Integrating ecological and socio-economic knowledge to reduce the impact of aquaculture on shorebirds

MARTINEZ CURCI NATALIA; NAVEDO, JUAN

Congreso; 8va reunión del grupo de aves playeras del hemisferio occidental; 2019

Audubon Panamá, WHSG

Estuarine and coastal systems provide a wide variety of goods and services for millions of people whilst being one of the most heavily used and threatened natural systems in the world. Aquaculture is among the main economic activities that these ecosystems support and is the fastest expanding global food production system. Coastal ecosystems also provide critical habitats and resources for declining shorebird populations. One of the aquaculture activities that overlaps with shorebird resource needs is seaweed farming of Agarophyton chilensis, mainly used for global food and cosmetics industries, the production of which coincides spatially and temporally with the daily feeding needs of shorebirds. Therefore, we are facing a challenge and opportunity to find solutions to balance economic and conservation interests. This is particularly true in Chiloé, Southern Chile, a designated Site of Hemispheric Importance for Shorebirds within the Pacific Flyway in South America, where seaweed exploitation is the economic sustenance for local communities. For balancing the needs of farmers and shorebirds, it is necessary to integrate ecological knowledge with socio-economic dimensions of the challenge at hand. We have assembled a transdisciplinary team composed by biologists, sociologists and anthropologists, to achieve a balance between improving habitat conditions for shorebirds and economic sustenance for local communities. Here, we will describe our strategy and first steps that include a field experimental design, working with private sector to design testable production alternatives, which will result in the implementation of best practices of seaweed farming, and improved governance of this critical site.