Local | PANORAMA

Surfonomics

Surfonomics Guarda do Embau

Save The Waves

Pichilemu Surfonomics

Save The Waves

Sunrise over Punta Conejo

Save The Waves

“Surfonomics” aims to document surfing’s economic contributions to local and regional economies. Through Surfonomics research, we determine the economic value of a wave and surfing to local communities to help decision makers make better choices to protect their coastal resources and waves.

Using a beach survey of surfers in San Miguel, Ensenada, we were able to quantify that an average tourist spends approximately $111 US dollars a day. As the average surfer spends 10 days per year in the area, it is calculated that a visiting surfer spends $1,151 US dollars a year in Ensenada.

These figures show that surfing helps drive the local economy of Ensenada and that decision-makers must take into account the importance of the surf zone in terms of coastal management.

Volunteers to carry out the survey instrument
Partnerships with academic institutions
A broad coalition of stakeholders is needed to carry out a rigorous academic study like Surfonomics. Relationships and trust must be built with local hotels and rental agencies, business owners, tourism agencies, surf shops and businesses, and most importantly, the surf community itself. All of these stakeholders must share information and participate in the study in order to get an accurate picture of the economy of surf tourism in a given area.

Key lessons include:

Understanding the economic contribution of surfing is key to getting stakeholders to agree on conservation initiatives.
Running a surfonomics study can help practitioners understand the attitudes and perspectives of visitors to the area.
Surfers spend a significant amount of time and money traveling and bring big economic contributions to local communities.

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Surfonomics Study

Bahia de Todos Santos World Surfing Reserves Surfonomics Report

BBC Article about Surfonomics

An adapted technology co-designed with women seaweed producers

Close-up of seaweed in a tubular net.

Flower Msuya

Women preparing their tubular nets from the boat.

Flower Msuya

The tubular nets technology was co-designed with women producers themselves to ensure it was adapted to their needs and became theirs.

Several tests were necessary to determine the optimal length of the nets (15m instead of 30m), and how to harvest them (opening them to remove the seaweed instead of cutting the seaweed outgrowth). This ensured the nets were adapted to the women's needs.

Participatory hands-on trials with the producers themselves enabled building handling capacity.

Responsibilisation of the women producers for monitoring the results of the different net configurations enabled appropriation of the innovation.

Close relations of the Sea PoWer team with the producers enabled to build trust and hope in the new technology.

The vast knowledge of the Sea PoWer team about seaweed production and the Zanzibar marine environment enabled to quickly propose suitable alternative modifications.

Giving responsibilities and a stake in the trials to the end users was crucial to build ownership and confidence in the use of the tubular net innovation.

Accounting for factors indirectly related to the handling of the technology itself, for example, need to know the marine environment (tides, depths), and need to master additional equipment and practices (working from a boat) was also important.

Engaging with seaweed buyers and other community members

A woman seaweed producer talks about her experience farming seaweed with tubular nets at an awareness raising and dissemination workshop in Zanzibar.

Cecile Brugere

Engagement with seaweed buyers and wider stakeholders aimed to raise awareness on the benefits of tubular nets for women's empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Inviting seaweed buyers to see the pilot sites, meet the women raised their awarenes about the tubular nets innovation and the activity of the women members of the Sea PoWer initiative. It has also enabled to establish a dialogue between the producers and the buyers, and potentially a new market outlay.

A workshop with buyers, representatives of the government and academia enabled the women producers to tell their story more widely and and showcase their empowerment. Small community meetings were also important in this regard.

It is important to create opportunities, give encouragement and provide a safe space for the women producers to share their story, demonstrate their new skills and power, as they may not be used to doing so normally.

Implementation

Local

Progressive challenging of gender norms

Men (in background) attend women's training session on tubular nets.

Flower Msuya

Activities led by SeaPoWer were carefully designed to gradually build capacity, progressively raise awareness and challenge perceived boundaries. They aimed to challenge taboos, fears and restrictions related to women going out to sea with the introduction of basic seafaring and safety skills, and working in equal capacity alongside selected male boat skippers, who needed to become accustomed and also change their attitudes to women's presence on board boats.

This is part of the transformative approach of innovation for women's empowerment promoted by Sea PoWer.

Deeply engrained cultural practices and ways of thinking, held by both men and women, require repeated action, support and perseverance over extensive periods of time to evolve.

Engaging with some male members of the community from the outset enabled to bring them onboard the initiative in a supporting and understanding role, rather than a directing and overpowering one (as boat handlers and snorklers).

Women now want to learn to swim and drive the boat to reduce their dependency on men, highlighting a shift in traditional attitudes. Deepwater farming represents a shift in gender attitudes because it challenges the traditional belief that the deepwater is an area accessed by men due to women's limited mobility and role in society.

One needs to be very sensitive to the dynamics of the power and control relationships between men and women in more conservative societies. It is important that men are women's allies, but they should not be allowed to take over.

Implementation

Local

Building women's capacity and social capital

Women learn safety at sea skills (e.g. wear life jackets)

Women working together to seed the tubular nets.

Cecile Brugere

Sea PoWer facilitated the formation of two groups of women producers. It involved them in the design of the tubular net technology (e.g. testing net length and harvesting method) to ensure that the technology was adapted to their needs.

