Displacement, Disempowerment and Corruption: Challenges at the Interface of Fisheries, Management and Conservation in the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau

Displacement, disempowerment and corruption: challenges at the interface of fisheries, management and conservation in the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau

H ELEN C ROSS

Abstract Small-scale fishers working in the West African through privatization and allocation of fishing rights Bijagós Archipelago are predominantly regional in-migrants, (Capistrano & Charles, ). Rights-based fishing, as sup- often living in isolated fishing camps (or economic enclaves) ported, for example, by the World Bank Global Partnership where capture, processing and trading activities occur. This for Oceans initiative, aims to improve unsustainable prac- paper explores the factors driving the fishing camp forma- tices by restricting licence allocation and access to fishing tion, relations with non-camp communities and interactions areas. Advocates insist that limiting rights will provide eco- with prominent authority groups. One camp, presented here nomic incentives for collective self-regulation (Berkes, in the context of an anthropological case study, lost access to ), ensuring fisheries are managed for the future Ancopado beach during the designation of Orango National (Capistrano & Charles, ). However, small-scale fishing Park. Following violent evictions, migrant fishers shifted activities predominate in developing countries, where both their efforts into less-observed waters, introducing challen- the state of fish stocks and sea tenure arrangements are ging power negotiations with indigenous Bijagós islanders poorly understood (Branch et al., ; Stevens et al., and fisheries authorities. Fishing persists inside the marine ). This complicates the rights-based fishing approach, protected area, indicative of non-compliance by small-scale as understanding who should be allowed to catch which fishers who continue to resist a weak resource management fish from where is not a clear-cut issue. Fisheries are com- agenda. The implications of this situation are discussed in monly viewed as fundamental to livelihoods, particularly of terms of human rights to fish. the poor. Access to small-scale fishing is often critical to welfare (Béné, ) and well-being (Coulthard et al., ; Keywords Guinea-Bissau, human rights, marine protected Weeratunge et al., ), particularly in remote communi- area, Orango National Park, resource management, small- ties with inadequate health-care services, low levels of edu- scale fishing cation, lack of access to land, poor infrastructure, minimal access to micro credit, little political free will, and increased susceptibility to HIV and AIDS-related illnesses (Allison & Introduction Seeley, ). Critics of rights-based fishing therefore argue that economic incentives for resource stewardship are insuf- aced with dwindling catch rates and increasingly com- ficient when there are other sources of insecurity in people’s Fplex regulations (Urquhart et al., ) the challenges lives unrelated to fisheries (Allison et al., ). Moving be- confronting small-scale fishing communities cannot be ig- yond property rights to a human rights approach to fishing nored (Chuenpagdee, ). The Voluntary Guidelines up- is viewed as a way of improving both human development held by the FAO Committee of Fisheries and supported by and resource sustainability (Ratner et al., ). , individuals from state, civil society and NGOs herald Marine protected areas (MPAs) serve various purposes a new era of participatory, ecosystem-friendly small-scale but commonly are designed to restrict access, control fishing fishing policies, strategies and frameworks (FAO, a). effort or prevent biodiversity loss (Mascia & Pailler, ; Defining rights to fish is a contentious issue and, with Angulo-Valdés & Hatcher, ; Jentoft et al., ; political developments still in their infancy, many problems Jennings et al., ). Benefits to fisheries are particularly in the implementation process are yet to be resolved evident in no-take zones (Lester & Halpern, ; (Jentoft, ). Halpern et al., ). There have been numerous calls to in- Although . % of all fishers are involved in small-scale crease global MPA coverage (Caveen et al., ); for ex- fishing (FAO, b) the sector is largely managed using ample, the strategic plan agreed in  at the th conventional approaches, which support effort-control Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in Nagoya, Japan, outlines  goals. Aichi Target  in particular aims to achieve conservation through HELEN CROSS (Corresponding author) 14 Burnside Road, Uphall, West Lothian,   EH52 5DE, UK. E-mail [email protected] limiting use within % of coastal and marine areas by   Received  June . Revision requested  August . (Woodley et al., ; Bennett & Dearden, ). Marine Accepted  March . First published online  November . protected areas can facilitate an increase in species diversity

Oryx, 2016, 50(4), 693–701 © 2015 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S003060531500040X Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.19, on 30 Sep 2021 at 20:30:08, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003060531500040X 694 Helen Cross

