The World Bank/WBI’s CBNRM Initiative

Guinea-Bissau offers a variety of coastal and marine habitats of significant ecological and economic interest. Indeed, it is estimated that the majority of the fish stock tapped in the West African subregion depends more or less directly on the conditions provided by these habitats and that, within Guinea-Bissau, one of the poorest African countries, 65% of the population resides in the coastal area and relies primarily on live natural resources.

Located at the heart of the Southern Rivers region, the Quinara region (3,150 square kilometers) roughly corresponds to the Rio Grande de Buba river basin. The region's vegetation consists of dry deciduous forests and semi-deciduous rain forests, with a narrow band of mangroves lining the Rio, whose banks support abundant mollusk life. The fish stock is characteristic of both marine and estuarial environments and comprises more than one hundred different species, including sedentary coastal (Mugilidae, Cichlidae) and bottom-dwelling fish (Sparidae, Lutjanidae, Ariidae), while commercially valuable pelagic species (Clupeidae, Scombridae, Sphyraenidae) spend but a portion of their life cycle in the Rio (Kromer, 1994). The principal marine mammals are dolphins (both Souza teuszii and Tursiops truncatus) and the rare manatee (Trichechus senegalensis). The area is of international importance due to its numerous species of migrating aquatic birds.

The region has one of the lowest population densities of the country (with a population of 45,000 in 1991) yet harbors significant ethnic diversity, dominated by the animistic groups of the Beafada and the Balantes. Five centuries of Portuguese colonization did little to change the relationship of complementarity between these ethnic groups, reflecting abundant know-how and effective management of village lands. Disintegration of the traditional system was largely a consequence of the war of independence (1962-73). The exodus of the Balantes, in particular, resulted in the abandonment of mangrove rice production and the development of rainfed rice and cashew-tree plantations, thereby accelerating the process of breaking up forests. The region remains essentially rural, lacks many basic services and has spent the first twenty years of independence in isolation, largely untouched by major projects financed through international assistance.

Traditionally, the Beafada communities practiced only subsistence fishing, using archaic predatory techniques on an occasional basis. But the status of the virgin fish stock changed drastically in the 1970s with the appearance of foreign fishermen (from northern Senegal) using advanced technologies. The latter visit the region on a seasonal basis in search of valuable export species, but almost never settle in the region. Such operations provide no benefits to the local population and show no concern for resource conservation.

In the early 1990s, UICN became aware of the factors threatening the Rio Buba and advanced the position that fishing is of central importance to the region. A project was formulated in 1992 for the purpose of developing the fishing industry to the benefit of local communities and setting up a system for the participatory management of the fish stock.

The social and political context is complex. At the local level, although the population cannot imagine the fish stock being depleted, the rate of exploitation by foreign fishermen does raise concerns. At the same time, there is considerable skepticism about a new project, since earlier efforts to support national artisanal fishing have failed to create an adapted and lasting system of assistance. At the governmental level, similar observations can be drawn, except that the focus here is on the broader issue of regional integration, and agreements reached with neighboring countries support, first and foremost, free access to resources, despite the evidence of overfishing.

However, in order to reach a general consensus, an approach has been proposed that is quite original. The Rio Grande de Buba project will be based on dialogue and consultation among all stakeholders, and the project proposes to undertake pilot actions in three areas: support for community development; improved knowledge of local habitats; development of an adapted system of management that can serve as a model for other regions.

In 1992, the project began a phase designed to raise the awareness of local populations. Agents recruited by the project to carry out this difficult phase were native to the region, had solid professional experience and were sensitive to the issues of sustainable development. Trust was developed and discussions were carried out in a climate of transparency. The first step was to find points of convergence between the aspirations of fishermen and UICN's ideas. Agreement was reached on the need to protect certain resources, including the barracuda (Sphyraena afra), on the condition that the project provide concrete support to communities.

Over the same period, the project launched, in collaboration with the Center for Applied Research of the Ministry of Fishing, a program of applied research to develop fuller knowledge of existing marine resources and estimate the acceptable level of offtake. For fishermen, this was the first time that civil servants from the capital displayed an interest in their empirical knowledge. The level of trust between the partners increased as they worked together to define the principles of responsible fishing: some techniques would be abandoned by stakeholders themselves once they could no longer be justified by a lack of modern equipment; drift-net fishing should be prohibited during the barracuda's reproductive period and replaced by fishing with a hook and line; the mesh size of mullet nets should be increased to reduce the catch of juvenile fish.

