p4414-d1084897.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Community-Managed Fish Sanctuaries for Freshwater Fishery Biodiversity Conservation and Productivity in Malawi

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel M. Jamu

    (Coastal Resources Center, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, 220 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA)

  • Elin C. Torell

    (Coastal Resources Center, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, 220 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA)

  • Essau Chisale

    (Capital Fisheries, Monkey Bay, Mangochi P.O. Box 175, Malawi)

Abstract

Key fish breeding and other biodiverse areas in Malawian lakes are under threat from illegal fishing, the siltation of key breeding areas (due to deforestation-induced soil erosion), and the clearing of shoreline aquatic vegetation. Freshwater protected areas, also called sanctuaries, have the potential to support the restoration of degraded aquatic environments and protect fisheries’ biodiversity. In Malawi, community-managed fish sanctuaries have been established by beach village committees (BVCs) throughout Lake Malawi, Lake Malombe, Lake Chilwa and Lake Chiuta. The sanctuaries were established to conserve exploited stocks, preserve biodiversity, and enhance fisheries’ yield. The BVCs are aligned with local decentralized village development committees linked to District Councils. Together, they constitute a defragmented decentralized ecosystem-based management of fishery resources. A monitoring study was conducted in sanctuaries in the four lakes during the wet and dry season over three years (2016–2019). The monitoring was carried out to evaluate the sanctuaries’ biological performance. The results showed that community-managed sanctuaries contributed to a 24% increase in the total number of observed species. The Shannon Diversity Index increased from an average 1.21 to 1.52. Small and mid-size (<50 ha) sanctuaries showed a higher performance improvement than large (>50 ha) sanctuaries. This is likely due to multiple factors, including a higher level of fish movement and the greater ability of communities to surveil and enforce smaller sanctuaries. The participation of communities in monitoring enhanced the demonstration effects of sanctuaries. This, in turn, encouraged communities to expand the number and size of the sanctuaries. The biological performance results indicate that community-managed freshwater sanctuaries can be used to protect and restore fish biodiversity in freshwater lakes in Africa. Linking the BVCs to defragmented decentralized structures ensures that the interconnectedness between ecosystem uses, including forestry, agriculture, and tourism, which impinge on fish productivity, are addressed holistically.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel M. Jamu & Elin C. Torell & Essau Chisale, 2023. "Community-Managed Fish Sanctuaries for Freshwater Fishery Biodiversity Conservation and Productivity in Malawi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-13, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:5:p:4414-:d:1084897
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/5/4414/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/5/4414/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jon G. Sutinen & K. Kuperan, 1999. "A socio‐economic theory of regulatory compliance," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(1/2/3), pages 174-193, January.
    2. Torell, Elin C. & Jamu, Daniel M. & Kanyerere, Geoffrey Z. & Chiwaula, Levison & Nagoli, Joseph & Kambewa, Patrick & Brooks, Alan & Freeman, Peter, 2020. "Assessing the economic impacts of post-harvest fisheries losses in Malawi," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wedson Phiri & Moses Limuwa & Joseph Dzanja, 2022. "Are Fish Markets in Central Malawi Profitable and Efficient? Performance of Diploxatodon spp. (Ndunduma) Markets in Salima and Lilongwe Districts," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-13, May.
    2. Akpalu, Wisdom & Vondolia, Godwin K. & Adom, Phillip K. & Peprah, Dorcas Asaah, 2023. "Passive Participation in Illegal Fishing and the Welfare of Fishmongers in a Developing Country," EfD Discussion Paper 23-9, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    3. Elin Torell & Chikondi Manyungwa-Pasani & Danielle Bilecki & Innocent Gumulira & Gordon Yiwombe, 2021. "Assessing and Advancing Gender Equity in Lake Malawi’s Small-Scale Fisheries Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Klara Strecker & Verena Bitzer & Froukje Kruijssen, 2022. "Critical stages for post-harvest losses and nutrition outcomes in the value chains of bush beans and nightshade in Uganda," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(2), pages 411-426, April.
    5. Zaky Machmuddah & Adhin Fauziah Iriani & St. Dwiarso Utomo, 2020. "Influencing Factors of Audit Report Lag: Evidence from Indonesia," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 9, November.
    6. Henrike Sternberg & Janina Isabel Steinert & Tim Büthe, 2023. "Compliance in the Public versus the Private Realm: Economic Preferences, Institutional Trust and COVID-19 Health Behaviors," Munich Papers in Political Economy 28, Munich School of Politics and Public Policy and the School of Management at the Technical University of Munich.
    7. Nkhoswe, James & Bader, Sumeya & Nyauchi, Elizabeth & Lemma, Yordanos & Ong’ondo, Geoffrey & Geremew, Akewake, 2023. "Sustainability of the Sub-Saharan African Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture Value Chains: A Review of the Roles and Challenges of Youths and Women in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Zambia," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(12), pages 1643-1674, December.
    8. Antonio Di Cintio & Federico Niccolini & Sara Scipioni & Fabio Bulleri, 2023. "Avoiding “Paper Parks”: A Global Literature Review on Socioeconomic Factors Underpinning the Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-19, March.
    9. Mohd Rahim Khamis & Mohd Faizal bin Kamarudin, 2023. "The Economic Theory Assumption and Utility Maximization Model: The Perspective of Zakat Compliance Behavior," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 15(2), pages 17-34.
    10. Alexander Michael Kaminski & Steven Michael Cole & Robin Elizabeth Al Haddad & Alexander Shula Kefi & Alex Dennis Chilala & Gethings Chisule & Kelvin Ntaswila Mukuka & Catherine Longley & Shwu Jiau Te, 2020. "Fish Losses for Whom? A Gendered Assessment of Post-Harvest Losses in the Barotse Floodplain Fishery, Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:5:p:4414-:d:1084897. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.