{"id":110626,"date":"2024-01-11T14:18:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T08:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/?post_type=yemaya&p=110626"},"modified":"2024-01-11T14:47:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T09:17:43","slug":"latin-america-fisheries-managementgender-matters","status":"publish","type":"yemaya","link":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/yemaya\/latin-america-fisheries-managementgender-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Latin America\/Fisheries Management: Gender matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Women\u2019s participation in small-scale fisheries management results in positive outcomes for both the local community and the social-ecological system<\/strong><\/p>\n

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By Mouna Chambon<\/strong><\/em>, (mouna.chambon@uab.cat), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, Spain, Sara Mi\u00f1arro,<\/strong><\/em> (saraminarro.science@gmail.com), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, Spain, Santiago Alvarez Fernandez,<\/strong><\/em> (santiago.alvarez.fernandez@gmail.com), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, Spain, Vincent Porcher<\/em><\/strong>, (vincent.porcher@uab.cat), Unit\u00e9 mixte de recherche \u201cSavoirs Environnement Soci\u00e9t\u00e9s\u201d (SENS), Institut de recherche pour le d\u00e9veloppement (IRD) & Centre de coop\u00e9ration internationale en recherche agronomique pour le d\u00e9veloppement (Cirad), Montpellier, France, Victoria Reyes-Garcia<\/strong><\/em>, (victoria.reyes@uab.cat), Instituci\u00f3 Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avan\u00e7ats (ICREA), Barcelona,Spain, Huran Tonalli Drouet<\/strong><\/em>, (htdrouet.cruz@gmail.com), Universit\u00e9 libre de Bruxelles, Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 50, 1050, Bruxelles, Belgium and Patrizia Ziveri<\/strong><\/em>, (patrizia.ziveri@uab.cat), Instituci\u00f3 Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avan\u00e7ats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain<\/p>\n

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Despite women making up about 50 percent of the fisheries workforce worldwide, their contribution to the sector has long been under-estimated with implications for fisheries management and food security. This is because, in many countries, fisheries definitions are narrow and tend to focus on the production node of the value chain whereas women are mostly involved in fish processing and marketing. Gender-biased approaches in fisheries research have also contributed to mask the important role played by women in fisheries economies. In this context, this study sought to assess women\u2019s participation in small-scale fisheries (SSF) management and the related socio-cultural, environmental, and economic impacts.<\/p>\n

To do so, we reviewed the existing literature on the topic using two search engines: Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection and Scopus. Our review included 124 case studies from 51 countries which examined women\u2019s participation in SSF and discussed management issues (Fig.2). We defined three main levels of participation in SSF management: excluded, limited, and active participation. Based on this categorization, we assessed women\u2019s participation level in each of the reviewed case study. Further, we examined the impacts derived from women\u2019s participation in such processes and classified them as socio-cultural, environmental, or economic. We also considered the scale of each impact to determine whether it affected only individuals, the community, or the whole social-ecological system.<\/p>\n

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Figure 1- Geographical location of the 124 case studies, per fisheries type. The map was built under QGIS 3.22.7, using bathymetric data from General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (gebco.net)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The most striking finding of this study is that women were not actively participating in SSF management in 80 percent of the reviewed cases that gave enough information to assess women\u2019s participation. In most cases, authors reported that women were not formally excluded from SSF management, but they faced barriers to actually participate, highlighting the importance of gender norms and stereotypes. Women would usually attend management meetings but would keep quiet and not contribute meaningfully to the discussions.<\/p>\n

Moreover, our findings show that women\u2019s exclusion from SSF management was associated with negative outcomes. The most common negative impact was adverse consequences on women\u2019s livelihoods derived from their lack of participation in SSF management. As an illustration, research work done by Rohe and colleagues in 2018 in the Solomon Islands examined the consequences of a marine closure designation overlaying with women\u2019s fishing grounds and found out that it had severe implications on local food security. However, our study also highlighted that when women were able to participate actively in SSF management, it resulted in positive socio-cultural, environmental, and economic impacts not only for local communities but also for the entire social-ecological system.<\/p>\n

As an example, a study by Rivera and colleagues in 2017 in Costa Rican SSF communities documented how the active participation of women in a fisheries cooperative led to positive individuals impacts. Located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, the community of T\u00e1rcoles highly relies on SSF activities for its local economy and nutritional needs, but faces several challenges such as pollution, declining fish stocks and mass tourism.<\/p>\n

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Figure 2 – Number of impacts per subcategory (n=190). The impacts displayed in dark grey are associated to cases where women participate in SSF management (i.e., limited or active participation) whereas impacts in light grey are those associated to women\u2019s exclusion cases<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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To address these issues, governmental support combined with the adoption of a fisheries co-management approach led to the establishment of the CoopeT\u00e1rcoles R.L cooperative in the 1980s. Since then, this SSF cooperative has become one of the most successful fisheries cooperatives of the country, promoting sustainable fisheries management and supporting women\u2019s participation in management and governance. Although women did not own boats, which was an initial criterion for joining the cooperative, the recognition of their important role in pre-production and fishing activities gave them access to the cooperative membership. As the researchers stated: \u201cSlowly, CoopeT\u00e1rcoles R.L has been expanding beliefs on the role of women, promoting the fact women can and do play an active role and contribute on a daily basis to the community\u2019s economic, social, and cultural life\u201d. Overtime, women gained more power within the cooperative by holding notable leadership positions such as members of the Administrative Council, the Board of Directors and Vice-President. Through their experience in the CoopeT\u00e1rcoles R.L cooperative, women built in capacity, gained leadership and business skills, and improved their confidence.<\/p>\n

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Through their experience in the\u2026cooperative, women built in capacity, gained leadership and business skills, and improved their confidence<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Another example is the story of women\u2019s participation in fisheries co-management in the Biobio region, south-central Chile, documented by Franco-Mel\u00e9ndez and colleagues in 2021, which provided positive benefits to SSF workers and the environment. In Chile, the main fisheries co-management approach is embodied in the Management and Exploitation Areas for Benthic Resources-MEABR system. It is perceived as an efficient approach for promoting both sustainable use of fisheries resources and the participation of local resource-users. Owing to their engagement in fishing and seaweed harvesting, women acquired important rights in participating to the MEABR system despite the long-lasting view that fishing as a male domain. Specifically, in Coliumo Bay, women\u2019s participation in the MEABR system enhanced their empowerment. According to the researchers: \u201cThe views of women have become more important in fishery management, for example, where women have increased their capacity, confidence, and engagement for good fishery practices\u201d. In addition, the recognition of women\u2019s perspectives in SSF management has notably favoured ecological outcomes in management decisions and the conservation of natural resources. To quote the researchers once more: \u201cMEABR\u2019s that are run by women also have an ecological focus with a reorientation to sea-weed collection\u201d.<\/p>\n

These are only a few illustrations from our study suggesting that women\u2019s participation in SSF management contributes to positive outcomes for the social-ecological system. Overall, our study highlighted the critical need to address women\u2019s exclusion from SSF management and decision-making processes and tackle the lack of gender-disaggregated data in fisheries research. We concluded by providing key recommendations towards a better inclusion of gender considerations in fisheries data collection methods, SSF management, and ecological research on SSF. This study is relevant for academics, practitioners, and policy makers in the field of sustainable development, fisheries, and food systems. To read the full paper, please visit:
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