Amazon Territories' Fishing Agreements receive United Nations Award
for work implemented with the support of TNC in the State of Pará (Brazil)
We want to celebrate with the Government of Pará and its communities!
Among more than 700 initiatives from 62 countries, the fishing agreements in the Amazonian territories of Pará (Brazil) were recognized with a United Nations Public Service Award in the category "Participation and public engagement for inclusive decision-making." (For more information: Fishing Agreements: Participatory Management of Territories in the Pará Amazon | Public Institutions.)
Lucilene Amaral, community-based conservation coordinator for The Nature Conservancy in Brazil, has worked with communities on this initiative since 2019, specifically with the Aguas de Tapajós project. The project highlights the relevance of this public policy: today there are more than 637 thousand hectares with regulated fishing, 14 regulated agreements and hundreds of communities involved in the sustainable management of fisheries resources.
"This international recognition reinforces something we see in practice every day: when communities, local organizations, governments and partners work together, it is possible to build solutions that reconcile biodiversity conservation, food security, income generation and traditional knowledge."
The model —driven by the Secretariat of Environment of the State of Pará (Semas), the Movement of Artisanal Fishermen and Fisherwomen of Western Pará and Lower Amazon (Mopebam), Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará (UFOPA) , the Society for Research and Protection of the Environment (Sapopema), The Nature Conservancy Brasil and other allies— strengthens local governance and the conservation of fishing resources.