Concessions for Mangrove Conservation
Full Solution
Crab fishers in the Gulf of Guayaquil
Daniela Hill Piedra
In Ecuador, mangroves traditionally supplied coastal communities with a variety of goods. Extensive shrimp farming and weak enforcement of policies, however, have critically depleted mangrove ecosystems, negatively impacted livelihoods of users. Recognizing the problems associated with mangrove degradation, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) implemented sustainable use agreements as an innovative coastal management policy.
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Context
Challenges addressed
mangrove deforestation, weak regulations and enforcement, and threatened livelihoods
• Deforestation of mangroves
• Free and uncontrolled access to mangrove resources
• Non-compliance to fishery regulations
• Overexploitation of fishery resources
• Threatened livelihoods of coastal communities
• No area for traditional shrimp and mussel farming
• Weak institutional enforcement capacities
Beneficiaries
Crab catcher associations, artisanal fisher associations and cooperatives, local communities, association of resource users and producers, associations of traders of fishery and aquaculture products
Location
Ecuador
South America
Process
Summary of the process
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Building Blocks
Ressource use associations
To obtain a concession, »ancestral users« are required to organise into an association. The association then applies to the government for the special status by submitting names of association officers; a member list; an association agreement; maps of the area; and a management plan detailing the sustainable use of mangrove resources.
Enabling factors
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Lesson learned
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Mangrove management plan
Based on official fishing and environmental regulations such as periodic closures, bans and minimum sizes, the management plan contains a detailed programme for resource use, control and surveillance and monitoring and evaluation. Every illegal activity is reported to the overseeing government body.
Enabling factors
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Lesson learned
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Capacity building
Government agencies conduct training sessions and disseminate knowledge about
the mangrove ecosystem, its resources, economic interests and conservation needs, and
build capacity for monitoring and recording of the biodiversity and catch data.
Enabling factors
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Lesson learned
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Mangrove reforestation
Shrimp farmers are obligated to develop and implement a mangrove reforestation plan within their production area; they pay community members, often women, to garden the mangroves, including re-planting.
Enabling factors
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Lesson learned
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Community-based ecotourism
Mangrove custodial association members are trained as guides for ecotourism activities as a possible alternative source of income. Visitors learn about locals’ regular activities such as fishing, catching crabs or collecting molluscs. They are then given the experience of preparing and consuming the mangrove’s bounty.
Enabling factors
- Organisation with committees
- Support from governments or corporations to train guides
- Collaboration with tourism sector
- Advertisements
Institutionalised management is the key to connect tourism service providers with customers. Publicity is needed to attract tourists as well as resources like boats for visitor’s transport in the different concession zones.
Lesson learned
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Impacts
Social:
- Strengthened capacities on topics such as the importance of mangrove ecosystems, basic directive for guiding tourists, monitoring the size and sex of crabs
- Strengthened associations
- Gender inclusion: Women extract the crabmeat to be sold in cans
Economic:
- More income for resource users (due to increased capacities)
- Compensation for shrimp farmers to support mangrove reforestation
Environmental:
- Conservation of the ecosystem: the co-management of mangrove areas facilitates and optimizes efforts to conserve and protect the habitat and its species
- Reforestation of areas lost to shrimp farming: mitigating activities responding to the loss of mangrove area and the negative effects of spreading shrimp farms
Story
"I do not only consider myself a crab fishermen, but proudly claim to be the ›guardian of the mangrove‹", says Ricardo Carpio, president of the association »21 de Mayo Puerto Roma«. "Like many other crab fishermen of Ecuador, I used to catch crabs with traps. After five years of implementing the activities that are required to obtain a concession, including no longer using traps or chemicals, I see that the state of the resource has improved. We only catch males and respect minimum catch sizes in order to allow the crabs to grow and reproduce. I realise the positive changes that the concession has brought to my community. We have benefitted from participating in other government projects, such as a programme for the installation of solar panels on private houses. We gained a monetary incentive of more than $37,000 issued by the Ministry of Environment for assisting in the control and surveillance of around 2,500 hectares of mangroves. All members of our association jointly take care of the concession, and I am very strict when applying penalties or implementing new standards. Once I even fined my own father for catching crabs in a closed area. In addition, our association cooperates with other communities, guiding them through the process of obtaining a concession and supporting them during the implementation phase."
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Other contributors
Daniela Johana Hill Piedra
Subsecretaría de Gestión Marino y Costera – Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador
