case studies undp: oyster producers' cooperative of cananeia, brazil
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7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: OYSTER PRODUCERS' COOPERATIVE OF CANANEIA, Brazil
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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities
Brazil
OYSTER PRODUCERSCOOPERATIVE OF CANANIA
Empowered live
Resilient nation
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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES
Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo
or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth
their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition
themselves guiding the narrative.
To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser
that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ
to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models
replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence toThe Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years
the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.
Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.
EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph Corcoran
Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding
Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe
Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,
Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu
DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa
Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.
AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Oyster Producers Cooperative o Canania, and in particular the guidance a
inputs o Wanda Maldonado. All photo credits courtesy o the Oyster Producers Cooperative o Canania. Maps courtesy o CIA Wo
Factbook and Wikipedia.
Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Oyster Producers Cooperative o Canania, Brazil. Equator Initiative Case Study Ser
New York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858 -
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PROJECT SUMMARYThe Oyster Producers Cooperative o Canania (Cooperativados Produtos de Ostras de Canania Cooperostra) is acommunity-based organization centered on the MandiraExtractive Reserve in So Paulos Canania estuary lagoon.Launched in the mid-1990s ollowing state-led interventionsaiming at improving the sustainability, viability, andhygienic quality o artisanal oyster harvesting in Mandira,the initiative quickly grew to incorporate harvestingcommunities throughout the Canania estuary.
The cooperatives work has ocused on reconciling oyster
harvesting with the conservation o the regions biologicallydiverse mangrove orests. Innovative processes andtechnologies, including oyster nurseries and a puriyingstation, have been introduced to add value to oysters andenable their harvesting year-round, while the ormationo the cooperative has allowed harvesters to circumventmiddlemen and obtain airer prices or their products.
KEY FACTS
EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2002
FOUNDED: 1997
LOCATION: Canania Estuary, south of So Paulo
BENEFICIARIES: Mandira quilombola community
BIODIVERSITY: Mangrove forests, oyster genetic diversity
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OYSTER PRODUCERS COOPERATIVE OFCANANIABrazil
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background and Context 4
Key Activities and Innovations 7
Biodiversity Impacts 10
Socioeconomic Impacts 10
Policy Impacts 11
Sustainability 12
Replication 12
Partners 13
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he Oyster Producers Cooperative o Canania (Cooperativa dos
rodutos de Ostras de Canania - Cooperostra) works to promote
he sustainable management o mangrove ecosystems in the
razilian state o So Paulo, with a particular ocus on artisanal oyster
arvesting. The project takes place in the estuary lagoon complex o
Canania, Brazil, one o the most biologically diverse estuaries in the
world and a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.
ocated south o the city o So Paulo, the total intertidal area
overed by the entire Canania Lagoon estuarine system is about
0 sq. km. Mangroves dominate this intertidal region in Canania:
ed mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) is located along the ringes and
acked by basins dominated by white mangrove (Langunculariaacmosa). Black mangroves (Avicennia schaueriana) also occur
nterspersed in the basin orests.
At the centre o the estuary is the Mandira community, comprising
round 30 amilies totalling approximately 130 people. The
ommunity is a remainder o quilombolas (ormer slaves) and has
ccupied the land since the nineteenth century. Surrounded by a
mosaic o protected areas, including the Jacupiranga State Park and
ederal Zone or Wildlie Protection, the site has long been one o
he most productive areas o the estuary or oyster harvesting.
he community has traditionally relied heavily on this livelihood
ctivity, with oyster production making up around 90 per cent households income during the 1980s and 1990s. Mandira was
hereore the ocus o eorts led by government agencies to improve
ustainable harvesting in Canania rom the late 1980s onwards,
ulminating in the establishment o Cooperostra in 1997, and the
Mandira Extractive Reserve in 2002.
he cooperative currently brings together local oyster harvesting
ommunities throughout the region, providing technical support
o promote better harvesting, production, and marketing processes.
