case studies undp: fishers’ association of the rural community of mangagoulack (apcrm),...

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: FISHERS ASSOCIATION OF THE RURAL COMMUNITY OF MANGAGOULACK (APCRM), Senegal

1/12

Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Senegal

FISHERS ASSOCIATION OFTHE RURAL COMMUNITY OFMANGAGOULACK (APCRM)

Empowered live

Resilient nation


2/12

UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years

the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-chie: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver Hughes

Contributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Sean Cox, Larissa Currado, David Godrey, Sarah Gordon,

Oliver Hughes, Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma

Mary McGraw, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding

DesignSean Cox, Oliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Loren

de la Parra, Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Fishers Association o the Rural Community o Mangagoulack (APCRM) and

guidance and inputs o the ICCA Consortium. All photo credits courtesy o APCRM. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikiped

except or map o Kawawana management plan (p. 7), courtesy o APCRM.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2013. Fishers Association o the Rual Community o Mangagoulack (APCRM), Senegal. Equa

Initiative Case Study Series. New York, NY.
http://c/Users/user/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%209.0/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/user/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%209.0/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/user/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%209.0/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/user/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%209.0/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858


3/12

PROJECT SUMMARYThe Fishers Association o the Rural Community oMangagoulack established by shers rom eight villages incentral Casamance manages a community conserved areawith the aim o improving local incomes, strengthening oodsecurity and sovereignty, and protecting biodiversity. Theassociation was started in response to declining sh catchesand in recognition o the need or a community-drivenresource management plan. The tropical estuary ecosystemis now managed through a zoning system based on thetraditional zoning practice.

Once a month, shers work on behal o the association,dedicating the sale o their catch towards conservationand surveillance needs. Monitoring shows a 100 per centincrease in sh abundance and signicant improvements inmarine biodiversity since the initiative began. Women in thecommunity have ormed an association o shellsh collectors,creating a similar set o rules or management and extraction.The larger association was the rst o its kind in Senegal,unique in engaging local and regional governments to legallyrecognize community shing rights.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2012

FOUNDED: 2008

LOCATION: The Ziguinchor region of Casamance

BENEFICIARIES: Mangagoulacks 12,000 residents

BIODIVERSITY: Community-conserved marine area

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 8

Policy Impacts 9

Sustainability 10

Replication 11

Partners 11

ASSOCIATION DES PCHEURS DE LA COMMUNAUTRURALE DE MANGAGOULACK (APCRM)Sngal


4/12

4

he Fishers Association o the Rural Community o Mangagoulack

Association des Pcheurs de la Communaut Rurale de Mangagoulack

APCRM) was established by local shermen in 2008. The association

ncludes members rom all eight villages o the municipality o

Mangagoulack, in the Ziguinchor region o Casamance, the area o

enegal that extends south o The Gambia. These villages Tandouk,

Diatok, Boutegol, Elana, Bod, Boutem, Aniam and Mangagoulack

tsel have a combined population o 12,000 people.

he initiative was ormed in response to a number o interrelated

nvironmental, social and economic challenges that collectively

ecessitated greater reconciliation o local livelihoods and proper

nvironmental stewardship. The agreed upon intervention was

he establishment o a community conserved area, where no-takesones would allow or the regeneration o marine biodiversity.

reviously declining sh populations rebounded quickly, resulting

n a greater abundance o diversity o marine lie in the area. The

ssociation has also applied itsel to the restoration o degraded

ce-growing land through the repair and reconstruction o miles o

raditional anti-salinization dykes. Together, these activities have had

ositive impacts on local ood security, biodiversity and community

wellbeing.

A tradition o innovative resource management

he communities o Mangagoulack and surrounding villages are

mainly Diola (or Jola) people, and are characterized by a tradition otrong social and community bonds. The local landscape is a tropical

stuarine system o winding inlets (locally called bolons or bolongs)

nd mangrove orests that, in the past, was home to a diverse array

marine species. The natural resources o these waterways were

raditionally protected by sophisticated local customs that dictated

where members o each village could sh, and traditional practices

hat invoked etishes (sacred objects or charms) to ensure that

cological limits were respected. Traditionally, this system worked

emarkably well, allowing the biodiversity o the bolongs to ourish

while enabling local communities to meet their subsistence shing

eeds.

