2
ISCUANDÉ, COLOMBIA COMMUNITY- BASED MANGROVE MANAGEMENT On Colombia’s Pacific Coast, the Iscuandé River delta is home to Afro-Colombian communities whose livelihoods for generations have depended on fishing and mollusk harvesting, specifically the mangrove cockle—also called piangua. Overharvesting, however, has led to a drastic decline in piangua populations—it’s listed as endangered in Colombia—placing at risk the livelihoods of hundreds of women who rely entirely on the mollusk for their income. Mangroves—key for piangua reproduction and harvesting—have also been illegally cleared for firewood and face other threats like pollution, further exacerbating mollusk loss. In 2012, Conservation International (CI) and local partner Calidris joined forces with Esfuerzo Pescador, a Community Council representing nine Afro-Colombian communities, to promote sustainable management of 12,000 hectares of mangroves. A conservation agreement—a negotiated benefit package with communities that agree to protect their natural resources in exchange for compensation and other benefits—was signed by CI, Calidris and Esfuerzo Pescador, aiming to establish a more secure future for the Iscuandé communities. © JEFF YONOVER

COMMUNITY- BASED MANGROVE MANAGEMENT - … · ISCUANDÉ, COLOMBIA COMMUNITY-BASED MANGROVE MANAGEMENT On Colombia’s Pacific Coast, the Iscuandé River delta is home to Afro-Colombian

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

ISCUANDÉ, COLOMBIA

COMMUNITY-BASED MANGROVE MANAGEMENTOn Colombia’s Pacific Coast, the Iscuandé

River delta is home to Afro-Colombian

communities whose livelihoods for

generations have depended on fishing

and mollusk harvesting, specifically the

mangrove cockle—also called piangua.

Overharvesting, however, has led to a drastic decline in piangua populations—it’s listed as endangered in Colombia—placing at risk the livelihoods of hundreds of women who rely entirely on the mollusk for their income. Mangroves—key for piangua reproduction and harvesting—have also been illegally cleared for firewood and face other threats like pollution, further exacerbating mollusk loss.

In 2012, Conservation International (CI) and local partner Calidris joined forces with Esfuerzo Pescador, a Community Council representing nine Afro-Colombian communities, to promote sustainable management of 12,000 hectares of mangroves. A conservation agreement—a negotiated benefit package with communities that agree to protect their natural resources in exchange for compensation and other benefits—was signed by CI, Calidris and Esfuerzo Pescador, aiming to establish a more secure future for the Iscuandé communities.

© J

EFF

YON

OV

ER

© MARÍA CLAUDIA DIAZGRANADOS

Contact: Evelyn Moreno | [email protected] by the Conservation Agreements Platform Learn more at: www.conservation.org/csp

Community commitments

Under the conservation agreement in Iscuandé, families belonging to Esfuerzo Pescador Community Council commit to forgo harvesting of piangua in established no-take zones. To further foster recovery of depleted populations of piangua and other species, families will carry out more sustainable harvesting approaches that include selecting the piangua to be harvested based on size regulations, and they will also rotate harvesting areas. To assess the condition of the piangua population, women of Esfuerzo Pescador have been implementing monthly community monitoring activities.

Community benefits

In exchange for monitoring activities and data collection, women and families receive daily wages. Group benefits of the conservation agreements include assistance with the legal establishment of the piangua harvesters’ association led by the women, the development of a sustainable piangua harvesting plan, the improvement of the piangua commercialization chain, technical support for the communal council, and development of local community infrastructure and administration capabilities within each community.

Empowering women

Special focus is placed on helping to strengthen and empower the women-led groups and to build their capacity to develop their own micro-enterprises for marketing and development purposes. Moreover, the conservation agreement facilitates market access to potential piangua purchasers who recognize the importance of sustainable harvesting practices, thereby securing better prices and improving the women’s income.