| HOME |
| Project: | Strengthening protection and management of Marine Protected Areas in Abrolhos, Brazil |
|
Project Status
Active (July 2007 to September 2010)Project Partners and Personnel
Our partner for this project is Conservation International (CI). Key personnel are Guilherme Dutra (project director), Rodrigo Moura (research biologist), and Jerônimo Carvalho (Socioeconomic Coordinator).Purpose
This multi-faceted project is aimed at consolidating and strengthening the protection and management of the Abrolhos network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Brazil, which will serve as a model for improving marine conservation and fisheries management in Brazil.Actions and Results
The project has several components:- biological field research;
- collecting information on commercial fishing;
- work with fishing communities to assist them in their new role in managing marine extractive reserves (MERs) and to explain the project's research results and the benefits of the marine protected area (MPA) network, including MERs;
- providing scientific information to decision makers;
- educating the public on the biological and socioeconomic benefits of marine protected areas; and
- promoting a system for long-term finance of the Abrolhos MPA network and making recommendations regarding the establishment of other MPA networks in Brazil.
Field research, including mapping, required for zoning marine reserves
Map of the Abrolhos Bank showing habitats mapped along the side-scan sonor transects.
In 2008, the habitats were surveyed in partnership with Sao Paola University using scuba divers and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which produced more detailed habitat/biological information. In addition, underwater biological monitoring was conducted with the help of four students from the University of Bahia, including a visual fish census and collection of coral cover samples.
In 2009, further surveys focussed both on the newly discovered reefs and on a large calcareous algae bank, which appears to represent an enormous carbon bank and as such, a key habitat to protect in relation to climate change mitigation.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Images obtained by the Remotely Operated Vehicle in the newly mapped reefs of Abrolhos Bank. | |||
Collecting information on commercial fishing along Abrolhos Bank
Starting in 2007, information has been collected on the distribution of the fishing fleet along the Abrolhos Bank and the port of origin and fishing methods used by fishing vessels. This information is feeding into the evolving fisheries management system. A special effort was made to collect information on the shrimp fisheries in the Abrolhos Bank, which are all coastal and relatively far from the reefs.Working with local fishing communities
Work began in late 2007 on meeting with local fishing communities to discuss and explain the benefits of the marine protected areas system, strengthen their formal association processes, and identify socioeconomic alternatives to improve the livelihoods of communities from the Extractive Reserves. We serve alongside local community members in deliberative councils through which local communities are involved in co-management of the new marine extractive reserves. We were also involved in an exchange program between the traditional communities of the multiple-use MPAs of the Abrolhos Bank, through which knowledge accumulated by different communities is shared.
Presentation to a local community
In 2008, a series of presentations were made at local communities in which key scientific results were presented (using simplified language). Nearly 270 fishermen took part, benefitting from an increased understanding of their local biodiversity. Our team continued their involvement in the local councils of all the MPAs in the region, which engage in co-management of the fisheries resources.
Students from local communities were trained for work in fisheries monitoring (interviewing fishermen and inspecting their catch as they disembark at ports) and disseminating key information to local communities, an "informal channel" that has proved highly effective in involving communities.
Some of the work with local communities focuses on the development of economic alternatives to help in reducing the over-exploitation of natural resources. Our field leader has explored ways of adding value to products from the marine extractive reserves and developing ecotourism. One outcome is that a project was developed to improve conditions for stocking and transportation of crabs and marine shrimps and to create a certification system for quality and origin, which could serve as a model for other extractive marine reserves. In addition, an economic viability study pointed to the potential of the lutjanid fishes, caught with line gear, in the two biggest communities of the reserve, information that our socioeconomic coordinator is taking to those communities.
In 2009, a very entertaining and effective video was produced that features interviews with local fishermen and others saying why they think the marine protected areas and marine extractive reserves are beneficial to the local fishery and community, as well as "experts", notably our project personnel. The video was launched in January, 2010 and is being shown to local communities this year.
2009 was a busy year for our exchange program, with representatives from the different extractive reserves meeting to discuss common problems and solutions and develop an integrated workplan for the reserves.
A series of meetings was held by ICMBIO (the Brazilian environment agency) to begin implementation of the Cassurubá Extractive Reserve (see below). Our socioeconomic coordinator worked with local fishermen's associations to develop and submit a proposal for the creation of the reserve council.
Bringing forward scientific information relevant to reserve creation in the Abrolhos region
Since 2007, relevant scientific and socioeconomic information has been brought to groups and government officials in support of re-establishing the Abrolhos Buffer Zone (and now, instead, the expansion of the MPA network) and creating the Cassurubá Extractive Reserve and additional Atlantic Forest protected areas in the region. We also participate in MPA councils, which are important forums for discussing the developing MPAs and environmental issues in the State of Bahia. There we have communicated our research results and used these to help guide technical decisions for the management of the marine protected areas. For example, the long-term monitoring results of coral cover and fisheries were important as a baseline for the licensing process for dredging activities for a port access in Caravelas.A significant advance occurred in 2009 with the creation of the Cassurubá Extractive Reserve, which protects vital nursery sites for many of the region's fish species. The signing ceremony took place in Caravelas on World Environment Day (June 5) 2009, with President Lula, the Bahia State Governor, the Environment Minister, and more than 2000 people from the local communities present. The 100,687-ha reserve protects mangroves, estuaries and coastal habitats, while the 485,007-ha buffer zone harbors 95 percent of the Abrolhos' mangroves, representing a key nursery site for man fish species of ecological and economic importance.
Our input was also vital in helping the local community of the Cassurubá Extractive Reserve decide to reject a proposed large-scale shrimp farm that would have had a very adverse impact on local coastal habitats.
The focus in 2010 and beyond is to promote the expansion of the Abrolhos Marine Protected Area network so that it protects the newly discovered coral reefs, calcareous algae bank and other important habitats. This is a complex process involving technical analysis, meetings with government agencies, and public consultation.
National media campaigns
The project has included media campaigns to educate the public about the biological, social and economic benefits of marine protected areas, the importance of the Abrolhos MPA network for marine conservation, and the creation of the Cassurubá Extractive Reserve. Other scientific and conservation groups were brought in on these campaigns, which have included television and newspaper coverage.Current efforts focus on the workings of the Deliberative Council of the already successful Canavieiras Extractive Reserve as a good illustration of the potential of this sustainable development model for coastal communities throughout Brazil.
Recent publications
2009, Challenges and prospects of fisheries co-management under a Marine Extractive Reserve framework in Northwastern Brazil, by Rodrigo Leão de Moura, Carolina Viviana Minte-Vera, Isabela Baleeiro Curado, Ronaldo Bastos Francini-Filho, Hélio de Castro Lima Rodrigues, Guilherme Fraga Dutra, Diego Corrêa Alves and Francisco José Bezerra Souto. Coastal Management Journal: 37: 617-632.2009, Geographic Information Systems in the frontlines of marine conservation: Examples from the Abrolhos Bank, South Atlantic, by Rodrigo, L. Moura, Guilherme F. Dutra, Jerônimo A. Carvalho, M&aacture;rcia H. Engel, Mariana C. Neves, Cristiane C.A. Martins, Leonardo C. Wedekin & Adriana Paese. Society for Conservaton GIS, Environmental Systems Research Institute, ESRI Press.
Background
The marine areas of Brazil's coast are home to unique coral reefs and many threatened species, including sea turtles, marine mammals, fishes, seabirds and invertebrates. The Abrolhos region has several components: Abrolhos National Park; the Canavieiras Marine Extractive Reserve; the Corumbau Marine Extractive Reserve; and most recently, the Cassurubá Marine Extractive Reserve.This network of marine areas is the first of its kind in Brazil and will serve as a model for marine conservation. Nearly 20,000 families make a living from traditional fisheries in the Abrolhos region and they are becoming important conservation partners as they come to understand that marine protected areas are an effective tool for fisheries recovery.
MPAs are designated and regulated by the Brazilian government, which has responsibility for enforcement, however Brazil is unable to commit sufficient resources to the work encompassed by this project; hence the need for the involvement of non-governmental organizations to work in collaboration with the Brazilian government and local communities.
