Locally Managed Marine Areas

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Locally Managed Marine Areas

Empowering local communities to protect and sustainably manage marine resources

Fisheries

Wildlife conservation

Livelihood development

Background

In the Myeik Archipelago, important and diverse marine habitats are threatened by overfishing as well as habitat destruction and loss. The establishment of Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) is one method that can be used not only to protect these habitats but also to support local livelihoods.

The project

In 2017, three LMMAs were established in the Myeik Archipelago for the conservation of key biodiversity areas and sustainable fisheries management. These LMMAs in Langann, Don Pale Aw, and Lin Lon represent the first designated protected areas specifically established for marine co-managed fisheries in Myanmar, whereby long-term management of marine areas has been granted to local fishing communities. These communities receive exclusive fishing rights while taking responsibility for protecting local marine habitats and biodiversity. In the next three years, four new marine areas will be created and sustainably managed through the LMMA model.

About the organization

Founded in 1903, Flora and Fauna International (FFI) is the world’s oldest international wildlife conservation organization. Its mission is to protect biodiversity and conserve threatened species and ecosystems by choosing solutions that are sustainable and that take into account human needs.

Biological monitoring of protected areas inside LMMAs provides important information about the status of the marine resources and how they are changing through time, which is used by the communities to make the correct decisions about the management of the area.

Photo: Michelangelo Pignani - FFI

Villagers drafting the boundaries and zones of one of the LMMAs. An LMMA differs from a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in that LMMAs are characterized by local ownership, and in some areas follow the traditional tenure and management practices of the region.

Photo: Robert Howard - FFI

First recognized in Fiji, there are now more than 420 Indo-Pacific LMMA sites involving around 600 villages in 15 Pacific Island States alone. LMMAs now exist in many countries in South East Asia, throughout the Pacific, as well as in the Indian Ocean and Caribbean. LMMAs consist of communities, dedicated practitioners and government officials all focused on community-based marine resource management, providing capacity building, awareness and monitoring support, while empowering greater numbers of communities to manage their marine resources in a sustainable way.

Photo: Robert Howard - FFI