SYSTEMIC PRACTICE IN ACTION: TRANSFORMING THE COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT OF ARTISANAL FISHING IN CAMETÁ

Abstract

The municipality of Cametá has a thriving economy based on artisanal fishing and açaí extractivism. On the other hand, several social, economic and ecological problems are reported and experienced by local residents. Among the main causes of these problems is the proximity to two major economic projects (Tucuruí Hydroelectric Power Plant and the Albras-Alunorte Complex). They are also about to suffer from the impacts of the implementation of the Tocantins-Araguaia Waterway, with the implosion of the Pedral do Lourenço and dredging of the Tocantins River. Conflicts are also issues present within the fishing territory of Espírito Santo and have been gaining prominence in recent decades, they refer to the struggles of traditional communities for the realization and recognition of their rights. In this context, with a state of crisis in the use of fishing resources and as a strategy for permanence in their spaces, communities are developing a new way of thinking, adapting to the new socio-environmental conditions imposed. The fisheries agreement appears to be one of the central elements in reducing the pressures on local fisheries resources. In order to understand that the community-based management of artisanal fisheries behaves as a complex and interconnected system, it is necessary to consider a systemic approach, based on the study and understanding of the interactions that occur between the different local social actors. To this end, the work seeks to understand how the fishing agreement can drive the systematic transformation in the community management of artisanal fishing in the municipality of Cametá to resist contemporary pressures and uncertainties and boost local development. As a result, it seeks to understand the current paradigm of governance, in order to define actions, for a systemic transformation, in favor of the development of a new systemically desirable, culturally viable and ethically defensible paradigm for the community management of artisanal fishing in the municipality of Cametá in the State of Pará.