Gradually, however, local sheries began to decline, as tradit

natural resource management techniques were neglected

shers rom other coastal areas o Senegal equipped with ar la

and more powerul boats than local shermen, who typically wo

wooden pirogues with no engines began shing indiscriminat

what was regarded as open-access water. The decline in the qua

and quality o sh catch impacted local livelihoods and ood sec

Additionally, the coastal areas where people used to cultivate

were also declining in productivity due to the degradation o

ingenious system o dams, built in ancient times, but which

allen into disrepair. The result was that two o the main local sou

o ood shing and rice cultivation were severely threatened

In 2008, the shers association o Mangagoulack decided to addthe situation by establishing a community-conserved area to a

sh stocks to regenerate and lay the oundation or more sustain

management o the waterways. The process o establishing

community-conserved area took several years; during this

the association initiated a number o complementary initiat

including mangrove reorestation and banning destructive s

practices. APCRM has led a campaign against the local us

monolament nets, burning them where they are ound. T

nets are cheap and are typically used, quickly damaged, and

abandoned in shallow coastal areas, where they remain or y

creating destructive traps or sh and other marine mammals.

Kawawana community-conserved area

The community-conserved area was named Kawawana an acro

or the Diola expression Kapooye Waolal Wata Nanang, meaning

patrimony, or us all to preserve. Kawawana is remarkable in th

was conceived, developed and implemented exclusively by the

shermen themselves. Where external actors were approa

as in the case o the Centre or Sustainable Development

Environment (CENESTA), an Iranian NGO it was to request un

or meetings to consult the wider community on the proposed

At community meetings, local people identied a number o thr

Primary among them was the challenge o unregulated, open a

Background and Context


5/12

55

shing. A second was the harvesting o marine resources by migrant

shermen rom northern Senegal who used tiny mesh nets to

atch shrimp, with devastating efects on sh stocks. Because these

migrant shermen operated under a national licence, however,

heir activity was legal and they could not be prosecuted. A third

dentied threat was the perceived loss o community cohesion as

result o acculturation and the penetration o oreign values and

estyles. It was elt that this had degraded local Diola culture, which

s characterised by community solidarity and respectul interactionwith nature. The community enthusiastically endorsed Kawawana as

means o simultaneously addressing all o these threats.

Kawawana was ocially established ater a year o patient diplomatic

manoeuvring and negotiation between government ocials and

he leaders o the association. Eventually, APCRM was able to secure

overnment approval or their plan, which granted the eight villages

he right to manage their local waterways and claim exclusive

ustomary shing rights in a small portion o what was previously

pen access water. The rst step involved securing the approval

the Mangagoulack Municipality, which endorsed Kawawana

n the basis o Senegals Decentralisation Law, which assigns to

he municipal authority responsibility over natural resources in

errestrial environments. The law had never beore been applied

n a coastal environment, but the extrapolation ultimately proved

uccessul. In June 2010, ater extensive lobbying and discussions,

Kawawana was endorsed by the Regional Council o Casamance and

y the Regional Governor himsel.

Kawawana spans nearly 10,000 hectares and is managed directly

y APCRM. To draw a clear distinction between their community-

onserved area and the Community Marine Protected Areas (Aires

Marines Protges Communautaires - AMPCs) that already existed

n Senegal, the Association named Kawawana an Indigenous

Heritage and Community Area (Aire du Patrimoine Autochtone etCommunautaire APAC). AMPCs are declared by the state and

managed by a government-appointed ocial. Local communities

re rarely involved in their governance, and at best, tolerate them.

Kawawana bears little resemblance to this model, having b

conceived, developed and implemented by the local commu

and in its combination o modern conservation methods

traditional knowledge and practices.

Governance and institutional structure

The Mangagoulack association is at the heart o the Kawaw

governance system and collaborates closely with muniauthorities and Senegals Fisheries Department. Kawaw

governance structure consists o ve levels:

i. the APCRM General Assembly

ii. the APCRM Bureau

iii. the Council o the Rural Municipality

iv. a Scientic Advisory Committee

v. the Council o Elders

The General Assembly approves decisions and ensures that mem

and the Bureau comply with rules. It elects the members o

Bureau, collects ecological monitoring reports and dissemin

inormation. The Bureau ormulates technical proposals, t

decisions and supervises monitoring teams. In turn, the Co

approves technical proposals and, in consultation with the s

representative o the Fisheries Department, takes decis

concerning Kawawana.

The Scientic Advisory Committee provides guidance on Kawaw

governance and management processes, helps with analys

monitoring data, and assists in promoting the Kawawana initiat

national and international events. The Council o Elders is activ

an ad-hoc basis as mediator and arbiter when conicts arise. It

advises on governance issues. Everybody working or Kawaw

does so on a voluntary basis, evidence o the communitys supor the initiative. Financial resources and external support are so

only or specic activities on a case-by-case basis.


6/12

6

Key Activities and Innovations

he ocially designated Kawawana community-conserved

rea comprises 9,665 ha o bolongs and coastal mangroves and

overs about two-thirds o the coastal area o the Mangangoulack

Municipality. Its management plan restricts shing access and

shing methods in what was previously an open access area, and

ncludes regulations designed to take into account the needs o

ocal communities. The management plan is designed to cater to

he subsistence needs o the local communities rather than those

o commercial shers, and includes the reintroduction o several

ncient resource management customs that had gradually become

eglected. An example includes rules prohibiting entry into sacred

bolongs that harbour rich biodiversity. Fetishes typically placed on

ignposts are also used to demarcate each zone within Kawawanand encourage compliance.

Kawawana management plan

he management plan designates three distinct areas within

Kawawana, colour-coded red, orange and yellow. The Red ZoneBolon de Mitij) encompasses a sacred area that serves as a reuge

or marine lie. Here, harvesting o any resource including sh,

hellsh and wood is prohibited. The Red Zone is marked by etishes

enoting its sacred status. This practice is ully in line with the Diola

radition, whereby each village maintained at least one sacred grove.

he tradition had previously been degraded by the introduction o

aws allowing ree access to coastal areas. Kawawanas managementplan reinstates this practice, re-establishing the Bolon de Mitij as a

o-entry, no-shing zone.

he Orange Zones (Bolons des Villages) are dedicated to shing or

ocal consumption and market and may only be shed by the local

illagers to meet their own needs. Within this zone, each o the eight

illages has their own bolong where village rules and restrictions

re enorced. The catch rom these sites must be used within the

illage as its purpose is to meet local ood security needs. The market

price o the sh caught here is agreed locally, and it is signicantly

lower than the price the same sh could etch in the markets o

regional capital. Foreign shermen may only access these bol

i invited by a resident and housed in the community. Finally

Yellow Zone (Bolon de Tandouk) is open to all but regulations re

the equipment and methods that may be used. For example

engines or monolament nets are allowed.

The system o colour coded zones is communicated via

signs located at strategic transit points. Each sign displays a ph

number that shermen may call or clarication o the rules. Fet

are placed at all strategic points, signalling special rules. Toge

these rules make Kawawana a welcoming environment or a r

o marine species. Today, rare humpbacked dolphins, manacrocodiles and other coastal sh and shellsh have returne

large number; so much so that local shermen are concerned a

human-wildlie conict. Dolphins damage their nets and croco

can be dangerous, sometimes threatening the saety and liv

shermen. Mitigating these emerging conicts remains a pr

work area or APCRM.


