Subnational | PANORAMA

Alternative markets for high quality fish

Rose Snapper.

López

The purpose of this building block is to promote the socio-economic development of this fishery through increased fisher earnings. Area tourist resorts and restaurants are interested in supplying locally sourced, sustainable snapper to their guests as many tourists who visit Costa Rica are environmentally conscious and want to frequent businesses that offer sustainable dining options, and are willing to pay a premium price for these services. Upscale fish markets and restaurants in San José are also interested in purveying high quality seafood to their clients.

Because the demand for sustainable fish in Costa Rica is growing, project members are working with the two fisher associations from Bejuco in order to build their value chain management capacity. Associations are now legal entities with boards that actively participate in the decision making process. Infrastructure and cold chain improvements have been implemented in order to raise the quality of the artisanal snapper catch. The local fish processing site is being brought up to code to comply with Health Ministry requirements. Cash flow and other administrative concerns are also being addressed in order to facilitate fish sales.

Getting the local Bejuco fish buyer, who is an integral part of the value chain, to view the development of alternative points of sale as a viable economic endeavor will determine whether or not fishers raise the value of their catch and if this socio-economic development strategy will move forward. At this point in time, the local buyer still sells most of the catch to another distributor, but fishers are hopeful that the fishery’s improvements will begin to change this.

The socio-economic development of the Bejuco bottom longline fishery has been the most difficult aspect of this solution to implement. Project members have struggled to identify capable individuals to lead this process. Despite this, there is growing consumer interest in seafood caught by local artisanal fishers. The existing local middlemen with little prior interest in the project is beginning to understand the economic potential of this strategy, but at the same time, the development of new markets has also raised cash flow concerns. While these issues are being addressed, they have slowed the process considerably and demonstrate the difficulty that is inherent within this strategy. What should not be overlooked, however, is the progress that fishers and the local buyer have made, as well as the need to address these issues before a new market strategy can be implemented.

Inception phase

Small-scale artisanal fishers sell high-quality fish to San José restaurant

International Sustainability Certification

Rose Snapper.

López

In 2015 the Bejuco snapper fishery underwent a full assessment by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The certification process was discontinued, however, in 2016 due to serious national governance shortcomings. Because of the difficulty for many small-scale fisheries to satisfy the rigorous requirements of the MSC, Fair Trade USA has developed a Capture Fisheries Program that combines the MSC's environmental standards with robust social requirements. The certification process is gradual and allows fisheries to develop the tools necessary to comply with the standard's requirements over a 6 year period rather than all at once at the time of assessment like the MSC requires. The Fair Trade process better addresses the social and management realities within which the majority of artisanal fisheries operate. Because of this, fishers and value chain stakeholders have begun an initial Fair Trade pre-evaluation of the fishery. This solution's certification building block has undergone many changes throughout the years, but project members feel they are making headway towards viable, long-term socio-economic improvements which have, since the beginning of the MSC process, been the driving force behind the certification initiative.

All project stakeholders must understand the Fair Trade process including the responsibilities pertaining to its price premium. Fishers must see it as a unique and useful tool to better develop the fishery in the face of an uncertain future. Project stakeholders must also be capable of fundraising a considerable amount of money finance the assessment process.

Not all project stakeholders will immediately see the benefits of a certification. Constant communication with key fishery members is essential to keep the process moving forward. Years have passed since the Bejuco bottom longline fishery went through the failed MSC process and a lot of money has had to be raised to continue on the path to a potential future certification. Strong project administration is essential to maintaining these efforts.

Global fishery certifications are an evolving entity. Given the social and environmental complexities of the world's fisheries, there can be on one silver bullet certification. Slowly, certification systems have realized this and begun to adapt to the specific needs of small-scale fisheries. The Bejuco snapper fishery has lived this process since 2011 and has accumulated a long list of lessons learned too long to fully detail on this webpage!!

Entirety

Costa Rican Nicoya Peninsula artisanal snapper fishery begins MSC assessment pr…

Artisanal Snapper Fishery Management Plan

Catch composition data, a snapper stock analysis, and fisher ecological knowledge gathered through fisher led focus groups, workshops, and other participatory events were compiled into a management plan that was evaluated by and eventually approved by the two fishing associations. The plan is a local governance tool that details fishing methods and measures that are undertaken to maintain a sustainable snapper fishery. This plan will be presented to other snapper fisheries on the Peninsula desiring to develop management strategies and tools. Co-management strategies are not recognized in Costa Rica, but approval of local management plans is a way to promote their development.

Fishers must be willing to work with researchers to collect the information necessary for the development of a management plan. In addition to this, fishers must also be cognizant of what a sustainable fishery is and how one is governed. This means they will have to develop new fishing methods that maintain the fishery within sustainable production limits, as well as create systems of self-governance that regulate their activities.

