Participação comunitária na gestão de recursos naturais costeiros: o acesso e maneio do mexilhão no distrito de Zavala

Abstract

The research was carried out in the district of Zavala, specifically in the community of Canda. It was a central issue that guided the research, community participation in the management of coastal natural resources, particularly the mussel access and management modalities. The study aimed to demonstrate that community practices of access and management of natural resources are important in the context of sustainable local development. Still within the same line, we sought to understand the coastal natural resource management process, identify the partners involved and the practices adopted, analyzing the relationship between “the speeches” and the practice on the ground. The present study basically consisted of the use of the following instruments: i) review of the documentation; ii) semi-structured interviews, and; iii) participant observation. The stages of the research were exploratory research (bibliographic research and elaboration of the research protocol), literature review, fieldwork, data treatment and preparation of the report. These steps were not watertight. For example, documentary consultation was an ongoing activity. The field survey found that there are different views and perspectives of the actors involved in resource management regarding the origins of abandoning community resource management practices, although there is consensus that there has been a decrease in the quantities of mussels explored in relation to the past. It was also found that there is a dissonance between “discourse” and practice on the ground, which is reflected in the way in which natural resources are managed. It was also concluded that the abandonment of community practices in the management of natural resources reflected negatively on the management of the mussel, a factor that is aggravated by the fact that the legitimate community leaders have lost part of their prerogatives. There is a void in the space below the administrative post of leaders who can serve as interlocutors for the communities, which leads to conflicts of overlapping of authorities of different nature by the power and the way in which the natural resources must be managed. At the community level, there is an idea that is shared by members about why the amount of mussels produced is reduced. OK! Therefore, it has been emphasizing one of the hypotheses inherent in the work, about the direct relationship between the abandonment of community practices in the management of natural resources and the lack of sustainability.