Sustainability Entrepreneurship in marine protected areas

So called ‘entrepreneurial marine protected areas’ are one way in which private actors are setting and enforcing control over spatially contiguous marine habitats. These entrepreneurs fulfil both environmental and social outcomes, providing a sustainable source of funding for conservation and restoration activities, as well as interacting with communities dependent on these resources. In doing so they contribute to the conservation of public resources. But unlike state-led management, the success of these entrepreneurs is dependent on market forces, giving them access to sources of revenue traditionally limited to private sector enterprises, whilst concurrently incurring risks from market fluctuations that potentially threaten their durability in the long term. Through three case studies from Indonesia, Belize and Tanzania this chapter explores the ways in which these actors exploit opportunities to create innovative spatially delimited private governance arrangements around marine resources, and the extent to which the state has facilitated or hindered their activities. In doing so we discuss the potential of these private actors for establishing the necessary authority for long-term conservation.