Presented by Rebecca McLain, Steven Lawry and Maria Ojanen at the World Bank COnference on Land and Poverty in Washington, DC, 20-24 March 2017.

1. CONTEXTUAL FACTORS, PROPERTY
REGIMES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES
Applying a realist synthesis approach to a
systematic review of marine protected areas
REBECCA MCLAIN1, STEVEN LAWRY2, MARIA OJANEN2
1Institute for Sustainable Solutions, Portland State University, USA
2Center for International Forestry Research

2. Often research focuses on
one place (or two or three)
to get that rich information.
Understanding why some interventions
succeed and some fail
A realist synthesis approach
Behavior is influenced by the people,
social structures, history & natural
environment around us.

3. But it’s difficult to identify patterns
from separate case studies...
??
? ?
? ?
And understanding patterns in behavior
& outcomes is important to designing
policy that works.
?
?
? ?
Understanding why some interventions succeed
and some fail
A realist synthesis approach

4. Understanding why some interventions
succeed and some fail
A realist synthesis approach
Meta-analyses and systematic
reviews are good tools for
measuring variations in outcomes
across a large number of studies...
...but struggle to identify how differing
social and environmental contexts
influence those outcomes.
??

5. Understanding why some
interventions succeed and some fail
A realist synthesis approach
policy interventions are likely to
result in particular outcomes.
In other words:
Why policy interventions work in some
contexts, but not others.
It helps to answer
when
how
where
why
and for whom
Realist synthesis – a technique for reviewing
evidence alongside relevant contextual factors
from many studies – offers a solution.

6. Policy interventions in natural
resource management
STATEHow people use and manage natural
resources is influenced by the property
regime.
That is, who owns the resource, who
makes the decisions about how it is
used, and who benefits from it.
There is a lot of variation within
different property regimes
COMMUNITY
HYBRID
+

7. ...the mechanism of action......affects...
The context...
Perceptions about the property regime:
“Is it ecologically credible, socially acceptable,
& recognized as having legal authority?” (legitimacy)
“Can the rules be enforced?” (enforcement capacity)
“Will benefits go to the right people?” (likelihood benefits)
All the parts that together
make a place unique...
...the property regime
&
+
A realist synthesis theory of change applied
...which all affect...
...the outcome.
How people
behave
The resource
condition

8. Realist Synthesis in action: A spotlight on fisheries
management
Case selection:
Using a realist synthesis approach, we identified factors that affect environmental outcomes of
fisheries management under different types of property regimes.
34984 possible articles in initial search
31 articles match selection criteria, covering:
49 fisheries management cases:
9 from Africa
18 from Latin America/Caribbean
22 from Asia/Pacific
Filtered using selection criteria:
a) quantitative description of environmental outcomes;
b) clear description of distribution of bundle of rights

9. A realist synthesis theory of change applied
14 state regimes
% cases with better outcomes
than their controlsites:
Selected cases by
property regime:
69%
58%
43%
16 customary regimes
+ 19 hybrid regimes
Analysis, Phase 1:
Overview

10. A realist synthesis theory of change applied
Analysis, Phase 2: 15 cases of in-depth analysis
Sample case shown here:
Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands study by Aswani and Weiant 2004
Outcome:
- Most of the
community
respectsthe
closure
- Shellfish size &
numbers improve
- However,
communities are
considering
formalsurveillance
measures
Intervention context:
Shellfish collecting closed
from September to April.
Recommending permanent
closures for someareas
- Backed byrespected
churchleader
- Transparent, participative
approach to thechange
- Harvesters can seeshell
beds recoveringrapidly
- However, illegal
harvesting is aproblem
Mechanisms:
- “I recognize that
community leaders
have the authority to
make these new rules
and believe they will
lead to moreshellfish”
- “It’s reasonablylikely
that I will be caught if
Ipoach”
- “I will benefitfrom
these new rules
and so will the
community”
Community context:
- Twodistinct,
generations-old
customaryregimes
- Traditional property
regimesrecognized
by nationallaw
- Tensionbetween
and withinclans
- Remote location
- Women are the
primaryshellfish
collectors
CONTEXT MECHANISM+ OUTCOME=

11. A realist synthesis theory of change applied
What we learned
People’s perceptions of the legitimacy, enforcement capacity and likelihood of
benefits from an intervention can both strengthenand weaken protection
efforts.
Perceptions of legitimacy are the most complex, involving theinteraction of legally
recognized authority, social acceptability, and ecological credibility.
Perceptions of legitimacy, enforcement capacity, and likelihood ofbenefits do not operate
independently of each other but rather function as a set of interactingcomponents.
Understanding these perceptions and how they interact will increase the likelihood of
successful and sustainable introduced conservationpractices.

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blog.cifor.org
ForestsTreesAgroforestry.org
THANK YOU
Funding: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and CGIAR
Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets (PIM) (Activity Number
176)