Parro/ish Conserva6on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs Project report 130309 Juliana López-‐Angarita Restrepo, Pilar Escobar, Dairo Guzmán, Katherine
Project report 130309
Parro/ish Conserva6on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs A case study from the the NaDonal Natural Park Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo (CRSB), Colombia (October 2009 -‐ December 2011)
By Juliana López-‐Angarita*, Restrepo M., Escobar D. & Guzmán K.
*Talking Oceans, www.talkingoceans.co.uk , 14 Margaret St. Beaumaris. Wales. UK. LL58 8DN e-‐mail:
[email protected] , websites: conservaciondelpezloro.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/pezloro
© 2012 by Authors All rights reserved. The informa;on presented herein this report represents unpublished data and is thus not permi=ed for distribu;on beyond official circula;on. The images and maps provided herein are the copyright property of authors (and colleagues) and cannot be reproduced or distributed in any form without prior wri=en permission from the copyright holder/s.
Cover photos Front: Isla Grande Fisherman (credits: JLA); ParroJishes ea;ng algae over head corals (credits: Juan Sánchez, BIOMMAR); Project slogan; Project logo (credits design: Felipe Caro), Isla Mucura community (credits: JLA); Isla Grande children paint shop -‐ the importance of parroJishes (credits: JLA). Back: Project logo & slogan; Isla Grande children (credits: JLA).
Acknowledgements This research would not have been possible without the support of the Conserva;on Leadership Programme, who provided funding, training, feedback and encouragement of our ideas. We give special thanks to Universidad de Los Andes (Juan A. Sánchez and Jorge Maldonado), IDEAWILD and Project AWARE Founda;on for their addi;onal funding and support. We would like to thank the Caribbean Unit of Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia and all the staff of Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo Na;onal Park for their collabora;on and guidance (Lieutenant M. Cabezas, Wilmer Gómez, Alejo, Yémenis, Esteban Zarza, Mauro, Luchito, and Diego Duque). We acknowledge the wide par;cipa;on and interest of local communi;es towards the team and the project. In par;cular we highlight the coopera;on of children and teachers of the local schools of Isla Grande, Múcura and Islote, managers of hotels and diving centers, and community leaders such as: Charles King (popular Champeta singer); Blas Mesa (director of San Bernando’s fishermen coopera;ve), and Ever de la Rosa (president of communitarian ac;on in Isla Grande). In addi;on, want to give special thanks to A. Tilley for his useful comments on this report.
Contents Project Members
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Parro4ish Conserva9on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs 11 Summary
11
Introduc.on
11
Aim & Objec.ves
12
Methods
12
Results
14
Achievements and Impacts
17
Conclusion
20
Problems encountered and lessons learnt
20
In the future
21
Appendices
22
References
37
Useful for methodologies design
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Key contacts
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Memories
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Parro/ish Conserva6on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs -‐ CLP Project Report 130309
Project Members Juliana López Angarita
OccupaDon: Marine ConservaDon Biologist Project Role: Principal InvesDgator B.Sc. and Masters in Biology -‐ emphasis in marine conserva;on-‐ from the Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia). As project leader and principal inves;gator, my responsibility was to coordinate and manage all aspects of this project. In the past I have worked coordina;ng a NOAA (Na;onal and Oceanic Atmospheric Administra;on) coral-‐grant project in the Caribbean & as a curator in the Natural History Museum ANDES (Bogotá). Addi;onally I was awarded a Duke University Marine Fellowship and a WCS Marine internship intern (Wildlife Conserva;on Society). My aspira;on is to become a leading conserva;on scien;st, communica;ng and contribute my formal skills to the effec;ve conserva;on of coral reef ecosystems, and using scien;fic tools to propose new ideas for sustainability.
Maria del Pilar Restrepo O.