Increasing harvests, declining local wellbeing
Interventions in the Canania estuary began in respons
commercial exploitation o local mangrove swamps, an
particular, over-harvesting o the Crassostrea brasiliana oy
Natural oyster beds in the estuary region are in the northern
o the island o Canania, extending southward along the coa
the bay o Trapand and the Canal de Ararapira, and entering
the contiguous region o Paranagua in Paran. The oyster is on
the main natural resources used by traditional communities in
municipality, both or sale and or consumption, but over-extra
had been taking place or decades, and was having a neg
impact on the livelihoods and wellbeing o the local population
Prior to the established o Cooperostra, the oyster produc
system in the region was based on amily labor. Salaries
dictated by intermediary middlemen, and the communities ha
direct contact with the markets where the oysters were being
Commercial exploitation and production o oysters was taking p
almost entirely illegally, with legal, sanitary and tax requirem
being ignored. The low income o the average producer was o
amilies to overexploit the natural oyster beds. This situation
exacerbated by neighboring communities inringing on the
territory in search o marketable natural resources, which threat
any potential or a community-based management system.
Data gathered rom the 1970s estimated an annual productio
about 300 tons o oysters rom Canania, with a monthly ave
production o 25 tons or 35,000 dozen oysters. Data rom
obtained in a survey carried out jointly with local extractors reve
an average monthly production o 76,220 dozen. This incr
in production o more than 100 per cent can be attributed t
increase in demand rom key consumer markets, low na
returns to oyster harvesters and increased exploitation in tim
low employment and economic decline.
Background and Context
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Despite increased production, living conditions and quality o lie o
ocal people engaged in oyster resource extraction changed little.
he market supply chain that had emerged did not benet local
eople. A study o the oyster consumer market in 1988 revealed that
dozen oysters, purchased by a middleman or less than BRL 1.00,
n average, was sold or over BRL 15.00 in restaurants in the capital
ity o So Paulo and along the coast. Residents regularly pointed
ut the humiliating situation they aced in the marketing process,
when prices and quantities to be produced were dictated by
ntermediaries, a situation that takes away the communitys entire
utonomy over the production process, an autonomy normally
ighly valued by populations who deal on a daily basis with natural
ycles.
As well as poor returns to local producers, oyster harvesting was
aking place without meeting ederal quality and hygiene standards.
o ensure the sustainable reproduction and rejuvenation o
ysters, the Federal Environmental Agency in Brazil has established
uidelines and sanctions on both seasonal harvesting and catch
izes. In terms o seasonal harvesting, there is a ban on extraction o
mangrove oysters rom December to February, the main breedingeason o the species. Regarding size, there is a year-round limit
n harvesting oysters smaller than 5 cm and greater than 10 cm.
As might be anticipated, the greatest demand or oysters occurs
uring the summer months when they are in shortest supply and
when harvesting oysters rom the mangrove swamp is orbidden.
Much o the local oyster production in Canania, however, was in
ontravention o these regulations, and had no Federal Inspection
ervice (SIF) registration with the Ministry o Agriculture, which is
egally required or the marketing o products o animal origin.
Moreover, oysters outside the shell present a risk to consumer
ealth, since there is typically no hygienic control in handling them.
nitial government interventions
he lack o regulation and sustainable management o small-scale
yster harvesting in Canania was the catalyst or government
ntervention during the 1980s. The rst step in reorming the
management o the estuary was the ecological and economic zoning
the area, undertaken by the Coastal Management Program and
ompleted by So Paulos Department o the Environment in 1989.
he work showed both a critical need or conservation eorts in the
egion, and the economic potential o sustainable natural resource
management strategies controlled and run by the local population.
Among the key ecosystems agged or this use were the mangrove
wamps, particularly the one existing in the continental part o
Canania, considered the most important in the estuary region inerms o natural productivity, with an area o approximately 1,200
ectares.
Cooperostra and the Mandira Extractive Reserve
At the core o the initiative has been the creation and management
Mandira Extractive Reserve. This area is o great ecological
mportance to the estuary, as well as being central to community
economic productivity, and has been a target o local conserva
eorts to protect and ensure that productivity. The commu
carries out more stringent procedures or the harvesting o oy
than are applied in other areas, to protect the genetic diversi
endemic oyster populations. The site also acts as a laboratory w
the community can experiment with new management techni
and technologies and with the development o cultural, educat
and health actions.