(Gell & Roberts, ) and replenishment of fish stocks (Hilborn et al., ), and they can protect ecosystem structure and enhance resilience, increasing adaptive capacity and reducing risks during extreme climatic events (MacKinnon et al., ). They may lead to improved governance and alternative livelihoods; encourage economic growth through tourism (Rodwell & Roberts, ); provide social, educational and cultural benefits; and provide control sites for scientific research (Agardy et al., ). However, MPAs may also be subject to inappropriate planning and mismatching of international or national objectives with local interests (Angulo-Valdés & Hatcher, ; Benson, ; Cohen & Foale, ). In countries with low human development scores, government structures are inherently weak (Gutiérrez et al., ). Here, both small and poorly designed MPAs are particularly susceptible (Mora & Sale, ; Song et al., ) to social failings (Christie, ) and over- sights, such as marginalization (Agrawal & Redford, ) or omission (Crona & Rosendo, ) of key resource user-groups. In these circumstances it is not self-evident that MPAs are more favourable than traditional fisheries management tools (Warner & Pomeroy, ; Caveen et al., ). In reality, MPAs are subject to non-compliance, encroachment, opportunistic behaviour and resource- related conflict (Fabricius et al., ), particularly where societal, economic, cultural and institutional characteristics are overlooked (Charles & Wilson, ). I investigate com- plexities at the interface between protected areas, fisheries management and commercial small-scale fishing operations in the Bijagós region of Guinea-Bissau, and attempt to inform the design of fishing regulation.

Study area

Development in Guinea-Bissau (Fig. ) has been hindered by political rivalry. Assassinations, periodic coups d’état and  ’ civil war have left an estimated % of the country s largely FIG. 1 (a) The Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau, with the rural population surviving on disposable income of , USD boundaries of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve including Orango  per day (Gacitua-Mario et al., ), and national un- National Park (PNO) and the National Marine Park of João employment remains high (Cockayne & Williams, ). Viéira Poilão (PNM–JVP). (b) Key fishing camps (past and Territorial waters, coinciding with the meeting of the present) in the Bijagós Archipelago, as described by residents of  Canary and Guinea currents, serve offshore industrial fishing, Cabuno camp, Uno Island, in . including illegal, unregulated and unreported activities, dri- ven by increasing export demands and high prices for seafood The Bijagós ethnic group occupies some  islands in the (Kaczynski & Looney, ;Kaczynski&Fluharty,; Bijagós Archipelago (West Africa’s only coastal island sys- Agnew et al., ). In the near-shore, thousands of workers tem), setting others aside as sacred, or for seasonal agriculture are employed directly or supported by small-scale fishing or grazing. Many Bijagós follow an animistic religion, led by economies (González, ). The intensity of small-scale fish- traditional priests. They believe in ‘another world’ guarded by ing is such that monitoring and management are considered sacred spirits (imbued into the physical bodies of animals and outside government control (Agnew et al., ; González, trees) who control both individual and collective destinies. ). For a fish-dependent nation experiencing high rates Ceremonial masks celebrating animist spirits (and inadvert- of child mortality and malnutrition, protein security is a ently biodiversity itself) are routinely paraded in Bijagós ri- key challenge (Kawarazuka & Béné, ). tuals, and the active promotion of sound relations between

TABLE 1 The prices (in CFA and GBP) of fishing licences for na- destination, of which multiple examples between Dakar tional and non-national small-scale fishers in Guinea-Bissau in and Lagos were cited. .

