2019
by Fundación Grupo Proa

Strengthening the traditional fishermen organization TIKA: Environmental governance in indigenous fishery management practices in a strategic wetland ecosystem in the Colombian Amazon. Leticia, Colombia

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Community managed nature protection Ecosystem protection
2019
by Fundación Grupo Proa

Strengthening the traditional fishermen organization TIKA: Environmental governance in indigenous fishery management practices in a strategic wetland ecosystem in the Colombian Amazon. Leticia, Colombia

The aim is to improve environmental governance of indigenous communities in order to promote the conservation of fish diversity and population in the Yahuarcaca lake system by strengthening existing efforts using present-day monitoring techniques integrating both scientific and traditional ecological knowledge. So far, the fishery organization TIKA was formed by indigenous communities and has developed fishery agreements and conducted basic monitoring activities. However, to achieve better results concerning conservation and restoration effectiveness, the people of TIKA stand in need for improving their strategies, generate ecological data to allow them to make better decisions and strengthen the existing efforts and advances.

The methodology is based on citizen science which allows to integrate scientific and indigenous knowledge to improve nature management strategies by generating and sharing pertinent knowledge. Training 30 people from TIKA to use the app ICTIO (Cornell University) to register ecological data on commercial and key fish species and their habitats. Ecological monitoring; 12 surveys per month for 6 months conducted by associated fishers. Six community meetings, each month one, to analyze data and adjust fishery and management agreements and practices related to environmental governance. Follow-up and evaluation activities with the participants in order to adjust and improve the results.

Name organisation:
Fundación Grupo Proa
Start date:
01-05-2019
Funding:
€9970
Country/Territory:
Colombia
Name organisation:
Fundación Grupo Proa
Start date:
01-05-2019
Funding:
€9970
Country/Territory:
Colombia Africa

Outcome and continuation

It is reported that 8 community meetings were held, with the objective to evaluate the project advances in monitoring activities, identify problems or difficulties, proposing solutions and to address and discuss specific organizational and environmental governance-related subjects of TIKA and to establish or strengthen strategic institutional alliances. Each of the meetings had a good participation rate and ended with a lunch for all the participants. Furthermore, a strategy has been developed in order to reinitiate and strengthen monitoring activities.

To ensure the continuation of strengthening TIKA, the project team in alliance with the Wetland Management Research Group from the National University of Colombia presented a proposal to the internal fund of this university called Extensión Solidaria 2020 which focuses on projects and research with a significant social impact. Recently, this proposal has been approved. It is expected that during the first few months of 2021 the implementation starts. Based on the outcomes of the community meetings of this project, the upcoming project is focused on strengthening the organizational skills and environmental governance of TIKA but also on improving monitoring activities based on the experiences and learned lessons in 2019; most probably less frequent but of better quality. Another important issue on the project agenda will be the construction of a clear step-by-step communication protocol or mechanism on how to respond by incompliance of fishermen with the fishery agreements, in accordance with the legitimacy of the corresponding local indigenous and regional governmental authorities.

To ensure the continuation of strengthening TIKA, the project team in alliance with the Wetland Management Research Group from the National University of Colombia presented a proposal to the internal fund of this university called Extensión Solidaria 2020 which focuses on projects and research with a significant social impact. Recently, this proposal has been approved. It is expected that during the first few months of 2021 the implementation starts. Based on the outcomes of the community meetings of this project, the upcoming project is focused on strengthening the organizational skills and environmental governance of TIKA but also on improving monitoring activities based on the experiences and learned lessons in 2019; most probably less frequent but of better quality.

Another important issue on the project agenda will be the construction of a clear step-by-step communication protocol or mechanism on how to respond by incompliance of fishermen with the fishery agreements, in accordance with the legitimacy of the corresponding local indigenous and regional governmental authorities.

Another recurring idea during the meetings was the relevance of environmental education activities as a strategy to raise awareness among all inhabitants of the seven communities concerning the protection of the Yahuarcaca lake area and better reception and recognition for the fishery agreements. In response to this, the project team mentioned the possibility of presenting a proposal to the funding program Concertación of the Colombian Ministry of Culture. Allowing TIKA to gain a first experience in environmental education within their communities. The proposal, focused on environmental education activities and a wall painting in each of the seven communities was presented by Fundación Grupo Proa in September 2019 has been approved during the first months of this year. The implementation runs from August till November this year.”