Search Results (3)

Ecosystem services is a concept broadly applicable to describe environmental interrelations with human activities. It serves as a practical instrument for assessing the success of resource management in natural reserves, with the goals of maximising conservation effort and achieving sustainable use. The Gili Matra Marine Tourism Park (GMMTP) has been extensively researched as a marine protected area centred on anthropocentric activities of marine-based tourism. However, there still a lack of research to address the full scope of ecosystem services derived from the coral reef ecosystem. From an ecosystem services viewpoint, the study’s objectives were to define the services obtained from the GMMTP’s coral reef ecosystem, relevant stakeholders, and how their utilisation activities were posed as drivers of changes that reflect the flow of services and the possible implications of these. Marine tourism, capture fisheries, and land-based activities were identified as services impacting upon the regulating and supporting services, with the resultant compounding externalities potentially degrading the services’ utilisation value. Although there have been certain changes in community behaviour that may reduce the intensity of the impacts, the present prediction of service flow still confirms the previous statement. The results provided insight into current resources management implications on the state of ecosystem services. Overall, failing to recognise the causes that drives the interaction of these ecosystem services will increase the risk of incurring unexpected trade-offs, restricting the potential for resources’ synergies, and eventually causing drastic and irreversible changes in the provision of coral reef ecosystem services in the GMMTP. Full article

A Marine Protected Area (MPA) is always expected to create a specified outcome in ecosystem improvement. While they are certain to benefit marine life, MPAs also impact the surrounding communities, as they directly affect the livelihoods of people who rely on marine exploits to make a decent living. In other words, MPAs create new communal dynamics influencing the rate of prosperity in the surrounding communities. Unfortunately, the leverage of MPAs in the coastal communities’ social economy is often under-assessed in MPA-related research. The MPA’s influence on communal prosperity emphasizes the importance of policy incentives from stakeholders. Therefore, stakeholders’ perceptions of MPAs are fundamental in the planning and implementation of MPAs, which could improve the prosperity of the coastal communities. In Gili Matra, Indonesia, where tourism is the MPA’s backbone, MPAs are expected to sustain prosperity for future generations. However, some stakeholders with different influential stances to the MPA (Influential Stakeholders (IS) and Non-Influential Stakeholders (NIS)) demand a contradictive approach. This could lead to managerial issues for the MPAs. These issues must be addressed to avoid contradictory objectives that could harm MPA implementation. Full article

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are intangible benefits people obtain from an ecosystem through physical and cognitive interactions. Understanding CES provides vital insights into how activities impacting ecosystem services also impact people. Gili Matra Islands, a set of three small tropical islands located in West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, are an increasingly busy marine tourism destination and a marine protected area. By integrating a hedonic monetary value model with a eudaemonic non-monetary value model, this study examines the impacts of tourism and marine protected area management on cultural ecosystem services in the Gili Matra Islands. Results showed that the distance had significantly influenced property prices to coastlines, beach spots and coastlines with sunset views. In addition, the property prices of each individual island showed significant correlations with particular marine tourism and protection features. Less restricted marine protected zones and coastlines were the most significantly influencing variables to the strong eudaemonic well-being dimensions expressed by residents. The Spiritual dimension produced the highest score and was most significantly affected by several features. This study utilised higher accuracy of properties and residents’ location, enabling more accurate assessments of interaction between CES and the features. This study also discusses how these novel insights in the small island’s CES case can inform vulnerability assessments, reviews of recreation taxes, and spatial planning for marine protected areas and help optimise beach nourishments. Full article