Licence type Citizen status Price, CFA (GBP) Methods Paddle boat National 30,000 (60)  Non-national 50,000 (100) Data are derived from months of fieldwork on Uno 15 horse power engine National 84,000 (168) Island. A pilot visit (April–June ) and follow-up trip Non-national 175,000 (350) (January –September ) were temporarily disrupted 40 horse power engine National citizen 180,000 (360) by the assassination of President Joao-Bernardo de Vieira, in Non-national 300,000 (600) Bissau city, in March . During fieldwork a variety of methods (household, economic, spot-check time allocation and catch landing surveys; participant observation; semi- the present and spirit world is considered fundamental to structured interviews; focus groups; and key informant dis- Bijagó well-being (Maretti, ). As a conservation measure, cussions) were trialled and developed on Uno, to undertake a the islands were designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in cross-cultural investigation of the livelihoods of migrant ,and years later both the National Marine Park of small-scale fishers and Bijagós islanders (Cross, ). João Vieira Poilão (NMP-JVP) and Orango National Park Semi-structured life-history interviews were conducted (PNO) were established as IUCN Management Category II with  individuals:  Bijagós residents of the Cabuno area protected areas, for ecosystem protection and for recreation and  residents of the small-scale fishing camp. Research as- (Campredon & Cuq, ;Catryetal.,). The protection sistants were employed to undertake documentation, and dur- agenda coincided with a move to reign in small-scale fishing ing separate methodological trials key events were identified as efforts, identified as a threat to marine megafauna (Broderick benchmarks or prompts to frame each individual history. et al., ). Small-scale fishing activities have proliferated in These included political milestones and episodes of conflict, the Bijagós Archipelago for decades, involving multinational but also crop-raiding events and initiation ceremonies identi- migrants whose aspirations and realities differ from those fied by the Bijagós villagers. Bijagós assistants conducted in- of indigenous islanders (Tvedten, ; Haakonsen, ; terviews in the villages (in either Bijagó or Portuguese Baekgaard & Overballe, ; Campredon & Cuq, ; Kriole); a migrant assistant conducted interviews in the Randall, ;Diop&Dossa,; Binet et al., ). camp in various languages (including Mandinga, Soussou Fishers, traders, fish-smokers and transporters originating and Temne). Follow-up meetings were held regularly with from across West Africa settle within or pass through fishing each assistant, providing an opportunity to read through, dis- camps (economic enclaves) dispersed across the islands and cuss, transcribe and translate each interview into English. All along the mainland coast. These camps provide a backbone respondents were invited to participate through a purposive to the wider regional small-scale fishing economy. Guinea- snowball sampling technique (Bunce et al., ). Life history Bissau, however, unlike neighbouring states, charges higher interviews comprised three sections, the first detailing the par- tariffs for non-national fishing licences (Diaw & Haakonsen, ticipant’s core characteristics (year of birth/age, name, gender, ; Table ) and this creates a specific dilemma: small-scale birthplace, ethnicity, religion, nationality, household member- commercial fishing activity may threaten biodiversity but it ship, education status and current occupation), the second fo- is also valuable (given the expensive licenses required). cusing on occupational experience within and outside the  Uno Island (c.  km ) hosts an indigenous population fishing industry (and reasons for occupational change), and of c. ,,in villages (known in Portuguese Kriole as the third discussing occupational experiences in fisheries tabancas). Conditions on the island are basic, with no electri- more specifically (detailing locational information, catch city, running water or roads. Uno was selected for this study types and conditions of payment). because of the presence of an in-migrant small-scale fishing The life history interviews are used here to contextualize camp, in Cabuno, and hence the potential for cross-cultural historical, social, economic and cultural knowledge (Davis, comparison. For the Bijagós of Uno, subsistence rice pro- ) surrounding small-scale fishing in the Bijagós. duction is a central occupation, complemented by subsist- Face-to-face interviews grant freedom to respondents, en- ence fishing, cashew (cash crop) harvesting and livestock couraging confidence and minimizing the gap between herding. Agricultural practice is closely tied to customary interviewee and researcher (Zappes et al., ). Data de- land law and an age-based initiation society structure. In rived from these interviews provide a biographical means contrast, residents of the small-scale fishing camp originate (Ritchie et al., ) of exploring the wider context of fishing from several West African countries and diverse occupa- to participants. Narratives, thoughts, comments and opi- tional backgrounds (Cross, a). Sun-drying, smoking nions of interview participants were pooled in a thematic and salting techniques are all adopted, depending on the analysis (Braun & Clarke, ), and I present here a chron- type of fish caught (Cross, b) and the market ology of events as recalled by interviewees. These dialogues

