The Locally-Managed Marine Area Network is a group of practitioners involved in various community-based marine conservation projects around the globe, primarily in the Indo-Pacific, who have joined together to learn how to improve our management efforts. We are interested in learning under what conditions using an LMMA strategy works, doesn’t work, and why.

The Network’s membership consists largely of conservation and resource management projects that are using (or planning on using) an LMMA approach, and includes:

• Community members
• Land-owning groups
• Traditional leaders
• Elected decision-makers
• Conservation staff
• University scientists and researchers
• Donors

The Network spans the people and cultures of Southeast Asia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and the Americas. Some nations have their own country-wide network, which operate autonomously, but within the framework of the overall Network.

Independently and together, we work toward our five objectives:

• Learn about the LMMA approach (through systematic and question-driven monitoring and/or other assessment approaches).
• Protect biodiversity at specific sites.
• Promote the LMMA approach (and lessons from using it) in the Indo-Pacific and globally.
• Build capacity for learning and implementation of Community-Based Adaptive Management (CBAM).
• Develop the policy environment at local, regional, country and international levels to support widespread adoption of LMMAs.