Abstract

In recent years an increasing number of case studies and evidence-based science has outlined the needs, and enhanced benefits of grassroots or bottom-up community participation in sustainable and resilience ecosystem management. The fishing communities both at global, and at local levels have a key role to play as valuable collaborators and partners in the scientific understanding of changes in the ways that human societies and groups interact with their natural and marine environment. In most cases local fishing communities have multiple and critical dependences to their local marine environ-ment, including livelihoods and employment outcomes, social and community wellbeing and happiness, the sustainability of food and other economic and social services, as well as traditional and customary responsibilities for the sustainability, resilience and preservation of marine resources for future generations. Empowering communities to achieve adaptive, resilient, and self-organizing potential for the future has multiple benefits for the communities themselves and beyond. At the same time, such approaches are contributing to social and collective learning, promoting social cohesion, responsibility, and accountability at the community/grassroots level, and achieving alternative sustainable and resilient development outcomes that improve the flows and interactions among the natural, social, economic, financial and physical capital within and across them. We will present case studies of alternative and resilient community-based fisheries projects around the world, and will provide a case for a paradigm shift towards bottom-up community participatory ways for fisheries manage-ment. This research is funded by NSF/VI-EPSCoR, award number no 203056. resilience and preservation of marine resources for future generations. Empowering communities to achieve adaptive, resilient, and self-organizing potential for the future has multiple benefits for the communities themselves and beyond. At the same time, such approaches are contributing to social and collective learning, promoting social cohesion, responsibility, and accountability at the community/grassroots level, and achieving alternative sustainable and resilient development outcomes that improve the flows and interactions among the natural, social, economic, financial and physical capital within and across them. We will present case studies of alternative and resilient community-based fisheries projects around the world, and will provide a case for a paradigm shift towards bottom-up community participatory ways for fisheries manage-ment. This research is funded by NSF/VI-EPSCoR, award number no 203056.

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