provide a platform from which to investigate circumstances Relations with non-camp communities (2000–2008) surrounding the formation of small-scale fishing camps, and relations with non-camp communities. Bijagós in Cabuno still recall the s, before any small-scale fishers arrived. Several described the use of a sacred grove for animistic marriage rituals. A friendly rapport Results was then established with passing fishers; exchanges of news and knowledge were welcomed, and trading opportunities Formation of the Cabuno camp (1990–2000) realized. Following the violence at Vietnam, the Orango Many migrant small-scale fishers working on Uno first eviction and the collapse of Jeu di Porcos, several hundred settled in the archipelago during the late s, before the fishers arrived and relations with the Bijagós deteriorated. UNESCO accreditation. One camp, known in Kriole as With the migrant fishing population increasing, catching Jeu di Porcos (Pig Island), was then flourishing, providing extensively and showing little sign of moving on, the people numerous opportunities for trade (Fig. b). This island of Cabuno walked out to the beach. ‘We begged them to was set aside by the Bijagós of Caravella for pig grazing. leave here,’ explained one islander, ‘because of what was Migrant workers, many lacking fishing experience, arrived happening to our sea.’ The Bijagós maintain that any year- from the mainland; Senegalese fishers also arrived from round fishing effort is undesirable and an ‘improper cultiva- Jeu di Peixe (Fish Island). Many Senegalese were established tion’ of the sea. ‘In the time of working the rice paddies,’ one in the fishing business, progressing from crew members to respondent explained, ‘we come onto the land and we work. net owners or captains on motorized vessels, sponsored by But those people, they are at sea every day. For us, we have wealthy investors from Ziguinchor. With motorized vessels different types of work. We don’t only fish.’ Many indicated they could work further afield, and the archipelago pre- their frustration at this extensive effort, ‘because of tomor- sented bounteous opportunities for fishing. Jeu di Porcos row’. Extensive clearance of forest and mangrove habitat on had a population of several hundred people, and conditions Uno (for cooking and fish-smoking purposes) has generated were basic. During the November–May dry season, drinking anger and fear among the islanders for the existence of their water was extracted from neighbouring Caravella and sold sacred ritual spaces, most notably those used during the se- in the camp. With a constant influx of new arrivals from cret initiation ceremony. ‘If they (the migrants) start to des- both the north (Senegal) and south (Guinea-Conakry, troy our initiation sites with their tree-cutting,’ one villager Sierra Leone and Liberia), competition for fishing and living explained, ‘then they will destroy the heritage of our villages. space intensified. Motorized boats began to work further In the beginning, they respected the terrain of the village. south and gradually Orango Island became a popular area. But now, this is their terrain. This camp is more permanent. Moving daily between Jeu di Porcos and Orango was costly, The people have begun staying longer. They don’t listen to however, in terms of both time and petrol. By the year , the voice of the village.’ many groups had relocated permanently to Imbone, in The Bijagós and migrant small-scale fishers in Cabuno southern Orango, where two small-scale fishing camps now share a history of violent conflict. During the dry sea- were established (Ancopado and Vietnam). son of  a cohort of Bijagós male pre-initiates from According to the small-scale migrant fishers on Uno Cabuno stormed and burned the fishing camp. The attack Island, as legislation was finalized for Orango National took place in broad daylight and the perpetrators stood Park, fishers from Jeu di Porcos who had resettled on their ground as the fire spread. Unsure what to do the fishers Orango met with forceful resistance. Armed members of fled, some by boat, many on foot. ‘We sailed north around the Commission for Fisheries Surveillance, a subsection of Uno,’ one Sierra Leonean explained, ‘and we begged one the Fisheries Ministry, forcibly dismantled Ancopado and village to let us camp on their beach but they refused.’ Vietnam, burning houses, stores and fishing materials. As The fishers regrouped at the police office near An-Onho, one angry respondent described it, ‘That place is a zoo! where they were advised to return to Cabuno beach. There the politicians like to keep everything perfect and Angered by the forceful intervention by the Bijagós, the not have no fishing man touch nothing.’ Following eviction Island Administration quickly seized control of the situ- from Orango, the migrant fishers returned to Jeu di Porcos, ation. This authority (composed of mainland ethnicities) where they were joined by new arrivals from the mainland. perceived the Bijagós as having no right to destroy or evict Over the following months conditions in the camp became fishers from national land. Various regulatory and organiza- more crowded. Already depleted mangroves were cut back tional mechanisms were then used to facilitate the return of even further, providing fuel for cooking and smoking fish. migrant fishers to Cabuno. The Ministry of Transport and Eventually the camp was destroyed by a storm. With their Communications assumed control of the landing area in homes in ruins, many occupants relocated to nearby Cabuno, and the Maritime Police took responsibility for Caravella Island, others went south and many arrived on monitoring access to and through the fishing camp, assisted the beach of Cabuno. by the island police unit. Rights to land catch within the