OccupaDon: Economist Project Role: Socioeconomic component & LogisDcs support Economics graduate from the Universidad de los Andes, interested in environmental economy and natural resource management. I have experience in the design and execu;on of environmental projects, experimental economy & valua;on, and marine protected area conserva;on. My role in this project was to coordinate the socioeconomic component: design and develop community workshops, interviews and surveys to key informants; implement strategies of par;cipa;ve management; par;cipate in educa;onal campaigns, and coordinate social ac;vi;es during fieldwork.
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Parro/ish Conserva6on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs -‐ CLP Project Report 130309
Dairo Escobar
OccupaDon: Biologist Project Role: Biological component & LogisDcs support Master in science of the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. I have broad experience in marine fieldwork using different sampling techniques, underwater surveys and data analysis. I am highly qualified in molecular biology laboratory procedures and equipment opera;on. My research interests are in the evolu;on, ecology, and systema;cs of marine invertebrates, with a special focus on sponges. Currently I work as research assistant of Humboldt Ins;tute (IAvH, Colombia) in biodiversity informa;on systems. My principal role in this project was field biological surveys, communicator of ecosystem dynamics and processes to local community, and graphic design for educa;onal campaigns.
Katherine Guzman Peña
OccupaDon: Biologist Project Role: Biological component & LogisDcs support Marine biologist of the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano of Bogotá, Colombia. I specialize in fisheries biology and conserva;on of marine species, and have experience in field collec;on and analysis of data. My roles in this project was providing local knowledge as a field guide to the area, the communi;es, and social and environmental problema;c/conflicts of the area; and suppor;ng field research in aspects of fishery evalua;on and parroJish biology.
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Parro/ish Conserva6on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs -‐ CLP Project Report 130309
Parro/ish Conserva6on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs Juliana López-‐Angarita, Restrepo M., Escobar D. & Guzmán K.
Summary Summary Current cclimate change and anthropogenic pressures impose a challenge because of Current limate change and anthropogenic pressures impose a challenge to s to scien;sts cien;sts because of their their remarkable impacts on coral reef biodiversity and ecology. The consequences of of overfishing overfishing oof f remarkable impacts on coral reef biodiversity and ecology. The consequences herbivores in in Colombian Colombian reefs herbivores reefs have have received scant a=en;on from studies due to to a a lack lack of of local local resources. This This research esearch aimed to aimed to evaluate and eenhance nhance the conserva;on status aand of resources. evaluate and he conserva;on status nd pprotec;on rotec;on of parroJish, a threatened hreatened family amily of of herbivores parroJish, erbivores crucial to coral reef hhealth. Underwater surveys ealth. Underwater surveys s showed howed parroJish to o bee dominant in the fish community, yet there was parroJish as clear evidence lear evidence oof f eexploita;on xploita;on oof f llarge arge adults by selec;ve fishing. fishing. ParroJish are are sold adults by selec;ve sold to tourists, as ‘red ‘red snapper’ snapper’ to to fulfill fulfill high high seafood seafood demand since ince commercially valuable ommercially valuable fish are now scarce. Conflict exists bbetween demand onflict exists etween tthe he c community and ommunity and environmental authori;es uthori;es because ecause fishing regula;ons are not clear, and the llevel environmental and the evel oof enforcement is f enforcement is insufficient. However, following owever, following intensive awareness-‐raising ac;vi;es of tthis insufficient. c;vi;es developed ass ppart art of his s study, tudy, the community has has started to recognize tarted to recognize the parroJish in coral rreef systems, the community he vital ecological role ole of f parroJish in coral eef systems, and are sugges;ng a redraling of fishing of fishing legisla;on by and are sugges;ng legisla;on by the environmental authori;es, in order the environmental authori;es, in order to to recognize and nd incorporate ncorporate the he tradi;onal fishing rights of human recognise shing rights uman ccommuni;es ommuni;es lliving iving w within ithin tthe he M MPA. PA. Lobbying for the f parroJish and inclusion of local ccommuni;es decision-‐making will Lobbying for the protec;on of parroJish and nclusion of local ommuni;es iin n decision-‐making will take ;me, ;me, but but this project represents the take the crucial first first steps steps towards towards sustainable sustainable prac;ce prac;ce and and coopera;ve aalliances lliances iin n tthe he CColombian olombian CCaribbean. aribbean. coopera;ve
Introduc-on The Na;onal Natural Park Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo (CRSB) located in the C o l o m b i a n C a r i b b e a n c o m p r i s e s t w o archipelagos, 30 small islands, and coastal lagoons harboring mangle forest, tropical dry forest, rocky shores, seagrass beds and coral reef within a total area of 120.000 Ha. Established in 1977 as the first marine park in t h e c o u n t r y , C R S B h a s a n i m p o r t a n t conserva;on value protec;ng the most extensive, diverse and developed coral reefs of the con;nental shelf of Colombia (Pineda et al.
