Decolonial coastal management - a concept under development

The coastal management model that has been implemented in Brazil dates back to the 1980s, and has neocolonial and paternalistic characteristics and is centralized in the role of the State, perpetuating inequality and marginalization of artisanal fishers, traditional coastal communities and their local knowledge. We argue that we need to change this coastal management model, promoting an alternative one that is at the same time just, sustainable and aligned with the aspirations of local inhabitants. Therefore, our main goal is to develop an understanding, elaborate on and demarcate the term “decolonial coastal management”. Based in empirical transdisciplinary ethnobiological participatory-action research in the artisanal fishing community of Jubim (located in the delta of the Amazon River), and on our theoretical foundations, we propose a set of five essential principles aiming to contribute to the delineation of a decolonial management approach: (I) community empowerment (strengthening communal ties and governance to enhance self-sufficiency and resilience), (II) knowledge co-production (valuing traditional ecological knowledge and composing it with scientific research to inform sustainable practices), (III) advocacy and negotiation (engaging in advocacy and negotiation with external stakeholders, insisting on development that respects the rights and knowledge of the community), (IV) cultural continuity (ensuring that economic opportunities do not undermine cultural practices and values but rather support cultural continuity and biodiversity conservation) and (V) environmental stewardship (emphasizing the role of the community as stewards of their environment, advocating for policies and practices that reflect this principle). Those components are key to a just and sustainable future in any community-based strategy and should be taken into account in coastal management and policy making.