camp area fell under the control of the Fishing Ministry, and evaluate the social and ecological implications of fishing wood cutting licences under the Department of Forestry area restrictions around Uno. However, attempts are now (Ministry of Agriculture). being made to assess the challenges, based on anecdotal With this shift in power, a split emerged among the and comparative evidence (Igoe & Brockington, ). Bijagós. Elders in Cabuno who accepted State intervention Instances of forceful (Agrawal & Redford, ) and so- were criticized as being weak. Bijagó youth in particular cially unjust (De Santo, ) conservation-induced dis- were critical. ‘It’s because all the elders were sitting with placement episodes have been described (Igoe & all the power. They turned to us youngsters, saying “leave Brockington, ; Schmidt-Soltau & Brockington, ; those people in the beach alone”, and that is how the prob- Miller et al., ), associated with ill-treatment (Almudi lem has come back again. In the older times, responsibility & Berkes, ) and violence (Peluso, ). Migrant was always given to the elders but their ways of understand- small-scale fishers on Uno discussed a militaristic eviction ing are not complete; youngsters now also have to take part.’ from southern Orango that coincided with the designation Some elders also regretted the administrative control. ‘The of Orango National Park. This resulted in a loss of control State is the only one to benefit,’ one individual explained. and displacement of fishing, from a restricted-use to unre- ‘According to the administration, the migrants must stay. stricted area. Ill-considered marine management is known But then they (the State) are the ones going there every to merely displace fishing, causing widespread change or month to collect money.’ Given the substantial financial op- damage in formerly undisturbed habitats (Kaiser, ; portunities presented by non-national small-scale fishing, Ewers & Rodrigues, ; Crona & Rosendo, ), and ef- the camp is subject to frequent and impromptu visits by fective management requires efforts to be made beyond spa- the Uno Island administration, fisheries officers on tial boundaries (Allison et al., ). The finding that Uracane and Bubaque, inspectors from Bolama and protected area status alone cannot ensure protection is not Bissau, the national maritime police, immigration officers new (Teh & Sumaila, ); Fernandes () observed that and the Commission for Fisheries Surveillance. If migrant conservation rules in the Bijagós Archipelago were poorly residents are found without identity papers, boat certifica- understood by small-scale fishers. Evidence from Uno re- tion, fishing licences or wood cutting permits, irregular veals that fishing in the Bijagós is poorly regulated. on-the-spot fines are issued. Restrictions and closures are required for biodiversity con- In response, small-scale fishers have adopted various servation but fishing can prevail within protected areas and strategies to manage individual circumstances. Any occu- leak into unprotected environments. Small-scale fishing is pants possessing a Guinea-Bissau national identity card generally viewed as problematic on the islands, ultimately (purchased in the capital) may offer services such as signing increasing both the vulnerability of the camps and the po- for boat licences or fishing documents, to avoid the higher tential for conflict with adjacent Bijagós communities. As non-national rates. Alternatively migrants may simply hide small-scale fishing economies in the archipelago remain iso- in the bush during inspections. Fishing boats are often hid- lated, the need to reform rights to fish remains and the wel- den in the surrounding mangroves, and stocks of smoked or fare functions of small-scale fishing remain underestimated. salted fish and valuable household possessions are con- Alienation of resource users (Hind et al., ), priori- cealed to avoid theft or confiscation by fisheries inspecto- tization of NGO donor goals above local needs (Benson, rates. If inspectors are present, camp residents stand on ), tendencies to undermine local access to development the beach front and warn any approaching boats not to (Bennett & Dearden, ), and inattention to alternative land. News of imminent inspections is communicated by livelihood pathways (Bown et al., ) limit support for means of a network that includes passing fishing boats marine protected areas. Increased conflict is common and traders. Independent visits from the Bijagós are also where protected areas are viewed as problematic (Bavinck, common, with local residents asking for compensation ). Considering those gaining and losing rights on against wood cutting activities. However, these requests Uno (an approach advocated by Mascia & Claus, ), are largely ignored. both small-scale fishers and indigenous islanders have felt disempowered since the designation of Orango National Discussion Park. Conversely, the Uno island administration, fisheries officers, maritime police units, immigration officers, the Ethnographic case studies facilitate an in-depth understand- Commission for Fisheries Surveillance and Department of ing of phenomena occurring within a relatively natural Forestry representatives from Uracane, Bubaque and setting (Bhattacharya, ) and knowledge may be accu- Bissau all appear to be vying for a stake in the control of mulated from verbal statements and daily observations of small-scale fishing, while implementing a relatively ad hoc events as they occur naturally (Bernard, ). Knowledge management initiative. of small-scale fishers in the Bijagós, as captured here Industrial fishing licence payments are a critical source of through life-history interviews, is insufficient to fully revenue in Guinea-Bissau (Kaczynski & Fluharty, ;

