Coastal Resources Co-Management in the Caribbean

Abstract

"In the small island developing states of the Caribbean the term co-management is increasingly used in the context of promoting conservation, especially of overexploited smallscale coastal fisheries. The term is used often and liberally by government fisheries management authorities, and also among non-governmental organisations such as fishing associations, cooperatives, community-based environmental groups and other key stakeholders. Yet shared concepts of what the categories, phases and other dimensions of co-management are seem to be scarce. Also missing are clear objectives of what the parties expect to be achieved through co- management. The stakeholders, who genuinely support the notion of improving collaboration for fisheries conservation and socio-economic development, embrace very different perspectives on co-management. In order to maximise the returns from participation, civil society and State stakeholders need to distinguish means of achieving successful collaborative co-management from those that relate more to co-optation and coercion. These are some of the conclusions arising from six institutional analysis case studies, undertaken between 2001 and 2003, on marine resource co-management initiatives in the Caribbean. Key conditions for improving the situation include more effective communication amongst the stakeholders through participatory planning, management and evaluation designed for institutional learning. For this to happen, and for it to have an impact on conservation, capacity and power must be increased within the government agencies and their non- governmental partners. Guidelines on key concepts and conditions to facilitate successful coastal resource co-management, developed from these case studies, are presented to encourage the introduction of improved institutional arrangements."