Protocolo de monitoramento socioeconômico do Programa Pesca+Sustentável: uma proposta no âmbito dos coletores de Caranguejo-Uçá da RESEX de São João da Ponta, PA

Abstract

The Northeast region of Pará, also known as Salgado Paraense, is largely predominated by the mangrove ecosystem, wherein extractive fishing is the primary activity of the resident population. As a result of the recurrence of processes such as deforestation, fires, and advancement of the agricultural frontier The Traditional Communities that live within this region of the Amazon suffer constant threats to the maintenance of environmental quality, fisheries and their customs and culture. In order to protect Traditional Communities and local biodiversity the Federal Government through the National System of Conservation Units, Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação (SNUC), is in the process of delimiting Extractive Reserves (RESEX), which through ICMBIO (the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity) will provide for the maintenance of natural resources and the permanence of native species in their breeding areas. Given that many of the region's fishermen are also collectors of land crab (Ucides cordatus), a significant means of subsistence and income production, the need for public policy and environmental protection programs has become urgent. Additionally there is a need for the creation and use of instruments for monitoring and evaluating public policy and programs. In this context the + Sustainable Fisheries Program developed by Conservation International Brazil in partnership with CONFREM (the National Commission for Strengthening Marine and Costal Extractive Reserves) and ICMBIO, which aims to “Protect marine species and ecosystems by incentivizing better fishing practices, valuing fishing communities and their traditional practices,” seeks to implement tools that will boost the value chain of the land crab in order to support local harvesters, improve their quality of life, and promote sustainable extraction, storage, transportation and sales practices. This dissertation is structured as tool to aid in the operation of the + Sustainable Fisheries Program by developing a proposal for a specific protocol for socioeconomic monitoring of land crab harvesters who are registered in the program, and therefore are willing to exercise their craft in a sustainable manner. The choice of the RESEX of São João da Ponta was due to the relevance of crab harvesting in the area as well as the community’s recognized social organization and the positive relationship between the community and the manager of the program. In order to determine the Protocol's viability we carried out a field visit where we interviewed eight harvesters registered in the program and indicated by the RESEX association in order to obtain data that will represent the "ground zero" for monitoring. These same harvesters will be monitored annually in order to assess the sustained improvement of the program following the establishment and operation of the program, by comparing the data collected from our survey with data collected in following years. The results of this study are represented by the elaboration of three different, but complementary tools, which comprise the Socioeconomic Monitoring Protocol: the data collection form, the Guidelines Manual, used to fill out the form, and a standardized data Table