7/12

7

urveillance and enorcement are carried out by a 24-person team

volunteers who work in groups o six. For the rst three months o

he initiative, surveillance was carried out 24 hours a day, but this was

educed to regular spot checks as shermen became accustomed to

he new system. The community has the power to enact sanctions

when the rules are breached. The severity o the sanctions depends

n the nature o the transgression. In the Red Zone, sanctions are

norced directly with no warning given, while in the Yellow Zone,

warning is issued with sanctions ollowing the second breach.

anctions include seizure o catches and conscation o property,

which is returned upon payment o a ne. Fines are used to und

APCRM activities, including ecological monitoring and surveillance.

When shermen are ound using monolament nets, the nets are

urned on the spot with no warnings issued. Within the Orange

one, each village enorces its own rules within its own bolong.

o supplement the income rom nes collected, local shermen

sh collectively once a month with the proceeds rom the sale o

heir catch going to APCRM to pay or expenses such as uel or

Kawawanas surveillance boat.

Women Shellfsh Collectors Association

he success o Kawawana inspired the women o Mangagoulack,

who traditionally collect shellsh, to establish an association o their

own and develop collective rules to protect shellsh stocks. Like

rules enacted in Kawawana, the women reinstated local custom

rules that had traditionally been well respected but had allen

disuse. Their rules include a recovery period o three months e

year during which shellsh are not collected, in order to allow

population to regenerate ully.

Restoring degraded land

Bolstered by the success o the community-conserved area,

communities o Mangagoulack and the surrounding region obta

support rom the UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants Program

(SGP) to undertake a programme o land restoration to pro

their rice cultivation rom encroaching seawater (likely to wo

with sea-level rise) and help prevent urther land degradation.

community collectively restored ve traditional dams that were

by their ancestors to keep seawater out o rice elds. The result

been the recovery o hundreds o hectares o previously salin

land that has the potential to produce many tons o rice per yea

part o this initiative, the local committees established in each vi

also keep up their reorestation and mangrove restoration proj

planting Rhizophora mangrove specimens in strategic areas.

Fig. 1: Kawawana management plan


8/12

8

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

The inlets and mangroves o Mangagoulacks estuarine landscape

harbour a diverse array o marine wildlie including manatees,

humpbacked dolphin and a beautiul range o sh and shellsh.

Kawawanas management plan has re-established many o the

raditional customs that protected these resources, or example,

einstating the tradition o sacred groves where shing is prohibited,

nd invoking etishes to encourage compliance with zoning and

egulations. The result has been the creation o a reuge or aquatic

e in the Red Zone, and a quieter, saer, more unctionally robust

ecosystem or wildlie throughout Kawawana.

Ecological monitoring and results

With assistance rom partner organisations, APCRM has developed

robust system o ecological monitoring to track the success

o Kawawana in allowing populations o key marine species to

egenerate. The monitoring system combines the traditional

ecological knowledge o local shermen with more modern

monitoring methods. O the 80 sh species that have been identied

n Casamance, over 70 are designated with specic common names

nd shermen maintain detailed knowledge o their traits, breeding

nd migration habits, and position in the ood chain. Mangagoulacks

shermen have combined this knowledge base with training in the

use o computers and spreadsheet sotware to develop a soundmethodology or recording the impacts o Kawawana in terms o the

ecovery o sheries, general biodiversity and broad socioeconomic

hange. Despite having very limited ormal education, the shermen

have mastered the monitoring techniques and their results are

ounter-checked by the initiatives Scientic Advisory Committee.

A notably valuable aspect o APCRMs monitoring is that they have

established a baseline against which the results o the Kawawana

nitiative can be compared. Such baseline measurements are

elatively rare in West Arica.

Monitoring data show that the return to traditional reso

management methods has ended the decline o marine reso

around Mangagoulack and neighbouring villages. Fish cat

have more than doubled compared to baseline levels, sugge

a signicant increase in sh populations at the site. Monito

also indicates promising improvements in sh biodiversity

more sh species being observed. The ban on motors has

a positive impact on dolphin and seabird populations. Mig

shers rom northern Senegal were previously a major cause o

stock depletion: obtaining the right to manage their local co

environment has played an instrumental role in allowing the

to recover by allowing local communities to expel oreign sh

they do not abide by regulations. The Bolon de Mitijor Red Zonshown particularly impressive recovery.

In addition to the direct impacts o the community-conserved

on sh stocks and biodiversity, the land restoration progra

instigated by the community involved the recovery and replan

o mangrove orests that provide a vital haven or sh, shellsh

other marine lie. In addition, the land restoration programme

protected the quality and ertility o cropland by restoring dams

exclude saltwater.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

Food security

The primary impetus behind the APCRM initiative was to re

the ood security o Mangagoulack and neighbouring commun

ater it was threatened by declining sh stocks and the incu

o seawater into rice elds. This motive is reected in Kawawa

management plan, which is designed to ensure that the need

local communities are met. Each village has exclusive access

village bolong which may be shed only or local consump

and local markets. All sh caught within these village bolongs


9/12

be consumed locally. Local diets and incomes are improving as a

esult, and the regulations to allow sh stocks to regenerate have

esulted in a doubling o sh catches. The quality o sh caught is

also getting better, translating into important dietary improvements

n communities where sh is the primary source o protein. The

eaction o local people is that the good lie is back, a claim backed

up by monitoring results. Food security has been bolstered urther

by the restoration o traditional dams to protect rice-growing land

rom the incursion o seawater. This efort resulted in the restorationo hundreds o hectares o previously degraded land that has the

potential to produce many tons o rice per year.

Tackling migration and emigration

Another persistent concern in Mangagoulack and the surrounding

egion has been the loss o local youth who migrate to large cities

uch as Dakar or emigrate to Europe in search o better livelihood

prospects. Migration and emigration o young people is a widespread

ssue in Senegal and a central goal o the initiative was to develop

ustainable local livelihood options or the youth o Mangagoulack

o that they would remain in their communities. Kawawana has

evitalised local sheries, thereby preserving traditional livelihoods

and providing improved economic opportunities or local youth.

nvolvement o women

The Kawawana initiative has had an empowering efect on the

women o Mangagoulack, who were inspired by the success o the

community-conserved area to establish their own association o

woman shellsh harvesters. The womens association established

heir own collective rules which include a yearly repose period o

hree months during which no shellsh are harvested to allow

tocks to regenerate. Women were also directly involved in the

establishment o Kawawana, as the approval o local elder womenhad to be obtained beore APCRM could proceed to seek the

approval o the municipality and the Regional Council and Governor.

Elder women are central to the Kawawana management plan, as it is

hey who place the etishes on signposts that are used to demarcate

he red, orange and yellow zones. This step is crucial, as among Diola

people, etishes are highly respected. Many women also benetted

directly alongside men rom the success o Kawawana in particular,

he many women who make their livings as buyers and sellers o sh

and have seen their incomes grow as a result o increased catches.

Community cohesion

An overarching socioeconomic benet o the associationsKawawana initiative is that it has strengthened community cohesion

and enhanced solidarity within and between the neighbouring

communities around Mangagoulack, based on their shared success

n protecting their local coastal resources. Conicts have become

ess requent and Kawawana is a source o local pride. Further, the

uccess o Kawawana opened up the community to urther collective

action, as evidenced by their subsequent eforts to collectively

estore degraded dams to protect rice-growing land.

POLICY IMPACTS

The communities o Mangagoulack and the surrounding are

a precedent in Senegal as the rst group to secure exclusive ri

to govern and manage a coastal conserved area. This achievem

came ater a long and convoluted advocacy and negotia

efort. In 2008, APCRM convinced the local Rural Municipali

endorse the community-conserved area on the basis o Sene

Decentralisation Law, which assigns responsibility and authover natural resources in terrestrial environments. APC

application marked a departure rom the norm, as this law

never previously been applied to coastal resources. It was, how

eventually accepted. It was not until more than a year later, in 2

ater much lobbying and discussion, that APCRM nally rece

the endorsement o the Regional Council and the Governo

Casamance or the establishment o Kawawana. This set a prece

or the return o collective shing rights and natural reso

management rights to the community level.

As important as this change was to the communitie

Mangagoulack, allowing them to proceed with their plan to esta

a protected area and build the capacity o some o their membe

auxiliary shery ocers, it also set a national precedent. Its pote

consequences all along the coast o Senegal and West Arica

monumental. Several other communities have expressed intere

ollowing in Mangagoulacks ootsteps and applying to take co

o their local environment and resources, and some have be

the arduous process o organization. Senegals national p

on protected areas in general is currently under discussion

revision expected, and the case o Kawawana is likely to be take

an example o potential innovations. A study o legal options o

governance o protected areas in the country that took Kawaw

case as a key example, meanwhile, has been developed o

Secretariat o the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) anow available online.

9


10/12

10

Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYhe sustainability o APCRM and the Kawawana initiative are a

unction o both the support and buy-in o local communities and

he support o the government or the continuation o the initiative.

Financial stability

Currently, neither APCRM nor the Kawawana initiative relies on

ny ongoing nancial support rom external partners or donors.

upport has been received in the past or specic needs, including a

rant rom SGP to und the restoration o degraded dams and rice-

rowing land. Otherwise, APCRM seeks unding only to meet specic

eeds. The initiatives ongoing sources o unding include nesevied when regulations are broken, and the proceeds o a monthly

ollective shing day when local shers donate the proceeds o

heir catch to und the association. These cover expenses related to

urveillance and ecological monitoring. Additional costs are kept

ow by the willingness o community members to donate their time

n a voluntary basis to take part in surveillance and monitoring. All

members o the initiatives various councils and associations also

onate their time on a voluntary basis. The association has made

forts to develop a stable source o income to cover ongoing

xpenses like uel costs but have yet to nd a suitable source. A

icycle renting business was attempted or a short time, but, while

rotable, came to an end due to the short lie span o bicycles in the

ocal environment.

ocal support and autonomy

Community support is the root o Kawawanas success. The

ommunity-conserved area was conceived, developed and

mplemented by the local shermen themselves. This community

eadership and precedent o collective action are crucial to the

ustainability o Kawawana, as the initiative depends on local

ompliance, enthusiasm and voluntary contributions o time.

Given the success o the initiative to date in providing tangible

mprovements to ood security and local incomes, it is unlikely that

local enthusiasm or the community-conserved area will wane ishort term. Community members volunteer their time to unde

monitoring and surveillance, and local shers sh collectively

a month, donating the proceeds o their catch to pay or ue

Kawawanas surveillance boat. This voluntary donation o

and efort is evidence o the communitys strong support o

initiative. The emerging problem o human-wildlie conict p

a potential threat to this level o local support, however, and

require new approaches to mitigating the impact o wildlie on

shing livelihoods.

Government backing

Government support or the initiative lends a high degrelegitimacy to the community-conserved area and the enorcem

o community regulations. Volunteers responsible or surveill

and enorcement are now sworn into their roles by the Fish

Department and the police orce. The Regional Council has

actively encouraged other rural municipalities to take note o

Kawawana approach and to account or it in their developm

planning. This suggests a high degree o institutional support o

model.

Social resilience

The initiative as a whole has rendered the communitie

Mangagoulack and neighbouring villages more secure and resirebuilding much o the social cohesion that had been grad

diminishing with widespread cultural changes and emigra

Kawawanas success demonstrated to the community their abili

collectively address threats and achieve success. This is evidence

the act that the success o the community-conserved area spu

the community to address the degradation o their rice-growing

by instigating a project to restore traditional dikes that had bec

degraded. The bonds and cohesion that have been develo

through the Kawawana initiative will strengthen the resilience o

community to ace uture challenges.


11/12

1111

REPLICATION

he success o APCRMs Kawawana community-conserved area has

nspired other communities in Senegal and beyond to replicate their

forts. Not only has the initiative provided inspiration, it has also

et an important legal precedent to assist other communities with

imilar aspirations. Their case was the rst instance in which Senegals

Decentralisation Law was invoked to return shing rights andatural resource management responsibility o a coastal ecosystem

o the community level. This is likely to have proound implications

or coastal communities throughout Senegal. In act, the success o

Kawawana has spurred the Regional Council to recommend to all

ural municipalities in Casamance that they examine the case o

Kawawana in order to adopt the model in their local development

nd investment plans.

he association has also invested a great deal o time in explaining

heir model via local radio stations throughout Ziguinchor Region.