Concurrently, the project organized meetings, either once or twice annually, of a coordinating committee composed of representatives of all stakeholders: group representatives, local administrators and officials of the Ministry of Fishing, as well as traditional chiefs, private economic operators, members of national NGOs, etc. This committee worked to develop practical solutions to problems related to developing the catch and controlling access to resources. In addition, these meetings constituted a forum in which a partnership relationship developed through mutual recognition of individual and collective interests.

In 1994, encouraged by the results of the scientific missions, fishermen requested that resource conservation measures be officially set in place. Since the Rio Grande de Buba is a critical breeding and growth area for the barracuda, which is the main species threatened by overfishing by foreign fishermen, such fishing needs to be subject to absolute limits during the spawning period. The Ministry of Fishing took note of the request and issued a decree in July 1994 on fishing tackle and the number of pirogues authorized to fish.

How to enforce the law arose as an issue particularly in regard to nonresident fishermen and those not associated with the project sponsors. Aware that government officials could not constantly monitor the area, the local populations themselves became involved in monitoring the situation and disseminating information. This decentralization allowed the government to focus its efforts and save its resources by only participating in targeted activities. UICN's contribution mostly took the form of methodological support for monitoring the situation.

During 1995, the project raised the issue of the sustainability of the instruments for dialogue that had been set in place. Wasn't the coordinating committee a pure product of the project, doomed to disappear once UICN was no longer involved? In fact, no meeting was held for a full year, but then, in 1996, during a spontaneous inter-group meeting, fishermen expressed the intention of convening a meeting of the committee to negotiate with the Ministry for new credit to purchase equipment. Officials consented to the request and repayment was then made on schedule, strengthening trust between direct partners and proving that they were assimilating the tool of negotiation.

Beginning in 1996, resource development initiatives grew more and more numerous. New products made from barracuda were introduced to the market, while women worked together to obtain manual presses for extracting palm oil and improved cookstoves that reduce both their work load and the pressure on firewood resources. The most spectacular demonstration of the self-development dynamic at work occurred when the various local actors (traditional chiefs, fishermen and women, government officials and private transporters) held a meeting to create a weekly market in Buba. The market has operated since June 1997 with no support from UICN and appears to have met all expectations as an outlet for local products.

The results of the monitoring missions carried out between 1995 and 1997 show that visits to Rio Buba by Senegalese fishermen have decreased and that they have turned to other estuaries. Furthermore, scientific monitoring proves that the barracuda populations have reached a new equilibrium (breeder migrations reaching further upstream, a longer spawning period).

The project's main emphasis is on the institutionalization of grass roots groups, i.e. on providing the community (considered to be the actor most likely to guarantee the sustainability of resources) the means to negotiate with other parties by achieving true recognition (with official certification of the groups occurring much later). Functional literacy education was a key factor in the self-development of fishermen and women, making them full partners in discussions with institutions.

The project is fully attuned to the notion of a plurality of interests. On the one hand, individual aspirations are legitimized through the trend toward specialization, particularly among women. On the other, common interests (protecting the environment) create a sense of cohesion that encompasses the entire community (exchanges, the right to choose regional representatives).

Monitoring the estuary is less expensive here than elsewhere, and government officials recognize that their efficiency is greater, because the area is occupied by a group that is aware of its own interests and of the existence of more precise and consistent regulations.

The overall volume of fishing has declined, but the profits on this resource now go entirely to local families (with a turnover of CFAF 10 million, divided between fishermen and women who process fish, for barracuda alone). Training and market rationalization have resulted in a maximum distribution of profits.

There are, however, on-going risks, both within the community and outside. To date, more women than men have benefited from the process of change. Yet the Islamization of Beafada society raises concerns that, in the long run, men will seek to reverse recent trends in order to recover the power they held in a non-monetary economy.

In addition, the danger of overfishing by new and poor foreign fishermen (from Guinea and Sierra Leone) is rapidly increasing. How can impoverished populations be prevented from moving, in ever greater numbers, into a region where fish are still abundant? It is clear that the situation requires action at a broader level. In this regard, regional integration should and must support efforts made at the local level.

Conserving the resources of the Rio Grande de Buba requires maintaining an entire ecological system. It is important that at least as much attention be paid to conserving the forest cover as the fish stock, which means that new partners must be included and the complex processes of consultation must be extended to other levels.

Replication of the project in other regions or situations raises certain questions. Is it possible to create the same dynamic in areas where earlier projects have operated? Is a less traditional society, i.e. one that has had greater contact with urban centers and more experience with trade, likely to develop the solidarity found in the Rio Buba area? The UICN program in Guinea-Bissau has undertaken replication of the project in at least two strategic areas by the year 2000, and is counting heavily on development of the institutional capacities of the governmental and nongovernmental partners who will take over the activities.