Challenges for the Governance of Small-Scale Fisheries on the Brazil-Bolivia Transboundary Region

Abstract

Developing institutional arrangements for supporting sustainable fisheries has been a critical challenge for the governance of common-pool resources, especially in transboundary regions. In this paper, we analyze the impact of governance arrangements on a small-scale fishery system on the Brazil-Bolivia border in the Amazon region. Data collection involved documental analysis, literature review and conduction of semi-structured interviews with fishers and environmental protection/regulatory agencies’ staff. We present an exploratory qualitative analysis of the interactions between the fishery system’s attributes (biological, environmental, technical and governance), examining institutional arrangements among diverse stakeholders. Results reveal that the small-scale fishery characteristics and the relationships between resources and stakeholders has contributed to stock maintenance and overall sustainability of the fishery system. Nevertheless, we also found that the governance structure is fragile due to weak institutional arrangements within and between countries, resulting in increased vulnerability of the fishery system to imminent threats.

Keywords:

• Amazon
• common-pool resources
• fisheries governance
• inland fisheries
• riverine communities
• transboundary fisheries systems

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the fishers and fishermen’s associations who supported the execution of this study. We also thank Dr. Robert J. Buschbacher for his contribution in the article’s review.

Notes

1 The questionnaire used for interviews with fisher was approved by the Ethics Committee on Health Research Center - CEP / NUSAU at the Federal University of Rondônia.

2 Coordinated by the Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fisheries - Federal University of Rondônia (UNIR), supported by Fishing Monitoring Program of the Santo Antônio Energia (SAE) and Energia Sustentável do Brasil.

3 Defeso in Portuguese.

4 Personal communication, Bolivian Navy Capitan from Guayaramirim.

5 It is important to emphasize that this work reflects the situation observed in the period of study (2012) and that Bolivia is currently implementing a new fishing law (Ley no.938, 3 de Mayo de 2017, Ley de Pesca Y Acuicultura sustainable; BOLIVIA 2013)

6 State and Federal Environmental Agency; Environmental Police; EMATER.

7 Carvajal et al. (2011) and Doria et al. (2020), report the effects of accidental introduction of piscivorous Araipama gigas in Mamoré river basin.

8 Santo Antônio and Jirau hydroelectric dams were implemented in Brazil in 2009 and 2010 respectively, with new Brazil-Bolivia bi-national dams planned (Doria et al. 2017).

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this research was provided by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), through the PROAMAZÔNIA/CAPES program (Project No. 021/2012); CAPES and CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), through doctoral and post-doctoral scholarship support to HML and CRCD; and by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the Amazon Dams International Research Network/Rede Internacional de Pesquisa sobre Barragens Amazônicas/ Red Internacional de Investigación sobre Represas Amazónicas (ADN/RBA/RIRA) under Grant No. 1617413, managed by the Tropical Conservation and Development Program in the Center for Latin American Studies at University of Florida. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of CAPES, CNPq and of the National Science Foundation.