Biological value of Abrolhos
The marine biodiversity in the South Atlantic Ocean reaches its maximum level in the Abrolhos region. Seasonal populations of humpback whales go there to mate and give birth (and to nowhere else in the southern Atlantic). It harbors some of Brazil's most important seabird colonies, and several species of the world's most threatened sea turtles, including the Endangered green turtle, the Critically Endangered hawksbill turtle, and the Endangered loggerhead turtle. Almost all of the South Atlantic's commercially valuable species of reef fish can be found in the region, including several large threatened predatory fish, such as the Critically Endangered goliath grouper, the Vulnerable cubera snapper, and the Vulnerable mutton snapper. The mangroves of Abrolhos serve as fish nurseries and provide shelter for many economically important and threatened reef fish species that spend their initial stages of life protected by the mangroves' roots in shallow estuaries. They also protect the shoreline from erosion and prevent excess nutrients from saturating nearby reef ecosystems.The coral reefs are themselves the most unique characteristic of the Abrolhos region, possessing high rates of endemism: approximately 50 percent of Abrolhos coral species and 20 percent of reef fish species are found nowhere else in the world. The unique reef type of Abrolhos is locally known as "chapeirâo" and rises more than 75 feet from the ocean floor, with mushroom-shaped pinnacles up to 150 feet in diameter. The reefs also include fans of fire coral and round knobs of brain corals, also unique to Abrolhos Bank.
Threats to Abrolhos
The biodiversity of the Abrolhos Bank is threatened by over-fishing, sedimentation (a result of coastal deforestation), shrimp farming, and possible oil and gas exploration. In particular, because of limited regional regulations, fishers from outside the region have been able to over-exploit local fisheries, and communities have witnessed a decline in important and valuable species. Commercial fisheries increasingly threaten the region's ecosystem, decimating predators at the top of the food chair, such as sharks and groupers. The loss of key natural resources could have devastating effects on local mangrove ecosystems, the Abrolhos Bank reef systems, and the future livelihoods of thousands of coastal community families.Abrolhos National Marine Park Buffer Zone
In May 2006, the Brazilian government declared the creation of the Buffer Zone of Abrolhos National Marine Park. CI and partners had been supporting this initiative for several years, and this result represented an important scaling-up of marine conservation in Brazil. Unfortunately, just a year later, in July 2007, a Brazilian judge annulled the Buffer Zone after it was contested by the municipalities of Caravelas and Nova Vi osa.The buffer area totalled more than 9.5 million hectares, was to operate similarly to a multiple-use protected area and exclude oil and gas operations in areas that pose a high risk of impacts on marine ecosystems. It covered all of the Abrolhos region, including mangroves, reefs, and deep areas (up to 3,500 metres).
Meanwhile, our biological research has led to the discovery of large areas of previously unknown reefs, a very large calcareous algae bank, and other important marine habitats. We have now shifted our focus to promoting an expansion of the Abrolhos MPA network as the best means of encompassing additional areas needing protecting.
Corumbau Marine Extractive Reserve and Cassurubá Extractive Reserve
CI's efforts resulted in the establishment of the Corumbau Marine Extractive Reserve, which protects 89,500 hectares of coral reefs, island communities, and surrounding habitats. CI helped design the Reserve's management plan in partnership with local fishermen, introducing the concept of no-take areas within a multiple-use zone. Consequently, fish density has doubled inside the protected area. As a result of this success, and because Reserve council members from local communities agreed on the zoning plan, fishermen are committed to complying with fishing regulations and respecting no-take zones.Approximately 500 traditional fishermen and their families have benefited from the creation of the Corumbau Marine Reserve and help co-manage it in collaboration with the government, CI, and other NGOs. They then encouraged other local communities to adopt similar strategies, and the neighbouring communities of Caravelas and Nova Viçosa requested that CI and IBAMA help them establish the Cassurubá Extractive Reserve in the largest mangrove forests of the region. CI and partner universities conducted the needed biological and socioeconomic surveys needed for the new 47,000-hectare reserve. CI also supported the government with the required public hearings As mentioned above, the reserve was declared in June 2009.
Marine Protected Area networks elsewhere in Brazil
The work in Abrolhos should provide a model for the development of MPA networks elsewhere in Brazil. Many marine species have a wide distribution range (beyond Abrolhos), while others are restricted to specific habitats and oceanographic conditions not found in Abrolhos (e.g., areas along the south and southeast coast of Brazil, as well as along the Amazon coast, have very distinct marine communities). Co-management of marine resources through marine extractive reserves has considerable potential to secure the future of the economically and socially important small-scale traditional fisheries of Brazil and other countries.International Conservation Fund of Canada