Are communities better off? Leveraging perceptions data in an impact evaluation of small-scale fisheries interventions in Brazil, Indonesia, and Philippines

Using both objective and perceived measures of success across diverse stakeholder objectives, we evaluate the performance of a global rollout of small-scale fisheries management interventions. Effective impact evaluation is... [ view full abstract ]

Using both objective and perceived measures of success across diverse stakeholder objectives, we evaluate the performance of a global rollout of small-scale fisheries management interventions. Effective impact evaluation is critical to understanding how well interventions work so that interventions can be improved and scaled over time. Traditionally, such evaluations often focus on objective measures of ecological impact but exclude perceived measures of socioeconomic impact. However, ecological responses may not always be significant over short time scales, while community perceptions may respond more quickly and will ultimately drive long-term conservation behavior. Over the past several years, an initiative called Fish Forever has implemented behavior change campaigns in 41 sites across Brazil, Indonesia, and the Philippines in order to establish TURF-Reserves (community-based territorial use rights for fishing areas coupled with no-take marine reserves). The goal of the program is to improve ecological, economic, and social conditions for these small-scale fishing communities. To evaluate the program, a set of common ecological, economic, and social indicators was collected before and after the campaigns across Fish Forever treatment and matched control sites. These indicators include objective ecological indicators collected through underwater visual surveys as well as subjective indicators of behavior change and perceived socioeconomic well-being. We will present preliminary results of this program’s success in meeting diverse management objectives, as well as lessons learned in monitoring and evaluation design and implementation. We will also argue that perceptions data should play an important role in the impact evaluation of marine conservation and small-scale fisheries interventions.