Synergy as strategy: learning from La Restinga, Canary Islands
Authors: José J. Pascual-Fernández, Raquel De La Cruz Modino, Ratana Chuenpagdee and Svein Jentoft
As lessons from MPA implementation around the world suggest that challenges arise from insufficient attention to social interactions, this paper argues that MPAs that are carefully designed to fit the existing social systems can be instrumental in synergy building towards marine conservation and community sustainability. Illustrated by the case of La Restinga MPA in the Canary Islands, the paper introduces the concept of synergy in the context of governability, discusses the relationships between stakeholders and the MPA and describes how the MPA has transformed relationships and interactions among stakeholders, leading to different levels of synergies.
La Restinga and its MPA are examined both as a governing system and a system-to-be-governed, where synergies emerge from the relationships and interactions that exist in the community, or from the opportunities that the MPA generates. Such synergy creation is an essential governance strategy that helps enhance governability as it reduces conflicts and provides opportunities for constructive cooperation among stakeholders, especially in times of crisis. The story of La Restinga offers valuable lessons about the way the community copes and responds to change, and the role that synergies play in the process. The paper concludes with strategies for building synergy in MPAs elsewhere, and by implication, supporting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on Biological Diversity targets. Ultimately, the paper highlights that MPAs that are carefully designed to fit the existing social systems can be instrumental in synergy building and fostering community development.
