D4.2: Stakeholder vision on problems and drivers related to environmental challenges in Argentina Case Study

SILVIA LONDON; MARA ROJAS; BUSTOS, MA. LUJÁN; HUAMANTINCO CISNEROS, ANDREA; MARÍA MARÍA IBÁÑEZ; FACUNDO SCORDO; PERILLO, GERARDO; PICCOLO, CINTIA; PASCALE, JUAN CARLOS; FIDALGO, GUILLERMO; BORDINO, PABLO; BERNINSONE, LEONARDO; VAQUERO, MA. DEL CARMEN; RODRIGUEZ, CECILIA; ZILIO, MARIANA; RECALDE, MARINA

2013-02-12/2013-09-14

1-66

Social

Des.Socioecon.y Serv.-Politica y Planif.del

Argentina has an extensive coastline with major urban centers and ports. One of these centers is located south of the province of Buenos Aires was adopted as one of the case studies in the project COMET-LA. The objective of this project is identifying the models of community- based governance for sustainable management of natural resources in different socio- ecological systems (SES). The proposal includes the case of marine and coastal areas in Argentina. The main objective for the Argentine case study is to propose models of government and community-based sustainable management in marine and coastal systems. The study area is a region characterized by a wide range of geomorphologic, physical and socioeconomic conditions. The land is mostly privately owned and, therefore, the use of natural resources for economic activities (both artisanal and industrial) is made by the private sector. The society does not have any community-based organization. From the political and administrative standpoint, the study area is divided into three separate municipalities: Municipality of Bahía Blanca, including General Daniel Cerri (GDC) and Ingeniero White (IW), the municipality of Coronel de Marina Leonardo Rosales which includes Pehuén Co (PC) and Villa del Mar (VM), and the Municipality of Monte Hermoso (MH) with its eponymous town. During the first year of the project (2012) (Deliverable 4.1) the main goal was the Characterization of the Socio-Ecological System (SES). The Argentine Team developed tools specially adapted to the particularities and cultural aspects of the Argentine case study. A significant proportion of the work was to conduct informational seminars and participatory workshops. The first step was a stakeholder (SH) mapping through community outreach with the support of the CSO AquaMarina (AQM) based on its relevant knowledge of the SES. Different groups of actors who participated in the workshops of the first stage are: Local government stakeholders, National, Regional and Local Environmental Institutions, Academic and education institutions, NGOs, Neighbors Societies; Volunteer fire brigades, Chambers of Commerce, Industry and tourism; Lifeguards, Rangers, among others. The result was the characterization of the Bahia Blanca SES. This shows that the sectors in which the study area is subdivided, despite having different characteristics, are strongly connected and ecological conditions in one is dependent on what happens in the other. For instance, the problems of fishing in the estuary are affected by changes in the situation of the environment, pollution and, especially, on the overfishing by large vessels a short distance from the coast. As a result, fish and other species are prevented to enter to the estuary affecting fish reproduction and rearing. This context is complicated by the lack of integration among fishermen. Therefore, a need for cooperation between the various fishing organizations becomes essential to find a way to communally manage sustainably the resources. During the second year of the project (2013) (Deliverable 4.2., the present report) the Ostrom framework was employed in order to characterize the Argentine SES, from common management resources perspective. Evidence of weak community-based resource management was found. Several reasons contribute to this: in particular, the institutional history, the high mobility of some resources and the difficulty to define the boundary of the system. Nevertheless, some incipient elements of collective action have arisen. The understanding of the importance of ecosystem services provided by the estuary and the dependence on resources of direct users has been useful to integrate stakeholders against some conflicts. We developed a structural prospective study. For this, several workshops were held in order to identify the most important variables of the system, their relations and intensity. Social actors recognized and discussed the key variables of the SES characterization according to their perceptions. Control variables were defined as elements whose changes could enable an evolution of the system to a new state: Artisanal fishery history, Conservation Measures, Community awareness, Changes in coastal and estuary environment and Tourism. Also, variables as Resource sustainability, Fishermen association and Artisanal fishery were named as challenges. Some key variables as Conservation Measures or Community awareness summarize some characteristics from Ostrom framework, which drive to community-based management of resources. Stakeholders found in COMET-LA meetings a space to discuss the common use and management of resources. They agree a "management plan" is needed to benefit all SH and to ensure the sustainability of the system. Finally, they asked for help to continue with this discussion space and acknowledged the Argentine team for setting it up. The participation of IADO, UNS and AquaMarina, integrated with the needs of social actors and the interest of society for the sustainable use of resources in the study area, shows the need of new dialogue scenarios. This report is divided into an introduction, six sections and two annexes. After the introduction, the second section describes the study area according to the framework proposed by Ostrom (2009). In the 3rd section, there is a description of the method used for the analysis of Prospective Structural identification of the variables through the matrix defined by the SH and the matrix of direct influences. The 4th section identifies the role of each variable within the SES according to the view of the SH. The 5th presents the results, interpretation and validation of the PSA by the MICMAC software. In the 6th section includes the discussion and conclusions. Finally two appendices can be found with the complete picture frame Ostrom and tables of the variables employed.