Local communities and protected areas: effect of fisher community attitude towards the conservation of marine resources: a case study of the Kenyan North Coast

The conservation of marine resources is an integral part of the broader initiatives of environmental conservation in Kenya. however, the conservation of marine resources in Kenya has led to resources use conflicts between national agencies like the Kenya wildlife service and the local communities. The study reported in this dissertation sought to examine fisher community attitude towards conservation of marine resources by providing an insight into what factors determine attitude towards conservation of marine resources. To examine this, 238 fishers’ were randomly chosen and interviewed. The data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics as well as the Logit and ordered logit model using STATA software. Result of the study showed that socio economic and demographic variables such as age and marital status influenced attitudes towards conservation of resources. In addition, resource and perception variables such as the economic situation of the household, perceived resource trend were found to significantly influence there subsequent attitude towards conservation. All these together can influence and change people’s attitude towards conservation initiatives. This dissertation recommends that establishing an MPA in a developing and demographically dynamic country like Kenya, government policy should be well aware of and integrate community attitudes and the underlying factors causing those attitudes, rather than be against it.