Coastal
areas are one of the most important environments for human
development. It is where most people are (or wish they were…), but
it is more than that, it is the place we derive important monetary
resources from, such as fish, salt and even petroleum, and cultural
services too, such as recreation and simple attachment: we just love
the coast! However, when we are leisurely enjoying the beach we do
not always realize the number of different socio-economic sectors and
ecological functions that are dependent upon estuarine and coastal
areas, and even if we do, most often we do not think about
conflicting interests the use of such services might have.
Foto
de: Luana Prestrelo Palmeira
We
do not think, for example, that each one of those economic sectors is
responsible for lobbying for the development of their own laws or for
following the existing ones regarding the use of space and zoning
arrangements. Some of these rules are international and cannot be
changed, which helps explain why there is so little interaction and
convergence between these laws. Small-scale fisheries are one of the
activities that take place in estuaries and coastal areas, and as we
have extensively said here, it is a very important activity for the
livelihood of thousands and thousands of families, mainly in
developing countries. It is no wonder then that small-scale fisheries
are in constant conflict with several socioeconomic activities (such
as tourism, navigation routes, navy security zone and city
infrastructure development) and with ecological conservation needs.
Foto
de: Luana Prestrelo Palmeira
Such
conflicts could be solved with proper marine spatial planning where
activities happen in specific zones. The logical first step for that
would be the identification and mapping of all existing uses,
regulations and conflicts. Logical but uncommon… Most studies are
limited to the identification of the main conflicts, such as between
small-scale fisheries and marine protected areas, or more rarely,
conflicts regarding oil and gas exploitation. We, from the
Laboratorio
de Biologia e Tecnologia Pesqueira
(LBTP - UFRJ), tried a more thorough approach within amultiple-use coastal estuary. We saw that when fishing zone
restrictions are developed without regarding all legislative groups,
those restrictions are more likely to overlap, making it difficult to
fish within regulation boundaries. For example, one area that would
be perfect for fishing is actually under some other legislative
protection due to oil exploitation. Specifically in this case study
the most important fishing grounds were inside prohibited fishing
areas due to navigation routes and pipeline safety zones. With
economic growth those restrictions are increasing and use conflicts
are being aggravated, jeopardizing fishing activity. The usual
neglect towards fishermen’s livelihood, and their exclusion of the
decision-making process led to a restricted fishing legal zone that
contributes to their marginalization and poverty situation. Ignoring
fishermen’s needs will not aid the establishment of successful
marine protected areas or of appropriate zoning systems, after all, a
chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Foto
de: Vania Alves
By
Luana Prestrelo
No comments:
Post a Comment