Management and economic incentives for conservation in dugong priority areas.

Coastal zones contain diverse and productive ecosystems which have been of great importance historically for human populations. They equate to only 8% of the world’s surface area but provide 25% of global productivity, and human-generated stresses on these ecosystems are considerable.

Approximately 70% of the world’s population lives within a day’s walk of the coast. Two-thirds of the world’s cities occur on the coast and oceans are the primary protein source for one in four people on the planet (worth US$92 billion globally). Marine ecosystems are among the most threatened on the planet, and some of the least known.

Business as usual for seagrass and dugongs, (1) disregarding the increasing consumption of marine resources globally and (2) dependency of poor coastal communities on marine resources together with (3) population growth does not provide a sustainable future development scenario, neither for businesses nor for coastal communities.

The Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project aims to address these issues through managerial and economic solutions for seagrass ecosystems and dugongs. The Project will improve the governance and community involvement in natural resources stewardship and provide alternatives to detrimental fishing practices in the project countries.

Incentive Projects

Total Funding $2,043,765

Community based conservation and management of dugong and seagrass habitat in Bintan, Alor, Tolitoli and Kotawaringin Barat, Indonesia (ID3)

Alternative Livelihood Creation to Preserve Dugong Habitats in Central Kalimantan (ID4)

Establishing a marine conservation coordination centre in north-west Sri Lanka (LK2).

Establishing dugong and seagrass conservation areas in Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar (LK4).

Providing incentives to local communities for wise stewardship of coastal habitats (LK7).

Building a model for long-term community-based conservation of seagrass-dependent biodiversity in Madagascar (MG1).

Using incentivized environmental stewardship to conserve dugongs and seagrass habitat at an identified national hotspot (MG3).

Integrated approaches to enhance the conservation of dugong and seagrass ecosystems in the Sahamalaza area (MG4).

Operationalizing the Malaysian National Plan of Action for dugongs in Pulau Sibu and Pulau Tinggi, Johor, peninsular Malaysia (MY1).

Overcoming knowledge gaps and involving the local community in supporting the establishment of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) for the conservation of dugongs and seagrass in the Bay of Brunei, Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo (MY5).

Development of community-based activities to improve local engagement in marine management in the Bazaruto archipelago (MZ1).

The Bazaruto Dugong protection project (MZ4).

Towards better management and protection of dugongs and seagrass habitats in the Solomon Islands (SB4).

Spirulina Cultivation to promote Marine Habitat Conservation in the Solomon Islands (SB7)

Aluminium Recycling for Seagrass Habitat Preservation in Gizo, Solomon Islands (SB8)

Incentivising community engagement in dugong and seagrass conservation in Timor-Leste through volunteer ecotourism (TL2).

Incentive Case Studies

Homestays in Timor-Leste Transform Tourists into Citizen Scientists

Incentive Interviews

Dugongs and Seagrass in the Solomon Islands