Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a fundamental part of global efforts to conserve ocean biodiversity and ecosystem services. At the same time, they can serve important roles in promoting wider sustainable development within coastal areas. In doing so, MPAs can contribute a variety of positive social and ecological outcomes. For MPAs to be effective and just, they must consider how outcomes may be distributed within communities. An important consideration for promoting positive and just outcomes is gender inclusion, which is the focus of this thesis. Advancing knowledge on the links between gender and MPAs is needed to make progress towards more inclusive management and better MPA outcomes overall. The aim of the thesis was to identify ways forward for more inclusive management and better outcomes across social and ecological components. Four studies representing MPAs in Zanzibar, Tanzania and Baja California Sur, Mexico, involved a variety of approaches including interviews, household surveys and remote sensing. Outcomes were explored through investigating gender differences in adaptive capacity (Paper I) and higher returning livelihoods (Paper II). Additionally, the differing perceptions of men and women were examined regarding their local MPA and how to sustain positive outcomes despite emerging challenges (Paper III). Paper IV focuses more so on the ecological aspects of MPA improvement and suggests that design and management of MPAs can be improved by considering the surrounding pelagic seascape in which MPAs are embedded. This is important for long-term planning around the local impacts arising from large-scale environmental change.The four papers found a range of differences and similarities, with implications for informing more gender inclusive approaches to conservation and sustainable development. Important findings included that there were gender differences in adaptive capacity in Zanzibar MPAs, with men-headed households typically having higher levels. Women-headed households in these MPAs were also more so reliant on seaweed farming strategies, which is an important consideration for poverty alleviation due to lower livelihood returns. Nonetheless, coastal livelihoods have been changing in Zanzibar MPAs, with substantial declines in seaweed farming. In Baja California Sur, local perceptions were explored in the Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP) and were found to be similar between men and women residents. However, it was observed that men and women expressed different knowledge around aspects regarding the CPNP success, which holds implications for more integrative management. Finally, the thesis recommends including re-thinking how MPAs engage with local knowledge-holders, promoting agency building and mapping gender aspects in seascapes to tailor long-term planning for environmental change.

Livelihood initiatives are common within marine protected areas (MPAs) aiming for poverty alleviation or higher income opportunities. However, results can be mixed in reality, as well as change over time. Furthermore, who benefits is a key consideration, as results can vary based on inequalities, including gender. Here, the monetary outcomes of different livelihood strategies were investigated across three MPA regions in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Using a quantitative approach, the results show that livelihoods have shifted in a six-year period, with livelihood strategies differing in poverty incidence and income. Livelihood initiatives, namely seaweed farming and tourism, did not provide significantly higher monetary returns compared to long-standing livelihoods, such as fisheries. Seaweed farming showed income stability but a high poverty incidence predominantly within women-headed households. During the study period, men primarily remained in fisheries, whilst women shifted to small-scale businesses and fisheries, largely exiting seaweed farming. This underscores a need for adaptive, gender sensitive management within fast changing coastal contexts.

Intertidal gleaning is a widespread means through which women participate in the fishery harvest sector. However, the fishery is often under recognised in management and policy-making. Accordingly, there is a need to further our understanding of the fishery, and how local factors may help or hinder effective management. This study focuses on Zanzibar, Tanzania, using focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews to investigate local-scale contributions from gleaning in seagrass dominated areas – which are particularly frequented gleaning grounds locally, and more widely in the Indo-Pacific region. The study also gathered insight into how gleaners perceived different management scenarios used elsewhere within the small-scale fishery sector. Despite being typically viewed as a sustenance means, gleaning was found to be primarily an economic activity, mainly through catching the bivalve, Anadara antiquata, and commercial gastropod species (Chicoreus ramosus and Pleuroploca spp). FGD respondents held positive pre-conceived ideas about rotating no-take zone scenarios as a management strategy, as well as indicating preferences for community-based measures. In order for no-take zones to have a higher chance of success, further investigation is needed to understand the life histories of commonly gleaned species in order to inform rotation periods, as well as developing means of cross-community cooperation due to the shared, open access nature of intertidal zones. These results demonstrate the economic importance of gleaning for coastal women in Zanzibar, who have invaluable insights, built on lived experience and local knowledge, which could enable and benefit a more inclusive management system.

Households within tropical coastal communities face a multitude of stressors related to environmental, social and economic change. To minimise negative impacts on households, a priority is to understand and if possible build adaptive capacity to enable adjustment to both extant, and anticipated stressors. Adaptive capacity may not be equally distributed across households due to social differences and inequalities, including gender. In this study we sought to understand whether the factors underlying adaptive capacity differ between men- and women-headed households across three marine protected areas (MPAs) in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Adaptive capacity was significantly higher in men-headed households compared to women-headed households between different MPAs as a whole, however significant differences were not found for men and women-headed households within the MPAs. The factors underlying adaptive capacity were investigated through boosted regression trees, a relatively novel approach within the field, and found to be similar between men and women counterparts. These factors were agency, material conditions, low ecosystem dependence, education, occupational multiplicity and needs satisfaction (i.e. a poverty indicator) which was singularly important in women-headed households. While the factors themselves were similar in men and women–headed households, gendered differences were found regarding differing levels in the identified factors. Accordingly, the processes that underly the differences found should be addressed within initiatives seeking to understand and build adaptive capacity.

As the climate crisis persists, there is a crucial need to increase knowledge on adaptive capacity and the underlying factors building it. This is particularly important for disadvantaged groups, such as coastal women in East Africa. Women's livelihoods in these seascapes are and will be more severely affected by climate change and the capacity of East African states to deal with these challenges is limited in terms of financial and human capital. In this research, we investigated the underlying factors building the adaptive capacity of coastal women in Zanzibar (Unguja Island), Tanzania. Coastal women (N=117) were interviewed in villages around the island to gather information about potential factors supporting adaptive capacity. This was analysed applying Cinner et al (2018) five domains typology for adaptive capacity, i.e. assets, flexibility, organizations, learning and agency. The results show that women had relatively low adaptive capacity, extended poverty and very high dependence on seaweed farming of red algae, a livelihood providing low income and already being seriously affected by climate variability and change. Women's observations of key variables related to environmental changes corresponded to most scientific findings. It was, however, unclear how that knowledge is useful and enhances adaptive capacity. Adaptive capacity was generally low but individual differences were found in which ten women had a high income. The results show that the factors underlying adaptive capacity are complex and interact with each other, being positive, negative and unclear. Many of the identified factors deserve future research. This study adds to the pool of knowledge by addressing women (not only men); coastal ecosystems (as land and freshwater systems are more studied) and the individual level (since most studies focus on national and community levels). The study illustrates that institutional renewal, bridging and cooperation is possible in Zanzibar bringing good news to the region.