Agnew et al., ); the potential profits generated from types of local leadership, social networks, reciprocal obliga- non-national small-scale fishers is reflected on Uno tions, and the routines of everyday life (Cleaver, ; Island. In both large and small-scale fishing arenas substan- Jentoft, ; Gutiérrez et al., ; Russell & Dobson, tial losses may result from mismanagement. By  resi- ). In Kenya the involvement of fishers in community or- dents of the Uno fishing camp had realized their greatest ganization and decision making has challenged notions that vulnerability: foreignness. The migrants openly discussed small-scale fishers are poorly organized (Cinner et al., ). the significance of payments demanded by officials legitim- Likewise in Australia the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation, ately charged with controlling fishing. Migrant fishers are which represents the land and sea interests of traditional aware of the opportunity their presence offers these officials owner groups, has achieved recognition in decision making to supplement inadequate, diverted, lost or unpaid salaries. for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Centre through a Numerous examples of corruption, involving both officials persistent positive commitment to collaborative manage- and fishers, were described in the Uno interviews, including ment (Nursey-Bray & Rist, ). false identity papers, boat licence fraud, acceptance of un- A Biodiversity Conservation Trust Fund (the Bioguinea registered fines, and confiscation of personal goods by Foundation) currently controls financial operations within State authorities. This study presents a crisis in which Guinea-Bissau’s National Parks (GEF, ) and supports rent-seeking and resource-rent appropriation, weak institu- an increase in protected area coverage (CFA, ). tional performance and political short-termism (Kaiser, Marine megafauna (particularly elasmobranchs, cetaceans, ; Béné, ; Baggio & Papyrakis, ; Béné et al., sea turtles and swordfishes) continue to attract attention ; Sumaila et al., ) obstruct the interface between in the Bijagós Archipelago as conservation research assimi- fisheries, protected area management and conservation in lates the knowledge of local fishers (Tous et al., ;Béziers, the Bijagós. From a government perspective, control of ;Leeney&Poncelet,; Leeney et al., ). The small-scale fishing seems an insurmountable challenge small-scale marine fishing sector in Guinea-Bissau persists given the inherent corruption. Non-compliance, conflict in providing employment for more than , people and non-cooperation are likely to present persistent pro- (Belhabib & Pauly, ) while securing a basic but critical blems, with negative consequences for the livelihoods of staple food for the wider population. The right to fish, how- those dependent upon fish. The political systems involved ever, remains a contentious issue (Borrini-Feyerabend & Hill, are complex and founded upon multiple conflicting objec- ) and migrant fishers do not yet appear to be represented. tives, which fundamentally jeopardizes any reform process (Cross, ). Acknowledgements In considering options for improving small-scale fisheries, movement towards a collaborative co-management This study was funded by a joint ESRC–NERC interdiscip- agenda could foster support. If co-management is not linary studentship (ES/F/), the Parkes Foundation,  seen as a silver bullet (Nielson & Lund, ) or blueprint the University College London (UCL) Graduate School  (Defeo et al., ) it can engage with a desire for reform, and UCL Fellowship Fund. I extend sincere thanks to through participatory democracy, decentralization, social Katherine Homewood and Caroline Garaway (UCL engagement and community empowerment (Charles & Anthropology) and Marcus Rowcliffe (Institute of    Wilson, ; Christie, ; Nunan, ). Collaboration Zoology, London) for supervisory guidance, and to Eddy does, however, increase the risk of marginalization Allison, JoAnn McGregor and the anonymous reviewers  (Jentoft, ) and modification of an existing status quo of this article. Finally, I thank all field assistants and resi-   among resource users (Béné, ; Njaya et al., ). dents of Uno Island for their hospitality and generosity of Integrating local ecological with conventional scientific time in sharing these experiences. knowledge can encourage shared responsibility (Berkes, ), and compiling location-specific objectives may foster institutional diversity and political will (Jones et al., ; References Carbonetti et al., ). Although inclusion of migrants in  collaborative plans is generally low (Cinner et al., ; AGARDY, T., NOTARBARTOLO DI SCIARA,G.&CHRISTIE,P.( )  Mind the gap: addressing the shortcomings of marine protected Fulanda et al., ), co-management seeks to increase re- areas through large scale marine spatial planning. 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Bioclimate research and development group, based in Edinburgh, UK.