There was an eight-year development period between the prop
o the reserve in 1994 and its ormal creation in December 2
During this time, the various planning processes were led
coalition o local and regional stakeholders. On the governm
side, the coordination team included experts rom So Pa
Forestry Foundation, the Institute o Fisheries, the Sao Paulo S
Land Institute Foundation (ITESP), and the Brazilian Institut
Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), w
the reserves creation was unded by the Brazilian Ministr
Environment. The Mandira community was represented by b
members o the Residents Association o the Mandira Extra
Reserve (REMA).
The early stages o the initiative included the construction o
ofce or REMA, purchase o computers, and training course
management and computer skills or REMAs members. The pr
also hired two community youths to work or Cooperostr
administration and sales and organised learning exchanges
other quilombo communities in Brazil. Support was provided
cultural activities by purchasing uniorms and instruments
Capoeira group (an Aro-Brazilian martial art that combines elem
o dance and music), lming equipment, and a CD library.
The Mandira community was at the centre o the process to esta
Cooperostra in 1997. O the 130 Mandira community memberare members o Cooperostra, although eective participatio
the business varies due to low sales outside o the summer sea
REMA is one o the chie stakeholders in the Cooperostra enterp
and the extractive reserves creation was based on the princip
local land rights. The right o quilombola communities to the
is enshrined in the Federal Constitution o 1988. In 2003, ollo
the establishment o the reserve, the community was of
recognized and is in the process o acquiring land titles to the a
Governance o the reserve was prioritized early on. The Adv
Management Board has been unctioning since early 2
chaired by IBAMA and composed o representatives o R
government agencies (ederal, state and municipal) , NGOscivil society. Regular meetings endorsed a Charter and the
and administrative steps necessary to create the reserve w
the rules o the National System o Conservation Units. In 2006
Advisory Management Board approved a usage plan, based
advice provided by the Forestry Foundation and the communi
1996. Elements o the plan were reworked through discussion
consultation held with the community. This plan was the initial
in subsequent development o a management plan.
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A diverse partnership or sustainable development
he Cooperostra initiative as a whole is based on two undamental
rinciples. First, a ocus on ecosystem-based natural resource
management and conservation, and second, social justice, including
work opportunities or the local population and those most reliant
n the environment or their livelihoods. The organization has
ssumed a multidisciplinary approach to its work that embodies
hese principles, bringing together government agencies,ongovernmental organizations and private enterprise in a
artnership that utilizes their comparative advantages in providing
nancing, technical assistance and political support.
eyond the involvement o institutional partners, community
articipation and engagement is the most important pillar o the
roups work, a critical ingredient in ensuring that a range o local
nterests converge in a mutually benecial manner and in a way that
roduces positive environmental and social results. The community is
epresented through producer organizations, residents associations
nd cooperatives. The organization has provided targeted training to
nable cooperatives to operate a sel-management system without
he presence o external managers.
A critical local resource
The design o the project as a whole ocuses on the conserva
o the ecosystem where the oysters grow, since oysters com
the main source o income or the community, and also oc
on improving the living conditions o the extractors. The activ
combine empowerment eorts, whether in a commitmen
environmental conservation, or in decisions regarding produc
marketing and earnings o cooperative members.
Mangrove resource management is based on the prin
o sustainable development, on the innovations o Cana
extractors, and on a commitment to product quality. Am
the groups objectives are improvements to the quality o li
the local population, the development o business models
relationships that both enhance employment opportunities
improve local incomes, the conservation and sustainable use o
natural resources and prevention o overexploitation, protectio
local ecosystems and natural resources rom external preda
production o a high-quality product that has added value in
and regional markets, and demonstration (through a range o
projects) o the advantages o involving the local communit
sustainable resource management and environmental conserva
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Key Activities and Innovations
uilding on initial interventions in the Canania estuary,
Cooperostras work has ocussed on developing a viable and
ustainable oyster harvesting enterprise. Research and mapping
onducted in the harvesting area inormed the elaboration o a
omprehensive plan or the sustainable development o the area in
order to meet the standards o land use and resources management
equired or reserves. This was supplemented by nancing rom
partners to purchase equipment (such as a motor boat and
ontainment structures or growing oysters) to improve production
processes, and the construction o the initiatives headquarters.
ubsequent activities have included the creation o the Mandira
xtractive Reserve in 2002, the ormation o its Executive Board in
005, establishment o a democratic election system (on a two-yearbasis) or Board membership, and attainment o recognition o the
uilombola territory o the Mandira community in 2003.
