Diagnosing collective action in Small-Scale Fisheries for the establishment and management of Marine Areas of Responsible Fishing (AMPR) in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica

Abstract

Costa Rican institutional efforts for addressing fishing resource overexploitation have been diversified over the years, with the latest measures involving local communities in their management. Marine Areas of Responsible Fishing (AMPRs) were created under the vision of sustainable resource use through involvement of local coastal communities in decision making and management, together with governmental institutions. Three AMPRs in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, are examined in this thesis to understand factors that promoted their creation and to comprehend the factors that have facilitated or hindered collective efforts in coastal communities involved in AMPR management. The Social-Ecological System (SES) framework was applied in the analysis, to facilitate the identification and comparison of factors influencing collective action in the management of AMPRs. Factors such as perception of fishing resources scarcity and high dependence on these resources were shown to influence self-organization and collective efforts for the creation of three AMPRs. Although some commonalities in factors were found to be influencing collective action positively or negatively in the management of the AMPRs, such as mistrust among actors and negative past experiences, lack of governmental support or resource mobility, differences were also found in the type of factor or in the intensity a factor was manifested, such as monitoring and graduated sanctioning mechanisms applied or the presence of leadership, which have made collective action characteristic in each AMPR. The importance of addressing problems with suitable strategies according to each context is mentioned, for the success of these measures over time.