**3. Material and methods**

#### **3.1 Case studies**

Moving on from the way in which MPAs are conceived to how they are experienced involves going to observe them, which is what we did for 13 case studies. The case study is an empirical research approach that consists of investigating a trend, an event, a group or a set of individuals selected non-randomly in order to obtain a precise description and an interpretation that exceeds its terms of reference [29]. The aim is to identify patterns with a view to generating theories [30–32]. What both gives this its validity and makes it interesting is studying a trend (here the implementation of an MPA) without dissociating it from its context [29, 33]; attempting to understand how this trend functions through immersion in its constitutive elements [34]; combining several sources of data, encouraging the analysis of different facets of the same trend making it possible to corroborate or extend the analyses by causing new questions to emerge [31, 35]; and making it possible to identify unexpected trends [29]. Here we make a comparative analysis [33] of cases marked by the embedding of units of analysis (the territory, the MPA and its integration in the area, dialogue and confrontation concerning the project or that interact with it, and categories of actors). According to Musca [32], an embedded design makes it possible to share out the risks of closure of data access between several sub-units, which is a considerable advantage for our study. This approach is adapted for studying complex processes in public spaces open to multiple social interactions, as is the case for MPA creation processes.

According to Yin [33], the scientific rigour of the case study is based not on the use of a single type of dataset but on the combined exploitation of quantitative and qualitative data from various sources such as field studies, archive analysis, interviews, observations and so on. This allows certain data to be validated by triangulation [35]. Several sources were therefore mobilised for each case study, first analysing very diverse documents (management plans, maps, national conservation framework policy documents, scientific literature, and press articles describing conflicts), conducted prior to the field study based on records of in-situ observations, semi-directive interviews and sometimes participation in key consultation moments (in 4 cases). In total, 201 interviews were conducted, but their number varied depending on the case study from 6 to 28 (**Table 1**): while problems gaining access to stakeholders sometimes restricted the scope of the study, the number was above all determined in each case by factors such as the decisive or otherwise role of


#### *Measuring Marine Protected Areas' Conservation Effort: A Different Look at Three… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98933*

**Table 1.** *Case studies.* national authorities, the heterogeneity of stakeholders, and points of view within each category of actors, the aim being to cover as well as possible the diversity of stakeholders' positions. Although almost a third of the people encountered were MPA managers (officials or elected representatives), our sample also included community and organisation representatives (22%), economic actors (20%), scientists (10%), sector administration officials (9%), and local authority officials or elected representatives (7%).

#### **3.2 Selecting case studies**

The case studies were selected based on the extent to which they displayed certain shared characteristics so that they remained comparable, and also to maximise the diversity of the situations observed. In our selection process, we follow Dougherty [30] according to whom the rule of selection should be the contrast: this encourages the revelation of recurrences in the way in which MPAs are implemented, and, here, how their components (status, perimeter and regulations) are seen. The diversity of the case studies should make it possible to see if we find similar processes and mechanisms despite the fact that the stakeholders, issues at stake and contexts (geographical, cultural and socio-economic) radically differ. Yin [31] talks of replications: according to him, in a comparative analysis approach, each case should be selected either to predict similar results (literal replication), or to predict contrasting results for predictable reasons (theoretical replication) [31].

The comparability of case studies depends on shared characteristics. The MPAs we selected were: (a). Subject to high or low but never inexistent anthropic pressure, open to various uses and characterised by objectives to use ecosystems sustainably; (b). Both coastal and marine, given that coastal areas are often strategic spaces in marine species' cycles and that managing land-sea interactions is crucial for MPAs to be effective; (c). Of significant size, with the smallest perimeter measuring 50 km2; (d). In existence for more than five years, in order to be able to observe a trajectory of institutionalisation.4 Then, to maximise situations, several geographical zones were selected (Europe, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and Africa), while at the same time choosing cases marked by the very variable levels of economic development and social capital of the human groups concerned. We also attempted to maximise the cultural diversity whilst still making sure the areas were comparable. The choice of three sites from the Polynesian arc thus aimed to compare the way in which MPAs contend with similar cultural references but in different ways depending on the countries. With the MPAs covering a variety of statuses, sizes and thematic approaches, these criteria were also taken into consideration: thus, our sample contained MPAs whose size ranged from 50 km2 to 700,000 km2, highly diverse statuses (marine parks, national parks, reserves, patchworks of conservation units, sustainable development reserves, fisheries management areas, etc.), the priorities of which were either directly to protect biodiversity, or to defend and manage a type of fishing in view of protecting both fishery resources and ecosystems. The case studies are presented in the **Table 1**.

The data collected were used to construct a chronological analysis and compiled into case study sheets to support a cross-sectional thematic analysis.

<sup>4</sup> The case of Cambodia is an exception, but although the status was not obtained until 2016, the process began in 2011.

*Measuring Marine Protected Areas' Conservation Effort: A Different Look at Three… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98933*