Organizational structure
he project also built on earlier attempts to promote oyster
quaculture led by the State Ministry o Environment, a local
Canania sher group, and the Fisheries Institute o So Paulo.
nterventions by government support sta throughout the 1990s
ad helped to oster a high level o social capital in the Mandira
ommunity that acilitated the organization o Cooperostra. Other
oyster extractor communities were then recruited and readily
dapted to the relatively high level o organization. In the case oother Canania communities, there were oten existing social and
ultural structures that acilitated the development o associations,
legal requirement or the management o extractive reserve units.
n the case o the producers in the municipality o Canania, the
ntrepreneurial nature o the initiative was also taken into account
n order to choose the best management system. The cooperative
ystem was chosen because it is a collective enterprise and because
o the possibilities this system oers regarding the participation o
ts members in decision making, in dividing responsibilities amongst
the members, and in providing social benets to their commun
The inexperience o many o the extractors regarding these t
o organization reected a need or training courses explai
the topics o associations and cooperatives. Leaders o the Oy
Producers cooperative o Canania participated in a training co
on cooperatives, with a particular ocus on the purposes o
cooperative, the specic unctions o each position, the inte
organization and inter-institutional relations. The courses trigg
a process o continuous training and expanded to include o
members o the cooperative, reaching the communities, with
aim o democratizing inormation and promoting the training
in management o the entity, given that elections occur regularly
change the leadership picture. The training process is continuwhether through the participation o the cooperative membe
routine activities where they learn by doing, or through participa
in specic courses.
Management o oyster harvesting
The primary activity o the Cooperostra is the management o
natural oyster beds. This is an alternative to basic extraction, espec
during the closed season rom December to February each ye
when producers are required to report to IBAMA the stocks tha
be marketed. In addition to enabling commercialization during
closed season, the oysters originating rom the mangrove o
management structures look better, and thereby acquire a himarket price, even rom the middlemen. This experimental mo
was deployed in the area o Mandira. The positive results
acceptance by the harvesters led to demand in other commun
Thus, in 1997, the expansion o activity to other communities i
estuary in Canania occurred. In particular, adoption o a pra
or attening oysters (engorda) has been high, and has been m
a condition or members to join the cooperative. The credibili
the producers also generated innovations, such as the replacem
o imsy temporary structures made rom bamboo poles
permanent structures placed on a concrete oundation.
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esults o the initiatives sustainable management activities have
ncluded the placement o 142 temporary structures or attening
ysters and 11 permanent ones, or a total o 153 structures;
ncreased demand or attening structures, comprising 41 temporary
nd 65 permanent ones; increase in the number o extractors who
manage oysters; increased availability o materials or members o
he cooperative to use the nurseries; and experiments conducted on
he cultivation o oysters.
Market entry
One o the goals o the project has been the insertion o the
ooperative into the consumer market. This required the development
a strategy o consolidation o the enterprise. A business plan
was drated, examining the complexity o the elements involved
n the extraction, handling, cleaning, packing, transportation and
marketing o the oysters. The strategy o entering the market in a
ompetitive manner took into account the basic principles o the
roject: environmental conservation and improvement o living
onditions o the population o extractors. Surveying the market
o grasp the orms o marketing, pricing, competition, trends and
otential consumption was the rst stage in this process. This was
ollowed by dening the promotion strategy, brand, and logo, and
reparing written material about the product and the project. The
ierentiated aspect o the product was displayed in relation to
thers on the market, namely its highly hygienic product quality,
nd its sustainable origins. Financing rom the Brazilian Biodiversity
und (FUNBIO) was used to drat and implement the Cooperostra
usiness Plan.
his business plan set prices or the product, based on a survey o
irect and indirect costs, and established salaries or harvesters,
epresenting on average a 100 per cent increase on their previous
arnings. Other eatures included the development o a data bankoncerning the market and direct mailings to potential customers;
ening the elements o product promotion; selecting packaging
or distribution; marketing the product on the coast o So Paulo;
nd production o extensive promotional material (banners,
rochures, yers, business cards, signs and banners.) The plan also
ncouraged decreased selling o shelled oysters to middlemen by
ooperative members.
