The Dramas of the Marine Extractive Reserve Managers in Brazil: Navigating through Multiple Institutions

Author(s)

Prado, Deborah Santos ^[1] ; de Castro, Fabio ^[2] ; Seixas, Cristiana Simao ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Environm Study & Res Ctr, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Amsterdam, Ctr Latin Amer Res & Documentat, Amsterdam - Netherlands

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SOCIETY & NATURAL RESOURCES; v. 33, n. 5 NOV 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

In this paper, we describe and analyze the co-management institutional framework at 21 Brazilian Marine Extractive Reserves (MERs) and present the dramas of its implementation from the local manager's perspective. We categorized the governance instruments of MERs into (i) instruments for land/sea tenure and beneficiaries' recognition, (ii) territorial use planning, (iii) institutional arenas for discussion and deliberation, as well as (iv) public policies. Although the legal arrangements of these protected areas address fundamental dimensions of governance, we present the challenges of its implementation based on the voice of local managers. The managers are the bridge between the central government and communities, dealing with the implementation of the institutional framework in a reality of multi-level and multi-scale drama: from local to national dilemmas, from organizational to structural ones. We explore these dramas and highlight the institutional dilemmas based on the paradoxes between legalism and social emancipation. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/19439-8 - Natural resources management in social-ecological systems: integrating environmental conservation and local development
• Grantee: Cristiana Simão Seixas
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants