The Forum of the Patos Lagoon: local lessons, national challenges and implication for conservation of natural coastal resources

Daniela Kalikoski1,2 & Les Lavkulich2

1. Institute for Resources and Environment, UBC, Vancouver, Canada2. Federal University of Rio Grande, R.S., Brazile-mail: danielac@interchange.ubc.ca

Artisanal fisheries in the estuary of Patos Lagoon

Local knowledge-based management practices in a dynamic ecosystem

Traditional fishing practices were observed up to the early 1960s. The technologies and rules in use limited resources exploitation in both time and space while mantaining a productive fishery.A large proportion of the species habitat in the southern Brazilian shelf worked as a de facto marine protected area since fishing was restricted to the estuary of Patos lagoon and adjacent coastal shallow waters.The fishing calendar and technologies allowed fishers to benefit from the most abundant resources in the season while limiting fishing pressure over a particular species and/or a critical period.

Institutional barriers and opportunities to co-management in the estuary of Patos Lagoon

- Forum of Patos Lagoon co-management lacks a mechanism to lend credibility to local fishers knowledge and to incorporate this knowledge into the decision making process. Illiteracy and socio-economic marginalization creates low expectations among scientists and decision makers of fishers knowledge value for management

- lack of involvement and support of sectors with conflicting interests in a participatory management (e.g. port activities) compounded by the historical weak institutional arrangement to deal with a diversity of interests and types of activities in the governance of coastal resources

- support for decentralization is not shared by other government sectors with mandate over fisheries management (e.g., Ministry of Agriculture)

- support of environmental agency to decentralize fisheries management decisions

- Forum of Patos Lagoon is providing the means for cross-scale linkages between local and higher level institutions to empower local fishers communities

- Forum of Patos Lagoon is creating a mechanism for shared governance of fisheries

Climatic Climatic conditionsconditions

Renewal Conservation

Exploitation Release

growth & reproduction

fish & shrimp enter estuary

adults leave the estuary

spawning &recruitment

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Pro

port

ion

tota

l cat

ch

Catfish

Mullet

Croacker

Shrimp

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Pro

port

ion

tota

l cat

ch

Catfish

Mullet

Croacker

Shrimp

1960s

1990s

The changing governance of common pool resources (CPRs)

Co-managementFórum Patos Lagoon

Up to 1960’s

1970s - 1990s

Government interventionFisheries industrializationTechnological changes

OverfishingResource collapse

Local rulesFishing calendar

Centralized management

1996 - present

?

Fishers management in the estuary of Patos lagoon has been changing over time in response to changes in technology, resources condition and institutional transformations. Local informal institutional arrangements lost their importance and resources were overfished when management became centralized. Historically, Brazilian policy has been to develop one standard set of regulations for the entire coast. Crisis in fisheries, the increasing pressure from the community and non-governmental organizations, influenced by a global tendency of international environmental management regimes toward community-based coastal zone management have triggered a move towards decentralization. The Forum of Patos Lagoon was created as a framework to implement small-scale fisheries co-management.

The main focus here is to analyze how the attempt to reverse this situation of decentralizing decisions in artisanal fisheries through the establishment of a co-management arrangement has met with some success in the estuary of Patos Lagoon. The work focuses on the analysis of the process of implementing local based co-management and to recommend ways to strengthen the co-management process and to overcome future challenges.

Adjusting to change: the crafting of a co-management arrangement in the estuary of Patos Lagoon

The poster focuses on fisheries co-management in the estuary of Patos Lagoon. It addresses the needfor an alternative institutional arrangement to deal with the local sustainability of fisheries CPRs. The importance of understanding institutions is related to their close relationship to both cause and solution of environmental problems.

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

Ton

s

Total

Mullet

Catfish

Croacker

Shrimp

In the estuary of Patos Lagoon, located in the Southern Brazilian coastal zone, artisanal fisheries are going through a tragedy of the commons. Fisheries resources are decreasing compromising the livelihood of more than 10,000 small-scale fishers. The recognition of this local reality as a result of both local and global pressure has resulted in the evolution of governance structures. In the case of the Patos Lagoon this reality have brought forth a co-management regime, the Forum, and an innovative institutional arrangement to deal with the issues of sustainability of local fisheries CPRs that has wide application.

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fishers Colony Z2

Fishers Colony Z3

Fishers Pastoral

EMATER

IBAMA/ CEPERG

Fishers Colony Z1

FURG

Municipality Rio Grande

Municipality Pelotas

Fishers Colony Z8

NGOs

Municipality S.J. Norte

UCPel

PATRAM

State of RS

Municipality S. Lourenço

Fishers Union Rio Grande

UFPel

Port Authority

Public Ministry

Fisheries Industry Sindicate

% participation

Analytical criteria Case study: Forum of Patos Lagoon

1. Problem of Fit

1.1. Extent to which boundaries and roles can bedefined

- Actions taken to limit entry and establish boundaries- Boundaries are blurred limited- Fisheries considered open access by Constitution

1.2. Congruence between rules and local resourceconditions

- Scaling mismatch between the structure/dynamics ofthe resource and management systems- Rigid regulations controlling fishing calendars- Mismatch between rules on paper and rules in use

1.3. Existence of collective choice arrangements - FORUM as the first initiative in participatorymanagement

- Lack of knowledge about informal organizations

2. Decision Making for Joint Use

2.1. Representation and power relationship - Poor representation- Efforts to make joint decisions- Willingness to collaborate- Common vision

2.2. Regulation - Low enforceability results in unrealistic managementplans

2.3. Legal recognition & legitimacy - FORUM a model to be applied in other states- Decree 171 locally devised to regulate use and rulesbased on combined scientific and traditionalknowledge- Bureaucracy slows down the process of approvingrules locally designed- Economic interests and political power may hinderthe process

3. Science and Institutional Learning

3.1. Role of science - Transition of management approaches- Rethinking and redefining management models- Recognition of the importance of local knowledge

3.2. Precautionary approach - Principle present in management intentions- Actions do not conform with the intentions- Precautionary principle gives bargain power to

fishers in environmental management decisions

3.3. Adaptive learning - FORUM: starting point for management learning- Lack of commitment of participants slow down theinstitutional learning

The Forum of Patos Lagoon was established in 1996, redefining rules and rights, to manage fisheries resources. It is composed of 21 governmental and non-governmental institutions to discuss and develop action plans to resolve the problems of the fishers and the crisis in the artisanal fisheries sector.

Methodology

Document analysisInterviews QuestionnaireParticipatory research

AcknowledgementsTo the members of the Forum of Patos Lagoon, the fishers communities of the estuary ofPatos Lagoon and to the members of the Coastal Management Lab. at the Federal University of Rio Grande. This project was supported by UBC Hampton Award. The author thanks IAI for a travel scholarship.

artisanal fisheries