Meeting hygiene standards
he need to clean oysters in order to make the nished product t
or consumption was raised in the rst stage o the project. The initial
ption was to build a purication plant in the district itsel. Studieso decide on its structure, in compliance with the legal standards o
onstruction and operation, however, pointed to the ineasibility o
ts location on the Reserve, because it would only serve the Mandira
ommunity. Construction in a more accessible location would
enet other producers in the municipality.
he cleaning o the oysters, besides ensuring a desirable product
rom a sanitary point o view, enhances the product in the market,
eading to local added value. The construction o the puriying
tation, with a large part o it run cooperatively by the members,
was made possible by unding rom a number o sources, inclu
the Brazilian Ministry o Environment and the International
or Reconstruction and Development, the Margaret Mee Bota
Foundation, and World Vision. The smooth operation o the she
puriying station is crucially important to the success o the pro
because, besides being the main structure administered by
cooperative, it is where quality control o the product takes p
which is a basic requirement or market competitiveness.
The construction o the puriying station gave the cooperative
capacity to clean roughly 40,000 dozen oysters per month,
established standard operating procedures or shellsh purica
A secondary process involved compiling the hygienic-san
prole o areas suitable or oyster arming, based on obtai
laboratory analyses o water rom the estuary and rom
production o oysters. An agreement was signed with the Regi
Registration Laboratory (Vale do Ribeira) o the State Secreta
Health to conduct periodic microbiological testing o water
o oyster production at the puriying station, while the initia
also established a ramework or sanitary monitoring o the wa
owing into the main areas where oysters are collected. Fina
series o workshops were held bringing together state departm
responsible or agriculture, sheries, health, sanitation, and bus
to improve monitoring processes.
Environmental certifcation
Obtaining environmental certication or the oyster harves
and purication process was necessary to complement
project objective o preserving the environment and ensu
the sustainable management and regeneration o the
oyster population. It was agreed that consumers are increas
concerned with the negative impacts o production processes,
that gaining a green seal o approval would increase demand oproduct. This environmental certication involved two stages
study o the natural stocks o Crassotrea brasiliana oysters, in o
to obtain evidence o the compatibility o the production o oy
rom Canania with the existing stocks in mangrove swamp a
and ii) establishment o environmental certication parameter
the sustainable production o oysters, which did not yet exis
consultation with the Marine Stewardship Council, the evalua
stated that certication rom this agency would be impo
or Cooperostra or selling to international markets, a long-
goal o the project. While this has not yet been realised, surve
the natural production o oysters in Canania estuary have b
conducted to determine the maximum extraction capacity, and
group continues to work on improving the product or sale oninternational market.
Governance o the initiative
Cooperostra has adopted an innovative governance mo
whereby community members participate in all stages o dec
making, rom needs assessment to planning, implementation
accountability. Community leadership is supplemented by part
that provide expert help where needed. This represents a cha
rom the status quo, to a project o the community, designe
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he community, on the basis o its needs and expectations, with
he support o experts. The organization has also been particularly
dept at undraising to carry out specic actions and phases o the
roject. In all cases, the community identied what was needed and
ut in bids or unding with a range o stakeholders.
nnovations in oyster management and purifcation
he nature o the initiatives oyster management is also an innovation.n the 1970s, researchers carried out experiments on the cultivation
native oysters rom seed in the estuary o Canania. The initiative
ailed to gain traction or the support o extractors. In the mid-1990s
when the current initiative began, a choice was made to introduce
he management o oysters instead. This involves the use o articial
attening beds installed in the intertidal zone (coroa or baixio) in
reas o sandy sediment. Native oysters are initially taken rom wild
tocks. Collectors head out at low tide to reach the oysters, which are
ttached to the roots o the trees in the mangroves. They are then
laced in wooden structures installed in the sand banks or our to
ix months. When the tide is high the oysters are covered, the shells
re open and the oysters eed; when the tide is low, the oysters are
ncovered. During this time they are attened to a commercial size
approximately 8 cm. The process o attening helps the oysters
o become plump and succulent and increases their chance o
eproducing. The oysters contain almost no at, as the reserves they
uild up are mainly glycogen, which is a carbohydrate. Fattening
ysters reduces the need to collect other oysters and is a requisite
or participating in the cooperative.
