Team members: Vardhan Patankar & Rohan Arthur

Project timeline:

Studying the effectiveness of marine resource management systems post-tsunami in the Nicobar archipelago

The 2004 Tsunami catastrophe degraded the reefs of the Nicobar Islands, potentially influencing the effectiveness of local traditional systems of management and their ability to meet short- and long-term conservation and community goals. In this study, we documented the contrasts in pre-tsunami and post-tsunami resource-use patterns and management systems in relation to marine resource offtake and compared resources and ecological parameters inside and outside managed areas to assess how effective traditional management systems are in protecting marine resources and habitats, post-tsunami. The results are targeted to inform management authorities with the knowledge needed to optimize conservation practices.