The term “management plan” has a negative connotation among snapper fishers. This is due to Costa Rica’s antiquated, top-down system of coastal resource governance. For years artisanal fishers have been told what, where, and when to fish through a series of national management plans that have neglected the local consultation process; therefor, researchers have had to use to term “sustainable fishing strategy” instead of “management plan”. The approval process has been time consuming and fishers are generally suspicious of another set of rules and regulations to follow. Project researchers had to identify key association members who were willing to dedicate time to learning and understanding the benefits of developing a sustainable fishery. These individuals then began to convince their fellow fishers of the strategy’s long-term value.

While local snapper fishers observe their fishery's strategy, the Costa Rican government has yet to recognize any co-management development initiatives.

Paper / Estrategia integral para la pesca artesanal de pequeña escala del pargo…

Article / Pescadores artesanales luchan por primera zona de pesca sostenible

Sustainable financing strategy

The regional government is now working with the NGO and philanthropic communities to transition from an international NGO-driven and donor-funded initiative, to one that is effectively managed entirely by local institutions and that is sustainably financed. Once successful, it will be Indonesia’s first fully sustainably financed MPA network and will serve as a model throughout the country and region. The financial sustainability of the MPA network will be achieved through diversified revenue sources including government allocations, visitor fees and other local financing mechanisms, local fundraising, and a dedicated conservation trust fund. The BHS coalition developed a comprehensive cost model and business plan that projects seascape costs, revenues, and gaps under the “steady state” management system expected to be in place by 2017. Over 70% of local costs are already secured through local sources, with the largest contributor being the government itself. While these local commitments are unprecedented, additional investment is needed to ensure a fully sustainably resourced seascape. The coalition is working with the provincial government to develop a dedicated trust fund, the Blue Abadi Fund, to fill the gap.

Conservation Finance Expertise
Governmental support and commitment

Long-term is not forever. Sustainable financing is vital for the long-term success of any conservation initiative, particularly at a large scale. At the start of the decade-long commitment to West Papua, the team created a plan to ensure steady transition from an NGO-led and international donor-dependent initiative to one with strong local leadership and ownership.

Private sector engagement

Liveaboard Dive Boat. Copyright Conservation International, photo by Sterling Zumbrun.

Liveaboard Dive Boat. Copyright Conservation International, photo by Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock.

The tourism industry was developed systematically to motivate the government to protect natural capital from over-exploitation and to prioritize more sustainable development pathways. The team works with tourism business owners in implementing ecotourism, including homestays owned by local communities, and championed the creation of a transparent and accountable tourist user fee system, which now generates over $1,000,000 per year in revenues that are directed to marine conservation and community development. CI further supported the local tourism department and association of tour operators to take voluntary and regulatory steps to ensure tourism best practices. These ranged from developing a code of conduct for divers and educational video to installing mooring buoys to facilitating the development of Indonesia’s first comprehensive tourism legislation (now a national model) which caps the number of liveaboards, institutes a licensing system, and provides strict guideline for coastal development. The tourism industry, which has become an increasingly large part of the local economy is now a powerful incentive for maintaining health ecosystems and prioritizing sustainable industries over mining and other extractive industries.

• Existence or significant potential for tourism industry development • Interest and commitment of communities • Support from service provider and government • Legal mechanism to collect user fees

he systematic and controlled development of the tourism industry was a major catalyst for conservation in the Bird’s Head, especially to provoke within the government a change to protect natural capital from over-exploitation and to give precedence to the initiative. After years of dedicated engagement and media attention, there has also been a clear shift in government efforts to prioritize tourism as one of the main economic drivers for Papua. The Minister of Mines and Energy has made numerous strong public statements in the media that Raja Ampat is off-limits to mining due to its importance for conservation and tourism. Another shift towards tourism was exemplified in 2012 when the Raja Ampat government passed a local parliamentary regulation banning shark and ray harvesting. This legislation is the first to afford complete protection of sharks and rays in Indonesia and is the first formal sanctuary in the Coral Triangle.

Bird's Head Seascape, March 2, 2014: Codes of conduct for divers and dive opera…

Adequate capacity and co-management institutions

Local MPA Leader Kris Thebu. Copyright Conservation International.

MPA Training. Copyright Conservation International.

To build effective local management, the BHS coalition actively sought out and recruited energetic community leaders to take on MPA management roles and then spent the next six years systematically building their capacity to effectively manage their marine resources through targeted training programs and one-on-one mentorship. The BHS team launched a comprehensive MPA Management Capacity Building Program in partnership with the provincial government and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The program was designed to turn local village leaders, local MPA practitioners, and local government officials into highly effective and exemplary MPA managers. The coalition also worked directly with local and national government to develop Indonesia’s first MPA co-management governance system and helped create new government MPA management institutions into which the local community MPA teams could be embedded. These new institutions also required considerable capacity development support as they strengthened their institutional management capacity. Through this investment, the MPA network is now managed locally through and legally recognized partnership between local communities and the local government.