The introduction o this technology came about ater a n
assessment was carried out among extractors by the So P
Forestry Foundation in 1994, seeking to improve productivity
add value to the product. The experimental module was deplo
in the area o Mandira. Initially, the structures were temporary, u
bamboo poles with a duration o one harvesting cycle. The appr
has been so successul that permanent structures, which are pl
on a concrete base, have been built and are sustaining this activ
While the waters o the Estuary o Canania are o exce
quality, the purication process is required to obtain license
commercialization. On the basis o research carried out by pro
specialists, purication using ultraviolet light was selected as
best model. The puriying station oversees the ollowing pro
the oysters collected by extractors are cleaned o other organi
selected, sorted, and packed in perorated plastic boxes, e
dozen per box. They are then placed in tanks with continuo
renewed water sterilized by an ultraviolet system. The treatm
lasts rom two to six hours or each batch o oysters, dependin
water conditions. Based on their own observations o the proc
cooperative members have also made some adjustments. Mem
observed how boxes were placed on the oor, at the bottom o
tank. The problem was that in the ltering process, the oysters e
debris, which was causing the puried or cleaned oysters to h
contact with the debris. To solve the problem, the members cre
a small support system or the boxes, made rom PVC pipes, ab
10 cm high, which creates a distance between the boxes and
oor.
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Impacts
BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS
Prior to the project, oysters were removed rom the mangrove swamp
nd immediately sold. The daily output was then sold to middlemen,
who oten set unreasonably low prices. With the introduction o
attening nurseries, the oysters remain in the mangrove swamp until
he time o sale, which contributes to their reproduction in their
natural habitat. The small oysters that become stuck onto larger
ones (called head) had no use prior to the project. Through proper
management, these small oysters are now detached rom the larger
oysters and remain in the nursery until they reach the correct size
or sale. In addition to the attening nurseries, the initiative has
lso encouraged the practice o bottom-diving, in which oystersre harvested rom the estuary oor rather than rom its mangrove
orests.
Table 1 shows the adoption o the two principal practices or
mproving sustainability o oyster populations (attening and
bottom diving) across six communities in 2007.
During 2007, 75,000 dozen oysters, corresponding to 40 per cent
o the total production o Canania, were managed in attening
nurseries. However, considering that the production o oysters
n the box is partly intended or attening in nurseries, one can
estimate that this gure is higher. With respect to producer gro
the Mandira group was the most active in the practice o atte
in nurseries, accounting or about 50 per cent o attening prac
throughout the municipality.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
There has been a clear increase in the incomes o cooper
members. These innovative techniques o managing oysters in
natural habitat, together with well-inormed marketing strate
have served to improve local livelihoods. The initiative has achi
an improvement in the quality o lie o the regions tradit
extractors as a result o the payment o air prices or their proExtractors have gained a price increase, on average, o about 10
cent. They have also successully diversied their incomes as a r
o training in a range o activities. Women and youth have
heavily engaged in the project. There is now greater comm
access to goods and services, particularly to health services.
Beyond the economic benets, however, is the act that o
extractors, who prior to the project were socially marginalised,
been recognized as workers and the status o their occupation
been raised. The personal and community empowerment resu
rom this has inspired similar initiatives and urther collective ac
Table 1: Adoption of fattening and bottom-diving practices (%) , 2007
Locaon Management using faening nurseries Extracon by boom-diving
Sos 87 26
Acara 47 27
Porto Cubato 15 -
Itapitangui 85 15
So Paulo Bagre 75 0
Mandira 62 -
Average 63.9 12.4
ource: Cooperostra.
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Empowerment o women and youth
One such activity has been around womens groups and
entrepreneurship. The women o Mandira typically worked in
emoving oysters rom their shells, which was an illegal activity.
Ater this practice was ended by the beginning o the Cooperostra
nitiative, local women demanded that part o an early unding
application be earmarked or the purchase o sewing machines.
