Exploring the Use of
Conceptual Models to Identify
Scenarios, Lessons, and Entry Points
for Community-scale Marine Resource
Tenure and Governance
Dr. Catherine Courtney
Tetra Tech, Inc.
Small-scale fisheries…..
World Capture Fisheries Production
Status of World
Fisheries
FAO 2012
FAO 2011
Significance of Small-scale Fisheries to Food
Security and Poverty Alleviation
Attributes
Large-scale Fisheries
Small-scale Fisheries
# people employed
~ ½ million
> 12 million
Annual tons caught
~ 30 million
~ 30 million
Annual tons fuel
~37 million
~5 million
Annual tons of fish
discarded
8 – 20 million
Very little
Annual $ in subsidies
25 – 27 billion
5 – 7 billion
Jacquet and Pauly 2008
Explore the conditions under which
community-scale marine resource tenure and governance
contributes to sustainable fisheries, biodiversity
conservation, and climate change adaptation
Outline:
• Characterize main components of the social-ecological system
• Present a conceptual model to diagnose interactions
• Explore four scenarios with examples from the literature
• Suggest several entry points for strengthening community-scale
marine tenure and governance
Social-Ecological System Framework
Ostrom 2013
Complex Tropical Marine Ecosystems
Green et al 2013
Tropical Multi-species Fishery
Green et al 2013
Complexity of Actors
• Small-scale/artisanal fishers
• Large-scale/industrial fishers
• Other marine resource users (e.g. oil and
gas, mariculture, tourism)
Complexity of Tenure and Governance Regimes
• Community-scale Tenure
and Governance
– Customary
– Informal
– Devolved
• Co-management
– Consultative
– Delegated
– Collaborative
Adapted from Berkes 2010
External/Local Drivers and Threats
• Population growth/
migration
• Coastal development
• Land use practices
• New technologies
• Global trade
• Poverty
• Global climate change
•
•
•
•
Overfishing
Illegal fishing
Habitat destruction
Watershed-based
pollution
• Climate change
impacts
Exploring Conceptual Models to Diagnose
Interactions and Outcomes
Four Scenarios
• Scenario 1: Community-scale marine resource tenure in a
sea of open access
• Scenario 2: Passing the buck through decentralization
• Scenario 3: Multiple knowledge sources and scales for
adaptive co-management
• Scenario 4: Linked ecological and social vulnerability in
marine resource dependent communities
Scenario 1: Community-scale Marine Tenure in a Sea of Open Access
Tale of Two Coastal Villages in Mexico
(Basurto et al. 2012)
• Seri
– Indigenous land and
marine tenure rights
recognized by
government
– Excluded outsiders,
established rules
– Fisheries recovered
in area under tenure
• Kino
– Fish buyers have
control (own permits,
gear)
– Fishers employed by
buyers
– Overfishing in
adjacent areas
Scenario 2: Passing the Buck through Decentralization
Decentralized fisheries
management in the Philippines
• National legal framework
supports preferential use of
nearshore water by small-scale
fishers
• Management responsibility over
15 km from the shore
decentralized to over 850
municipalities and cities
• Fishers and other local
stakeholders serve on advisory
bodies to local governments
Perez et al 2012
Pomeroy et al 2010
Courtney et al. 2002
Scenario 3: Multiple Knowledge Sources and Scales for Adaptive
Co-Management
Adaptive management in customary tenure regimes
in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia (Cinner et al. 2006)
Ecosystem-based management in Huave Lagoon,
Southern Mexico (Espinoza-Tenerio et al., 2013)
Ecosystem-based
management
• Scenarios based
on different rule
configurations
Transdisciplinary
modeling
• Broader social –
ecological system
processes
Traditional ecological
knowledge
• Fine scale
delineation of 6
seascapes
Scenario 4: Linked
Social-Ecological
Vulnerability in Marine
Resource Dependent
Communities
Social-ecological vulnerability in Kenyan coastal
communities (Cinner et al. 2013)
• Lower vulnerability in
communities with more
effective management
systems
• Adaptive capacity varied
among communities
• One-size-fits-all to
adaptation planning
unlikely to succeed
Marshal et al. 2012
Entry Points for Strengthening Community-scale
Marine Tenure and Governance
Strengthen local
institutional
capacity
Build
knowledge base
for ecosystemscale processes
Recognize
community-scale
tenure rights
Develop effective
co-management
arrangements
Reduce vulnerability of communityscale management of small-scale
fisheries from external drivers
Thank you!
For more information on USAID’s Land Tenure and
Property Rights Portfolio
Visit:
http://usaidlandtenure.net/