• Strong community commitment • Support from government • Legal framework • Willingness of leaders to take the role as MPA managers • Technical and financial support for targeted trainings and mentoring

Government commitment is key to achieve the necessary framework and thus approval of the MPA co-management system. Implementation needs a government agency in charge, and the legal framework for a board with flexibility and autonomy to manage fixed funding sources and recruit non-civil servants. National and local-level policy and legislation provide the legal basis for the MPA network and the mandate for effective implementation of MPA management plans, zonation systems, and regulations. Overlapping jurisdiction for the management of individual MPAs and the national network plan must be considered early. The commitment to hiring locally and then investing in capacity building is considered critical to the long-term success of the MPA network. The approach demonstrates that community-driven conservation at scale is possible: true bottom-up, community-driven conservation does not have to be limited to small scales and local communities can manage very large scale MPAs effectively.

BHS MPA Management Capacity Building Program Factsheet

NOAA’s International MPA Management Capacity Building Program

Development of ecologically connected co-managed MPA network

Traditional Cermony to declare MPA. Copyright Conservation International.

Joint Patrol Team. Copyright Conservation International, Keith Ellenbogen.

With the MPA network newly declared, the coalition focused on the development of a management system that empowered local communities to actively lead the planning, management, and program implementation of the BHS MPA network. The MPA boundaries as well as the zones within them were based largely on tenure boundaries, rather than administrative ones. To reinforce cultural identity within the MPAs, the Papuan tradition of sasi (seasonal harvest closures) was melded with the modern concept of no-take zones (NTZs) as a way of reinvigorating this important cultural practice. Within each of the MPAs a minimum of 20-30% of all critical habitats are completely closed to exploitation in NTZs to serve as “fish banks”. Areas outside of the NTZs are largely restricted to traditional fishing by local communities and employ sustainable fisheries management practices. The communities and local government were then equipped with the skills and infrastructure necessary to actively manage and enforce their own protected areas. In this way, the MPAs are designed not only to protect critical natural capital, but also explicitly to enhance small-scale local fisheries and to strengthen the tenure rights of Papuan communities.

• Strong community commitment and support • Government commitment, support and willingness • Existing legal framework • Marine tenure in place • Technical and financial support

Use the conservation process as a means to strengthen the rights and culture of local communities. The MPAs were delineated using customary tenure boundaries rather than solely administrative ones. Each of the locally declared MPAs was first pronounced through a local ceremony by local council of traditional leaders. The joint patrols include both community members and police officers, with the community members bringing traditional authority and manpower and the police officers adding an additional level of legal authority and training. The patrols use a system of “rolling” participation in which individuals are appointed by village chiefs to a two-week "tour of duty", after which they are replaced by a fresh team of villagers. In this way, over the course of a year, the majority of adult males in a given village will have dedicated at least two weeks to patrolling their MPA, during which time they invariably develop a stronger sense of understanding and ownership of the MPA.

V. Agostini, H. Grantham, J. Wilson, S. Mangubhai, C. Rotinsulu, N. Hidayat, A…

Blog Post: Shark Poachers Chased Down by Indonesian Communities + Police

Social and political support and partnership

Students on the Kalabia, a floating marine school in the Bird's Head Seascape. Copyright Conservation International, photo by Keith Lawrence.

BHS Parnters at a Coalition Meeting. Copyright Conservation International.

To build social and political support, CI formed a coalition of partners across the seascape. We actively engaged with 90+ scattered coastal communities to build trust and community support, while exchanging ideas on the sustainable use of natural resources and conservation benefits. Through various innovative communication and education strategies, the team was able to amplify their impact towards community awareness and commitment for marine conservation over a large geographic scale. The team trained community conservation officers for each village and equipped religious leaders with environmental training, enabling them to disseminate conservation messages widely. The team cultivated conservation champions throughout the region, slowly working to shift attitudes toward resource use and conservation. The marine conservation movement extended across the entire Seascape through a wildly popular conservation radio program and a floating classroom that traveled around the region delivering experiential learning. The outreach efforts were even more successful then anticipated, leading to relatively quick action by the local communities and government. Together they established Indonesia’s first MPA network.

• The overall strategy for the BHS worked well in a Melanesian cultural context that values tenure of the sea. • Any seascape initiative requires the lead agency and partners to be committed for engaging for a significant period, to have a long-term strategy and vision. • Significant funding and commitment of a donor to partner long-term to achieve seascape scale success.

Partnership was central to the BHS and allowed conservation to occur on a truly seascape scale. In 2004 Conservation International (CI) forged an unprecedented collaboration with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and WWF-Indonesia in Papua, launching the Bird’s Head Seascape Initiative. The Partnership has expanded over the years to include over 20 central partners, most of which are local institutions. The integration of community aspirations into MPA network design process, i.e. focusing on enhancing sustainable local fisheries (food security) and the strengthening of traditional resource user rights, culture and tenure, led to rapid declarations of the BHS MPA network.

Inception phase