2006). Most of the islands within the CRSB do not belong to the protected area and have been i n h a b i t e d b y n a ; v e A f r o -‐ C o l o m b i a n communi;es (ethnical minority) from about 300 years (Durán 2009). Since its incep;on, the park has suffered a series of conflicts between local communi;es, government & environmental authority, involving land tenure issues, rules compliance, and local par;cipa;on in management.
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Parro/ish Conserva6on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs -‐ CLP Project Report 130309
Due to its proximity to the city of Cartagena and a drama;c increase in tourism, CRSB is the most visited na;onal park in Colombia (Pineda et al. 2006). Coastal development fostered by tourism has led to overexploita;on of marine resources, where fishing has become one of the main threats to coral reef health since it must meet the increasing demand of the tourism industry as well as sustaining the resident popula;on (Pineda et al. 2006). Coral bleaching in recent years has caused the mortality of nearly 95% of Elkhorn coral (Acropora spp.) and other species (E. Zarza, pers. comm.), and water pollu;on from regional sewage and riverine contaminants further inhibit coral resilience and recovery (Pineda et al., 2006). A recent increase of fishing pressure of commercially valuable piscivorous fish species such as snappers and barracudas in the region has led to a system dominated by herbivorous parroJish (Scaridae) that tradi;onally have had no commercial value, but are now targeted. ParroJish are herbivores that fulfill a key role in coral reef health by consuming macroalgae, which inhibits coral growth by domina;ng bare substrate and restraining coral recruitment (Hughes et al. 2007; Ledlie et al. 2007; Mumby et al. 2007). By scraping algae from rock and coral, parroJish also act as a major bioeroder, producing large amounts of sand as feces. Fishing targets large individuals and as such can shil the size structure of popula;ons, increasing the density of small individuals, which are less efficient in controlling algae (Durán & Claro 2008). Moreover, the deple;on of parroJish popula;ons may cause rapid and drama;c changes in reefs structure and func;onality, especially when combined with eutrophica;on, poten;ally leading to a phase shil from a coral-‐ dominated to an algae-‐dominated state (Bellwood et al. 2004; Fabricius 2005; Mumby et al. 2007). For this reason parroJish are widely acknowledged as important enhancers of coral reef resilience. The sustainable management of fisheries resources is a complex interdisciplinary process 12
requiring the evalua;on and integra;on of mul;ple factors (biological, ecological, socioeconomic and ins;tu;onal) to understand the various dynamics affec;ng MPAs and the pressures upon them(Pollnac et al. 2010). In par;cular, to study the emergent parroJish fishery in CRSB, basic informa;on on the state of ecological and social systems was crucial in developing an ini;al understanding of the MPA, in order to provide per;nent and workable management recommenda;ons.
Aim & Objec-ves
This project aims to evaluate current conserva;on status of parroJish popula;ons to ini;ate the promo;on of its long-‐term protec;on through enhanced stakeholder awareness (Fig. 1). The objec;ves were: (1) Build baseline knowledge of local parroJish popula;on using biological indicators to assess abundance and structure. (2) Determine scale and characteris;cs of fishery by gathering socioeconomic indicators, and assess the impact of parroJish extrac;on on reef health and future provision of fishing products. (3) Increase community awareness about the important func;onal role of parroJish in coral reefs by c o n d u c ; n g e d u c a ; o n a l a c ; v i ; e s a n d campaigns.
