In the early 1980s, there was a paradigm shift in conservation from the prevailing top-down protectionist approach to an approach that is more sensitive to the rights and needs of local people [1]. The shift occurred partly due to the disproportionate costs of conservation imposed on often poorer communities in developing countries, and due to the recognition of importance of gaining local communities’ support to achieve conservation goals [2, 3]. This led to the introduction of the concept of integrated protected areas, which has dual goals of nature conservation and poverty reduction among the local community. Despite the goals having been reinvented this way, the evaluation in terms of social outcome of many protected areas remains poorly understood due to the lack of evaluation in this area as compared to that in the biological domains. In addition, there has been mixed evidence of the direction and strength of reported social outcomes of protected areas [2, 4, 5].
The definition of coastal community is not consistent across the literature, but it can be described as a human settlement along a thin strip of coastal land or on the water along the boundaries between the sea and the land, including seaside towns and ports [6]. Coastal communities have benefited in terms of human health and well-being from numerous ecosystem services provided by the sea and coastal areas such as protein-rich food, economic development of the tourism sector, commercial fisheries, sociocultural benefits, and natural defence against floods and storms. Demand for these ecosystem services has increased, despite the acknowledgment of the marine environment deterioration caused by it. This has led to a global increase of systematic and integrative marine governance especially in Southeast Asian (SEA) countries, which consist of many low- and middle-income countries with richness and abundance of biodiversity owing to their tropical ecosystem [7].
Several coastal communities including those in the SEA region have reported problems with the accessibility of sufficient water, food, and energy sources [8,9,10,11]. Furthermore, the implementation of marine site protection in coastal areas can be challenging for coastal communities especially for smallholder farmers, fishermen, and vulnerable and marginalised populations [2, 12,13,14,15]. The loss of economic opportunities together with a frequent lack of infrastructure in the underdeveloped areas may then undermine their health, nutrition, and quality of life [6].
On the other hand, there is also evidence for the positive effects of MPAs on the welfare of coastal communities. In a previous review article that examined the outcomes of MPA establishment on human welfare, it was concluded that food security among local people remained stable or increased following MPA establishment. An increase was also observed in resource rights of the locals, and the effects were positively correlated with the MPA zoning [16]. Moreover, a previous study showed that the local coastal communities in the United Kingdom generally perceived improvement in their social, economic, and environmental benefits after 2 years (2008–2010) of MPA establishment in Lyme Bay, United Kingdom [17]. Taken together, the outcomes of MPAs on human welfare or well-being appear mixed. The heterogeneity is perhaps due to the different geographical locations, different marine policies and governances, and the sociocultural situations of the coastal communities. Therefore, it has been assumed that if MPAs are established, it will change the economic and material living standards of coastal communities because MPAs can result in increased local fish catch but can also restrict access to marine resources, especially among marginalised and vulnerable populations.
There are various systematic review methodologies [18]. This paper aims to describe the agreed process that will be undertaken when conducting the systematic review which will gather evidence from many different countries and different authors, so that a standardised process can be followed. This systematic review will synthesise the available evidence on the outcome of marine site protection on poverty among the coastal communities in the SEA region. By systematically reviewing the evidence and context of individual case studies, this greater understanding can support efforts to minimise any negative effects of MPA on the local community [19,20,21,22]. The information may be used as evidence to formulate regulations related to conservation and human welfare in the marine site protection areas which could help increase acceptance of the local community towards MPA policy. This is important as the policymakers in the future may establish more coastal areas as MPAs based on the current trend.
Stakeholder engagement
The systematic review topic and questions have been formulated based on the findings/outcomes from a stakeholder meeting conducted on 22 March 2018 at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The attendees of the stakeholder meeting included government agencies, non-governmental agencies (NGOs), tour operators, and the local communities of Sabah. The research team had conducted several interviews with key local stakeholders in Tun Mustapha Park (TMP), Sabah, including coastal communities and representatives from relevant government agencies to further gather insights and develop the framework of the study. Additional input and feedback were sought from researchers in the wider Blue Communities Programme team, developmental and fisheries experts, local and international NGOs via informal meetings, interviews, and conversations.