The initial idea was or the women to get training to sew or theiramilies. Ater the rst machines were bought, the women received
rained and identied a niche or income generation. They obtained
a donation o industrial machines and began to sew commercially,
pecializing in clothing or beekeepers. This womens group
diversied its production by recruiting artisans who used ancestral
echniques or making baskets and who created new items using
oyster shells. Today, this initiative sells clothing (including extractive
eserve t-shirts), decorations and ornaments, purses, and wooden
canoes, among other items, to generate an additional source o
evenue or their amilies.
Through the oyster extraction project, young people have also
become involved, laying the groundwork or a new generation oustainability. Many youths have been trained and employed as
environmental monitors.
Diversiying income sources
The initiative has also expanded into ecotourism, oering visitors
he chance to learn about the history and culture o the quilombolas,
he Mandira community, and the estuarys oyster-harvesting
communities. This initiative is integrated with environmental
education, where groups o students are given lectures about the
community and the project, are given a tour o the oyster arms, and
are provided with a cultural experience where they are shown theuins o stone houses constructed in the era o slavery and sambaqui,
piles o mollusc shells rom the pre-Cabral era.
POLICY IMPACTS
Cooperostra has participated politically in social and environmental
movements at dierent levels. At the municipal level, their
epresentatives participated in the Canania Network, a collective o
organizations created in 2004, which aims to strengthen community
nitiatives and create a network o alternatives or local, sustainable
and integrated development. With 23 organizations and groups,
he network supports direct and indirect actions, as well as projects
and programs in dierent areas: culture, community strengthening,ustainable management o natural resources and environmental
education.
At the regional level, the community is represented by the
Coordinating Team or Black Communities (EACONE), which works to
deend the rights o quilombolas. The community also participates
n the Movement o People Threatened by Dams, an organization
ounded in 1991 by people threatened by the dams o the Vale do
Ribeira; the group organizes resistance against the construction o
dams on the Ribeira do Iguape River in the states o So Paulo and
Paran. This is a national movement that is present in 19 Braz
states and questions the energy model implemented in B
Through these organizations, the community has participate
seminars to prepare the Plan o Sustainable Territorial Developm
o the Vale do Ribeira.
At the municipal level, although public services are still not adeq
to meet the needs o community residents, there has bee
improvement compared to the period prior to the project. Arrom recognition o the work o the oyster producers o Cana
and the visibility that the project has achieved, basic he
transportation and education services have improved.
At the ederal level, the community has a designated seat in
National Council o the Biosphere Reserve o the Atlantic Fo
representing the residents o south-eastern Brazil.
The project began during the re-democratization o the cou
Since then, numerous communities have acquired greater pol
expression and voice. The Mandira community joined many o
communities and, to some extent, participates in changes inhe
to the democratic process. The recognition o the eectivenethe project has contributed to the creation o other conserva
nits o sustainable use in the estuary lagoon complex o Cana
In February 2006, a state law established the Extractive Reserv
Taquari and Tumba Island, as well as the Sustainable Developm
Reserve o Itapanhoapima. All are in areas used by extracto
oysters and o other mangrove swamp resources, including t
linked to the project.
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12
Sustainability and Replication
SUSTAINABILITYhe longevity and success o the initiative are based on its cultural,
ocial, ethical, ecological, political, economic and territorial
ustainability. The community understands sustainability as a
ontinuous process and although there have been improvements
n the living conditions o local people, production techniques with
ess impact on the environment have been introduced, and sanitary
ealth measures have contributed to providing a healthier product,
much work remains to be done.
Community participation and capacity building have been essential
omponents o the projects sustainability. The initiative also creditsn expansion o knowledge, the social inclusion o women and
outh, nancial support rom partners and other stakeholders,
trategic partnership, and technical and political support rom
arious institutions as contributing success actors.
A study on extraction in the municipality ound that impacts on
ncome were seen most clearly in the community o Mandira,
he most active community in the project. Likewise, the largest
umber o oyster attening nurseries is concentrated there. Mandira
xtractors are the main suppliers o Cooperostra, and they also work
n marketing the oysters. Some extractors rom other communities
re Cooperative members, but their inclusion is, in large part, as
uppliers. There is a need to strengthen the organization o theooperatives members, making equitable the participation o all.
he expansion o the project to other communities would bring
roader social and environmental benets.