Communities in Senegal as well as in neighbouring Guinea Bissau

ave approached APCRM or advice on establishing their own

onserved areas. The rst to approach were coastal villages, but it

s worth noting that APCRM has also been approached by an inland

ommunity seeking advice on managing its local orest. Several

existing marine protected areas in the region are conside

improving the governance and management o their prog

based on lessons taken rom the Kawawana model. It is clear

APCRM and Kawawana have a signicant role to play as a m

and a source o advice and expertise in community-based na

resource management.

PARTNERSAn important aspect o Kawawana is the degree to which

community acted autonomously in initiating the process, develo

the idea and implementing the protected area. The decisio

pursue this course came entirely rom local shermen with

backing o their community. Only aterwards did they approac

external NGO to seek assistance in carrying out consultations

the community, and subsequently received nancial assist

in organising two large community-wide meetings. Since

beginning, APCRM and the community have maintained

control o the initiative. Although external support rom part

is important to the initiative, it tends to be sought out only to

specic needs.

The UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants Programme prov

support or two meetings that were held in 2008 in orde

consult community members about the plan to establi

community-conserved area. This assistance was obtained thro

the intermediary CENESTA, an Iranian NGO. GEF-SGP also un

three technical advisors who supported the establishment o

Kawawana ecological monitoring system. Between 2009 and 2

Mangagoulack benetted rom an SGP grant o approximately

46,000 or the implementation o the communitys project to re

their rice-growing land.

The Fiba Foundation has provided specic assistance on a num

o occasions, including providing the nancial resources to purc

o a wooden canoe, a small engine or surveillance operations,

in 2011, a motorbike or the transportation o staf. The Internat

Union or Conservation o Nature (IUCN) provided tech

support or ecological monitoring and community marine sh

management.

There is currently no ongoing partner support to Kawawana

APCRM has reached out to and maintained contact with a num

o networks that support their work, including the ICCA Consor

(a global association supporting indigenous peoples and

communities that collectively govern and conserve their territoand the Regional Network o Marine Protected Areas in West A

(Rseau Rgional dAires Marines Protges en Arique de lOue

RAMPAO). The ICCA Consortium staf provides technical suppo

APCRM as requested, and has nanced the radio programmes

visits by shermen rom Mangagoulack to other communities

wish to replicate their model.


12/12

Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:

Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 646 781-4023

www.equatorinitiative.org

UNDP partners with people at all levels o society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain

kind o growth that improves the quality o lie or everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we ofer glo

perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2013 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved

FURTHER REFERENCE

APCRM Equator Initiative prole page: http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_

detail&id=74&Itemid=683

More inormation about APCRMs community conserved area, Kawawana, on rareplanet.org: http://www.rareplanet.org/en/solutio

search-entry/kawawana%E2%80%94-real-community-conserved-area-coastal-and-marine-environment-casaman
http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=74&Itemid=683http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=74&Itemid=683http://www.rareplanet.org/en/solution-search-entry/kawawana%E2%80%94-real-community-conserved-area-coastal-and-marine-environment-casamanhttp://www.rareplanet.org/en/solution-search-entry/kawawana%E2%80%94-real-community-conserved-area-coastal-and-marine-environment-casamanhttp://www.rareplanet.org/en/solution-search-entry/kawawana%E2%80%94-real-community-conserved-area-coastal-and-marine-environment-casamanhttp://www.rareplanet.org/en/solution-search-entry/kawawana%E2%80%94-real-community-conserved-area-coastal-and-marine-environment-casamanhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=74&Itemid=683http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=74&Itemid=683http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348160544.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/winners/137/casestudy/case_1370356545.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348161880.pdf

case studies undp: fishers’ association of the rural community of mangagoulack (apcrm),...

Documents