Abstract

Marine protected area (MPA) creation is widely acknowledged as a valuable tool for marine conservation, a recognition reiterated at the eleventh Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in India (Oct. 2012). However, most countries have made limited progress in this area, including Canada, which has protected just over 1% of its Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ). The purpose of this study was to conduct an evaluation of four MPA cases in Québec – two designated MPAs (the Parc marin du Saguenay-Saint-Laurent (PMSSL) and the Réserve aquatique projetée de Manicouagan (RAPM)) and two proposed MPAs (the Îles-de-la-Madeleine and a project initiated by the Cree Nation of Wemindji (Tawich)) – focused on facilitating mechanisms availed of during the pre-establishment stages that support emerging collaborative governance (co-governance) arrangements. In Québec, these arrangements include both federal and provincial government involvement. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of key stakeholders identified at Québec’s first MPA Symposium (June 2010) and then coded with the qualitative data analysis software (QDAS), NVivo 10. Facilitating mechanisms were identified, including the need for: aboriginal and local community engagement; bridging organizations and leadership; traditional and local ecological knowledge (TEK and LEK); public education-awareness; and transparent communications. These are consistent with findings in the literature on collaborative management (co-management) of natural resources as well as the limited literature on MPA governance. The research is intended to support the establishment of MPAs by providing insights from a diversity of stakeholder perspectives based on past experiences and current circumstances.