In 2000, the Ebiil MPA was established, designating the area closed to fishing and marine life harvesting. In 2005, PICRC has conducted a socioeconomic survey to learn the community’s perception on the MPA.
“But the one we did in 2005 was just a random survey,” said Noelle Wenty Oldiais, researcher from PICRC. She explained that the survey they are doing now is a census among the people who actually use the resources.
Oldiais distributes questionnaires to about 100 households in Ngarchelong to gather demographic, socioeconomic and perception data related to current and future Ebiil MPA.
“We’re going to compare the new data with the one we gathered in 2005,” explained Oldiais. “We want to see if there are changes in the way people think about their MPAs, if they have regulations that they want to add or change.”
In the beginning, Oldiais explained, their researches were focused mainly on maritime biological studies. But they realized the importance of socioeconomic studies. Oldiais said they want to see how the MPAs are doing according to the people. “We can say that according to our data, the MPAs are doing well. But if the community thinks otherwise, there might be a problem there. We want to see if they both match,” she said.
Among the objectives of the survey is to examine marine outsource dependency for household consumption and income, to determine the management effectiveness of the MPA, to examine perceived threats and suggested solutions, and to explore the possibility of tourism development.
The survey is almost half-way done, according to Oldiais. The target completion for collecting the data is April, and they are expected to report back the results to the community by June or July.
Although some people understand the importance of the survey, Oldiais noted that a lot of people get confused or annoyed by the survey because it takes their time. But she said that’s the only way they can get the ideas of the community.
“The most important thing to note is that the MPAs belong to the people,” shared Oldiais. “They should have a say in what they want.”
//