REPLICATION
esides training related to activities such as management,
dministration, cooperatives, associations, environmental
monitoring, and inormation technology, exchanges with other
ommunities have become part o the cooperatives training process.
Sharing experiences with other projects occurs through welco
visitors and through international learning exchanges undert
by community members. For instance, Cooperostra is part o
international Slow Food network that promotes traditional, loc
sourced cuisine, having participated in exhibitions sponsored by
entity in Italy. The cooperative also hosted participants o the Ei
Conerence o the Parties (COP 8) to the Convention on Biolo
Diversity, held in Curitiba in 2006, through its relationship with
UNDP Equator Initiative.
The use o television and print media has been a key strategy
or disseminating inormation about the project. Since its incep
there has been substantial media interest in the project, includintelevision programmes, two o which aired on the largest statio
the country. The group has also gained exposure in print media
articles in magazines, six o which with a national circulation; aro
30 newspaper articles, 13 o them in newspapers with a nat
circulation; and several urther news stories have reported
involvement o Cooperostra with the Equator Initiative in partic
Network development
There has been an ongoing exchange o experiences
communities rom various regions o Brazil, at dierent stag
implementation o their projects. Coastal communities, suc
Paraty rom Rio de Janeiro, have visited Mandira to learn about oyster management system. Other visitors have been intereste
the cooperatives governance system. Events such as social econ
airs also promote collaboration between projects, while Cooper
and Mandira are part o So Paulos school eld trip circui
environmental studies. There has been participation by produce
seminars and meetings on issues relating to the project. At the
level, producers who are not tied to Cooperostra have also be
to use the management techniques adopted and disseminate
the cooperative, illustrating the transer o its model and inu
throughout coastal communities.
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1313
PARTNERS
Residents Association o the Extractive Reserve o Mandira
District (REMA): community organization and experimentation
with management techniques
Forestry Foundation o the State o So Paulo: provides technical
support or the design o projects, publicity and political and
nancial supportFisheries Institute: undertakes research on the natural stock
o oysters in the mangrove swamp and on management
techniques
Nucleus o Support o Research on Populations in Humid Areas
in Brazil: provides social research and political and nancial
support
C. E. Gaia Ambiental (Gaia Environmental): provides technical
support
Margaret Mee Botany Foundation: provides nancial
administrative support
Pastoral Commission or Fisheries: provides political suppo
Institute Adolo Lutz: provides quality control o pro
(including laboratory analysis)
Ministry o the Environment: provides nancial support Municipal Government o the Seaside Resort o Cana
donated land or the construction o the purication statio
Shell Brasil: provides nancial support
World Vision: provides nancial support
Brazilian Fund or Biodiversity (FUNBIO): nanced the de
and implementation o Cooperostras business plan
There is a need to provide special treatment to those who have not attained equality smal
scale producers should have access to government funding, tax exemptions and technical suppo
as the environmental, social and economic sustainability of local communities contributes to th
sustainability of the planet.
Wanda Maldonado, Forestry Foundation of the State of So Paulo
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Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:
Equator Initiative
Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: +1 646 781 4023
www.equatorinitiative.org
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change and
necting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.
The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati
o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.
2012 by Equator Initiative
All rights reserved
FURTHER REFERENCE
Machado, I.C., A Portrait o extraction: sustainability in the commercial exploitation o the mangrove oyster in Canania (Doctoral Th
Federal University o Sao Carlos), 2009.
Medeiros, D. 2006. Poverty Alleviation and Biodiversity Conservation in Rural Brazil: A Case Study o the Canania Oyster Producer
operative. Masters thesis, University o Manitoba. http://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/canadaresearchchair/thesis/
deiros%20masters%20thesis%202006.pd
http://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/canadaresearchchair/thesis/dmedeiros%20masters%20thesis%202006.pdfhttp://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/canadaresearchchair/thesis/dmedeiros%20masters%20thesis%202006.pdfhttp://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/canadaresearchchair/thesis/dmedeiros%20masters%20thesis%202006.pdfhttp://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/canadaresearchchair/thesis/dmedeiros%20masters%20thesis%202006.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348163749.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348150773.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348150898.pdf
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