New research led by James Cook University (JCU) emphasizes that the success of marine protected areas (MPAs) depends largely on understanding and influencing people’s behaviors within their borders.

The study demonstrates that effective conservation relies on compliance – a critically underappreciated issue that needs to be systematically and adaptively addressed.

MPAs are vital for ocean health, conserving biodiversity by shielding habitats like coral reefs and seagrass from overfishing, pollution, and rising climate threats, but non-compliance regularly undermines their effectiveness worldwide.

JCU partnered with professionals from WildAid’s Marine Program, the Waitt Institute, University of Hawaii-Hilo and other leading organizations globally to devise a novel compliance framework that develops a systematic approach for encouraging compliance behaviors.

“Globally, marine protected areas and other conservation programs are often impeded by the inability to successfully manage human behavior,” said lead author and JCU conservation scientist Dr Brock Bergseth.

“We brought together a group of international experts that has been studying and managing human behaviour within MPAs for decades to speak about how you actually go about creating a successful program, from start to finish.

“Whether it’s a tambu area in Papua New Guinea or a large marine park like the Great Barrier Reef, we needed to understand: what are the essential elements to effective conservation measures and how do you approach these processes to ensure their success?”

The research challenges the common assumption that compliance in MPAs is primarily driven by enforcement and penalties, arguing instead for a ‘stick and carrot’ approach, which primarily incentivizes voluntary cooperation while reserving punishment for serious offenses.

“While some enforcement may be necessary, it’s not a panacea for compliance,” Dr. Bergseth said.

“People often default to using a ‘big stick’ approach (punishment, enforcement) to coerce compliance rather than using a ‘carrot’ approach that makes people more willing to voluntarily support the rules.”

Co-author Michael Guilbeaux, of University of Hawaii-Hilo said there are some underlying principles that they know lead to the most successful MPAs, including early and frequent engagement with stakeholders.

“Even if people don’t fully agree on the rules, they’re more likely to see them as fair, and to follow them, if they have been able to participate throughout the process,” Dr Bergseth continued.

Chris Wilcox, Senior Director of WildAid’s Marine Program said enforcement was just one of many tools that they use to help MPAs achieve compliance.

“We are increasingly investing in communications and other behavior change tools to enable and encourage people to comply,” he said.

Cory Pukini, Enforcement and Compliance Program Manager for the Waitt Institute, said from a big-picture view it is much more productive and cost-effective to facilitate voluntary compliance rather than to force it solely through punishment.

Research senior author and JCU Adjunct Principal Research Fellow Dr Jon Day said the research draws upon global compliance expertise to devise a broadly applicable framework that can be tailored to diverse regulatory and cultural contexts.

“Over the course of my career, I’ve seen what happens when compliance and enforcement are under-resourced or overlooked – to the detriment of effective MPAs,” he said.

“Reframing our global compliance system will better enable long-standing success of marine conservation initiatives, protecting ocean health now and far into the future.”

To access the full research, visit http://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70246.