PILLAR 2. Working With Communities

Technology alone cannot save biodiversity. Ultimately, it is people - communities - that will see the process through. Community Engagement and Equity is a cross-cutting theme in all WFT projects for one simple reason: we want our projects, even the technical ones, to be sustainable. We do this through:

• Empowerment (being inclusive)
• Providing technical training
• Building teams and balancing power
• Helping people manage conflict through recognition of "common interests"
• Building self-esteem
• Eliminating gender bias
• Inviting young people in
• Making links between institutions and sectors
• Getting people engaged in environmental stewardship

WFT's fisheries projects stress co-management, economic development, added value and livelihood alternatives. Our goal is to involve communities in stock assessment, fisheries monitoring, habitat improvement, environmental monitoring and stewardship.

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An Example From Brazil

All of WFT's fisheries projects in Brazil, from 1999 to the present, have been firmly community-based. The new Coastal Communities Development in Bahia and Pernambuco project (starting September 2007) will continue this commitment to build relationships with the affected communities before tackling technical issues. Bringing the various stakeholders to the planning table with adequate shared knowledge and respect for each other and the resource is a complex task, but it's crucial. WFT has accomplished this in Brazil by:

• Building government-recognized community capacity for assisting in management
• Collecting technical data that everyone believes and understands
• Overcoming social barriers that inhibit communication and respect between stakeholders
• Making fisheries conservation and sustainability a viable option
• Promoting legal reforms and policy changes.

What are the results of this philosophy? Visit these links:

COMMUNITY SURVEY - Socio-economic situation of fishing communities at the Sao Francisco River - Brazil, June 25 - July 14, 2003 (by Jutta Gutberlet, University of Victoria and Cristiana Simão Seixas, Consultora em Gestão Pesqueira Participativa)

REPORT - Methodologies and Practices: Community Development and Gender, August 2005 (report by Erika de Castro and Thais Madeira, with collaboration from Ana Carolina Bichoffe, Priscila Martins Medeiros, and José de Andrade Matos Sobrinho)

EXPERIMENT IN CO-MANAGEMENT - Final Project Report for the Rumo Project on Co-Management on the São Francisco, February 2006 (by Dr. Ana Thé of UFSCar) (in Portuguese)

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP - GTPesca Inception Workshop. November 22 to 25, 2005 (by Ana Thé and Regina Cerdeira) (in Portuguese)

REPORT - Overview of the Rede Cooperação functions and activities, January 31, 2006 (by WFT) (in Portuguese)

GRADUATE RESEARCH - Thesis Summary: Gender Relationships between Fishermen and Fisherwomen along the Upper and Middle São Francisco River, Annex 2, December 2005 (by Ana Carolina Bichoffe, UFSCar student) (in Portuguese)

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