The Role of a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in a Co-Management Regime: The Mexican Seri Indians' Case of Study

Abstract

"In Mexico, the coastal ecosystems that have traditionally been used by local communities for small-scale fishing activities are overexploited, or near to overexploitation. The main causes are: 1) absence of clearly defined fishing property rights; 2) social heterogeneity within fishing communities; 3) failure by governmental agencies to recognize and support the community's organizational efforts; 4) low effectiveness of fishing regulatory tools designed by the government; and 5) lack of reliable biological data of fishing resources.

"The Seri Indians' case offers a unique setting among Mexican small scale fishing communities. The Seri Indians are a seafaring tribe that has inhabited the central portion of the Gulf of California for thousands of years. After surviving several extermination wars by Spanish and Mexicans, the Mexican government granted them their own territory in 1975 in order to assure their survival and reduce potential conflicts with other Mexican communities. This territory includes a portion of coastal land, an island, and the coastal waters surrounding it. Only members of the Seri fishing cooperatives are authorized to extract marine resources of this area. According to Mexican laws, marine resources are property of the nation and their management is the federal government's duty, thereby originating a de facto co-management regime between the tribe and fisheries authorities. However, historic conflicts and lack of trust between both institutions often prevents an efficient collaboration towards a better use of marine resources. In this action setting a new local Mexican NGO is successfully situating itself as a neutral institution that can play a decisive role towards a better management and conservation of the tribes natural resources. In this paper we analyze the key factors that positively contribute to the organizations role for a better co-management regimen in Seri territory. We also discuss the possibility of replicating this model in different settings, problems that may arise during implementation, and perspectives for the future of the organization."