4. Draft Proposal

Dear reader,

today I finished the draft proposal. It has been a small journey to get everything in the right position, but I hope that the result can help me with more structure during the actual research. So I think it is time to go al little more into depth. What am I gonna do? (Keep in mind that this is still part of the draft proposal, which can still be changed)

The main objective gives an an idea of what this research is about. The object is as follows:

To improve our understanding of perceptions of coral reef users on the relation between management practices and the causes of change of coral reefs by analyzing the differences of frames between fishers and dive tour operators on coral reef health.

Understanding these frames can be used so that decision makers, managers and users can be informed on how to state objectives that correspond with reef users’ perceptions, which helps to improve consistency in management plans. Besides this, considering perception differences within management strategies improves openness, dialogues and collective learning, instead of increasing the contradiction of views and ideas. This can also help with sustainably manage the coral reefs of Curaçao for future coastal development projects, while the health of the reefs can be maintained and can still be explored and exploited by its users.

This paragraph shows the main idea, and during this study I would like to give answers to the following questions:

Main question:

How are frames of coral reef users on preferred coral reef management strategies constructed by underlying perceptions, values, and assumptions on the coral reef health of Curaçao?

Sub-questions:

1. What perceptions, values and assumptions do artisanal fishers have on coral reef health?
2. What perceptions, values and assumptions do dive tour operators have on coral reef health?
3. How do artisanal fishers and dive tour operators differ in what they perceive as the ‘best’ management strategies to protect coral reef health at Oostpunt?

Hopefully this will give a first idea on what the research is about.

More will follow soon.

Michiel