SeaPoWer developed the capacity of producers to:

Construct tubular nets.
Plant and monitor seaweed growth.
Record keeping.
Be safer at sea (e.g. wear life jackets on the boat).
Handle boats with men.
Construct basket traps to catch fish under the nets.

Sea PoWer also encouraged women to work together as a group, as several people are needed to seed and harvest the nets and supported their organisational capacity.

Availability of equipment and technical support. Sea PoWer supplied the materials to build the tubular nets and farm seaweed with them (fishing nets, ropes, PVC tubes, boat). This enabled to lift constraints related to accessing equipment, and perceived risk of engaging in this new form of production. Sea PoWer closely monitored their uptake of the technology.

Willingness to cooperate. Social collaboration was highlighted by women engaged with Sea PoWer as a critical enabling environment to promote knowledge sharing for adaptation.

Factors outside the technology itself, such as perceptions, engrained practices, are just as important as the technological design. For example, overcoming fear and taboo to go on the boat and learning safety at sea skills (e.g. wear a life jacket) goes hand-in-hand with using the technology (tubular nets) themselves.

The gains in productivity achieved from using the improved farming technology need to be offset by the time it takes to become familiar with it, especially for women who typically already bear the brunt of the labour burden in the household.

Implementation

Local

Fishers' leadership enhanced

The enhanced leadership of the fishers who are elected to represent their communities in MIHARI’s different activities is vital for the network to exist as a true fishers’ movement. Their self-confidence to speak up and active participation in the discussions and consultations, support and feed the partnership between NGOs and LMMAs communities.

Capacity building in leadership, negotiations skills, public speaking.
The fact that the MIHARI network is an official organisation, that gives small-scale fishers legitimacy to engage and take part in negotiations.
Being an elected representative gives accountability towards one’s community.

Consultations on fishers needs, in terms of training, was important to provide the right capacity building activities.
Learning by doing and peer-to-peer exchange were as important as formal trainings.

Local

Subnational

National

Implementation of the network structure

MIHARI network structure

MIHARI

In 2015 started the consultations among all MIHARI members, to establish a clear and functioning structure. There are 45 fishers who are elected to be representatives of their region, and who meet regionally or nationally every year. They also have opportunities during these events to approach directly government officials, which has had a great impact.

Existence of community leaders who were motivated and engaged to contribute to MIHARI governance.
Fishers trainings since the creation of MIHARI, which allowed the emergence of leaders.

It was important to have a consultative process to legitimate the elected members of the national LMMA board.

Trustful relationship with the government

Since its creation, MIHARI has always involved the government authorities, at the highest level. It has made the Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, as well as of Environment, visible, as they were both cited as main partners, host of conferences, etc. MIHARI has also consulted the authorities along processes, such as the formalisation of a reference guide on LMMAs, the first of this kind in the country, to be hopefully eventually integrated in the national law.

Government officials are invited in all major fora and site visits, as sponsors.
Liaise and maintain good relationships with government officials, including Ministers.
Collaboration in the organization of key events, such as the workshop to enhance mud crab fisheries management.

It is very important to meet with government officials on a regular basis, so as to update them on ongoing and planned activities.

Joint collaborative enforcement

The SIMCA Enforcement steering committee meeting that discussed illegal fishing within and outside SIMCA

Reef Guardian/ Achier Chung

The success of enforcement work relies on collaboration from the authorities. The SIMCA Enforcement Steering Committee has been established to reduce illegal fishing activities within the marine protected area. The steering committee included Reef Guardian, Sabah Wildlife Department, Department of Fishery, Marine Police, Malaysia Navy, District Offices, Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency and Eastern Sabah Security Command. The Joint collaborative enforcement activities were conducted regularly to ensure efficiency in handling threats in illegal fishing, wildlife poaching and trafficking, illegal immigrant, and piracy issue within and outside of the marine protected area.

Close relationship with stakeholders
Persistency of partners to take action
Clear marine threats information for the authorities to plan for their actions

Effective enforcement needs collaboration from stakeholders from information gathering, consistence patrolling, effective detection and detention for court prosecution and crime conviction.

Implementation

Local

National

Enhance awareness and engagement with the local fishing communities

Engagement between Reef Guardian and Kampung Keniogan

Reef Guardian/ Achier Chung

The engagement between Reef Guardian and Kampung Terusan Sugut

Reef Guardian

The environmental awareness programme conducted with local communities from Kampung Terusan Sugut

Reef Guardian

The illegal fishing practice, such as illegal fish trawling at the shallow area local communities fishing grounds, impacts the sustainability of marine resources and the livelihood of local fishing communities. Implementing awareness programmes to the fishing communities and engaging them to be eyes and ears in reporting on the potential illegal fishing or activities in the sea.

The concern of fishing communities in the reduction of their catches from the illegal fish trawling in their common fishing grounds
Illegal fishing impact the fishing communities livelihood.

The engagement with fishing communities widens the enforcement capacity in a more extensive area.
The collaboration between Reef Guardian (Private sector) and fishing communities (stakeholders) safeguard marine habitats and reduce threats for the long-term sustainability of resources.

Implementation

Local