Terms & Definitions - LMMA Network

Terms & Defininitions

The diagram below illustrates the terms used within the Network to describe project work. Below the diagram, the terms are defined in more detail as they pertain to Network activities.

Site
A site is the area where an LMMA is physically located and includes the habitats and resources present in the area and the communities that own and manage its resources. A site may also include any adjacent or nearby communities that use the resources, but do not have any ownership or management rights. A project may involve just one site or multiple sites. Some sites may have more than one LMMA. Currently there are 70 sites across seven countries using LMMAs within the Network.

LMMA
An LMMA is the overall marine area being managed by the local community or resource-owning groups (or co-managed with government and/or partner organisations). The overall marine area may include coral reefs, seagrass beds, mudflats, mangrove and other areas. Within an LMMA, different tools may be used to counter threats. Currently there are 70 LMMAs within the Network.

Tool
A tool is a specific strategy or action used to counter threats within the LMMA. One or more tools may be used over time and/or spatial scales. Examples of tools include:

Full Reserve (also called 'sanctuary,' 'no-take zone,' 'marine protected area' or 'MPA,' etc.)
Species-Specific Harvest Refugia
Effort, Gear or Behavioral Restrictions
Seasonal Restrictions

Many communities and projects around the globe use different names to describe similar methods and tools used in marine conservation. At various LMMA workshops held in Asia and the Pacific, all of the following terms have been used to describe similar methods and tools:

Various terms for marine protected areas

"community managed reserve area"
"community-based marine protected area"
"multiple use community-based marine protected area"
"customary resource area and wildlife management area"
"managed reserve"
"marine protected area"
"marine reserve"
"marine conservation area"
"marine sanctuary"
"multiple use zones"
"no take zone"
"no-take x-year closure" or
"ra'ui area"
"no-take conservation area"
"no-take traditional reserve"
"permanent no-take zone"
"seasonal reserves"
"special management area"
"species-specific sasizen"
"tabu area"
"zoned marine protected area" (no-take & multiple use)

(Parks, J. E. and N. Salafsky , 2001)

Member
The term 'member' refers to a group of people carrying out a project and participating in the Network at the full or provisional membership level, or a group or individual participating in the Network at the associate level (see Members for more information). Currently there are a total of 63 members in the LMMA Network: 4 full (projects), 17 provisional (projects), and 42 associate (project, organisation, or individual).

Partner
A partner is an individual or group (such as non-profit organizations, government agencies, universities, etc.) that is involved with the implementation of an LMMA project at either the full and/or provisional membership level. See Partner Organizations for links to our partners' websites.

For more information on the type of work we do, please see our Resources.