Management objectives are discussed with local communities.
Kenya Wildlife Service
Development of national SMART objectives
Managing without targeted objectives is like driving a car blindfolded. Objectives help determine how effective the current management is, which areas need active management, and whether actions taken contribute to moving the system toward objective targets. We develop a comprehensive suite of ecological and social indicators, have these prioritized by regional social and ecological scientists, and work with managers to independently prioritize indicators and develop objectives focused around each management goal. The final list includes manager and scientist priorities and is peer reviewed by stakeholders and regional scientists. Lists of objectives are flexible and updated often. Due to the lack of data or analytical capacity, we help them conduct a literature review, and establish ecological targets using baseline data (e.g., historical status or status within reference areas of long protected MPAs), non-linearity in large datasets (i.e., threshold levels at which ecosystem state changes), or established target levels (e.g., levels set by governments). For social state targets, we work with managers and stakeholders and use reference directions (improvement from existing state), or normative (value-based) targets.
- Training in understanding marine and coastal ecosystems.
- Participatory process with managers, scientists, and community members.
- Agency support for use of objectives to guide management.
Managers find the process of selecting objectives highly valuable and the targets help them understand status and guide decision making. However, the objectives need to be embraced by the agency, managers, and community to be effective and should be incorporated into national MPA management policy. Selecting management objectives requires that the managers and community understand the social-ecological system, so training may be required first.