Methods
To determine the status of fish popula;ons we conducted underwater surveys. Survey sites were selected inside (10) and outside the MPA (6) in areas with major reef development (Fig. 2). Underwater visual surveys were conducted by swimming along 2 x 50 m belt transects (100 m2) recording all individual fish of parroJish f a m i l y a n d o t h e r i m p o r t a n t f a m i l i e s (Acanthuridae, Lutjanidae, Serranidae, H a e m u l i d a e , C a r a n g i d a e , S c o m b r i d a e , Sphyraenidae) and es;ma;ng total fish length. A minimum of 4 and a maximum of 10 transects were performed for each site. Fish biomass was calculated by conver;ng length es;mates to
Parro/ish Conserva6on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs -‐ CLP Project Report 130309
Figure 1. Conceptual diagram illustraDng the raDonale of the project.
weight using length-‐weight conversion equa;on: W= aTLb. All fivng parameters were obtained from FishBase (www.fishbase.org). To evaluate the effect of MPA management on fish popula;ons, es;mated variables (density, biodiversity an herbivore biomass) were compared between sites by Wilcoxon Rank Test for non-‐parametric data and ANOVA for parametric data.
organized diverse ac;vi;es and adapted the strategies according to the culture of the region to make the message more understandable and valuable for the local community. We organized:
To characterize fishing ac;vity and the parroJish market we: i) conducted household surveys and par;cipatory workshops with local communi;es to explore social context (implemen;ng the following tools: produc;ve profile, historic graph, seasonal analysis, and problems & solu;ons tree); ii) performed surveys of fishermen about their knowledge of the ecological role of parroJish within the coral reefs; iii) conducted surveys of tourists visi;ng the Na;onal Park to determine their knowledge of these species and their willingness to pay for consuming parroJish; and iv) performed surveys of restaurant managers inside the Park to establish the gastronomic demand of tourists. W e w o r k e d c l o s e l y w i t h t h e C R S B environmental educa;on staff who helped us to develop awareness raising ac;vi;es. We
Figure 2. Study area with biophysical sampling sites inside and outside the MPA ; and local communiDes . 13
Parro/ish Conserva6on Status & Community Awareness in Colombian Protected Coral Reefs -‐ CLP Project Report 130309
i) educa;onal workshops and talks with fishermen; ii) “the parroJish day”; iii) a song “la champeta del pez loro”; iv) art workshops and talks in local schools (held in the communi;es of Isleta, Isla Grande, Múcura y Santa Cruz El Islote); v) a theatrical play with the local school in Isla Grande; vi) sport events (football for adults, solball for kids); vii) educa;onal campaign for tourists by prin;ng booklets and posters with key informa;on about parroJish conserva;on and distribute them in key sites of Cartagena city and the park (tourism centers, ports, diving shops, hotels, restaurants, eco-‐ hotels); viii) talks during high season in tourism boats; ix) workshops about the biology and ecology of parroJish, school snorkelling ac;vi;es with eco-‐guides, and designed underwater guides & posters for parroJish iden;fica;on.
Results
ParroJish (Scaridae) were the most important family comprising 48% of the total number of fish, followed by surgeonfish (Acanthuridae) 24%, and Haemulidae 17% (Fig. 3). Diversity indices showed slightly higher values from inside the MPA, but values were not sta;s;cally significant from unmanaged sites (Table 1). Fish density inside and outside were non significantly different (Wilcoxon P>0.05) (Fig. 3). Herbivore biomass (mean grams ±SD) inside the MPA (32.15 gr ± 12.14) was slightly higher than in popula;ons outside the MPA (23.80 gr ± 11.34) however differences were not sta;s;cally significant (ANOVA P>0.05). ParroJish density was significantly different between species (Wilcoxon P