case studies undp: pescado azul women's association of isabela, ecuador

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: PESCADO AZUL WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF ISABELA, Ecuador

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions or people, nature, and resilient communities

Ecuador

PESCADO AZULWOMENS ASSOCIATIONOF ISABELA

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 to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 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-Chief: 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 Pescado Azul Womens Association o Isabela, and in particular the guidance a

inputs o Emma Flor, President o the Association. All photo credits courtesy o Emma Flor. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook a

Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Pescado Azul Womens Association of Isabela, Ecuador. 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/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858


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PROJECT SUMMARYThis womens cooperative is providing livelihood options or

the women and men o the island o Isabela in the Galpagos

Islands. This small-scale enterprise is simultaneously

decreasing pressures on overexploited local sheries by

adding value, rather than scale, to its production o smoked sh.

Fishermen in the region have traditionally relied on

declining populations o coastal sea cucumber, lobster,

and shark or their livelihoods. Asociacin de Mujeres de

Isabela provides an alternative by creating a market or

sustainably-sourced tuna, which is processed, smoked,and sold to tourists. Additionally, the Pescado Azul

initiative contributes to the conservation o the Galpagos

Islands unique and endemic biodiversity by using guava

wood, a destructive invasive species, to smoke the sh.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2006

FOUNDED: 2001

LOCATION: Puerto Villamil, Isabela, Galpagos Islands

BENEFICIARIES: 3,000 residents

BIODIVERSITY: migratory pelagic fsh species

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 5

Biodiversity Impacts 6

Socioeconomic Impacts 6

Sustainability 7

Partners 7

PESCADO AZUL WOMENS ASSOCIATIONOF ISABELAEcuador


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he Galpagos Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contain

ome o the most unique ora and auna in the world. Isabela is the

argest island in the archipelago and is located 973 kilometers of the

oast o Ecuador. The tranquil environment and abundance o marine

iodiversity attract tourists the world over to the island. Isabela,

owever, sufers rom low levels o economic development and a

umber o threats to its ecosystems. The primary threat, common to

his region o the Pacic Ocean, is unsustainable and illegal shing.

his is having deleterious efects on marine biodiversity, and notably

number o shark species. Sharks are a main target o illegal shing,

s their ns etch high returns in several Asian markets.

ishermen with ew other livelihood options are contracted byarge-scale industrial shing companies. Because local authorities

ack capacity to enorce shing regulations, indiscriminate shing

echniques result in the capture o juvenile and spawning sh, the

naring o turtles and other threatened species, and the degradation

coastal ecosystems.

A women-led initiative for sustainable livelihoods

he Pescado Azul Womens Association o Isabela was ounded

n 2001 by a small group o entrepreneurial women in the remote

illage o Puerto Villamil. The association provides jobs or

nemployed women and sustainable economic alternatives or

shermen. Traditionally, shermen have harvested sh in coastalreas, resulting in the over-exploitation o the sea cucumber, the

piny lobster, and a variety o other sh in the region.

escado Azul provides a productive alternative by developing

marketable smoked ood products using yellow-n tuna. These

pecies o tuna are sourced rom local shermen who adhere to

shing rules and regulations. All suppliers have to meet standards o

measurement and control relating to catch size and gear to sell sh

o the cooperative. Once processed, the products are sold to

tourists. This small-scale company is reducing pressure on alr

overexploited sheries resources and advancing an altern

model o sustainable development.

Addressing local needs

The initiative evolved in response to poor economic conditions

limited job opportunities open to the 3,000 residents o Isabela

architects o the project saw untapped potential or value-ad

secondary processing o sh and the application o widespread

knowledge on the sustainable management o marine ecosyst

The cooperative was ormed to create employment opportun

or local women, to protect and conserve the local environmenprovide or local ood security, and to create a market or sustain

harvested marine resources.

Background and Context


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Key Activities and Innovations

he primary activity o the cooperative, the rst o its kind on the

sland, is producing value-added goods rom legally caught yellow-

n tuna. Guava wood, an invasive alien species, is used to smoke

lets, loins, pate and croquetas, which are then packaged and sold

nder the Pescado Azul brand. The cooperative uses all-natural,

ocal ingredients. Pescado Azul works with ecotourism operators

o identiy markets or their products, and has been successul in

reating a brand identity associated with traditional knowledge,

mall-scale shermen, and environmental sustainability.

Another main activity o Pescado Azul has been to raise awareness

mongst local shermen about the economic incentives possible

rom responsible shing practices. The market or environmentally-riendly products in the region and the higher premiums associated

with these products is not widely known to local shermen. Pescado

Azul works to educate the local population on the market demand

or sustainable shing practices, and to simultaneously oster pride

n a traditional marine resource management ethic that is ounded

on conservation and natural replenishment. The objective is to

acilitate the wide uptake o legal shing practices on Isabela.

he initiative currently has 30 hectares o marine and coastal territory

nder protection, an area they hope to expand to 100 hectares by

012. Pescado Azul is working to expand production or export to

arger markets and to grow the cooperative to include more sher-

women. Plans are also underway to work with neighboring islands tooordinate processing and marketing activities. This plan will ocus

on the populations o Isabela (3,000 people), Santa Cruz (19,000

people), and San Cristobal (8,000 people).

I would like to see a global movement to preserve biodiversity, so that each one of us is awar

of the place where we live and so that each one of us takes care of everything around us.

Emma Flor, President of the Association


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Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

Biodiversity conservation is at the heart o the Pescado Azul initiative.

The conservation and sustainable use o marine resources is the basis

o the cooperatives niche in the market. When the initiative began in

2001, no similar products existed in regional markets which placed

n emphasis on sourcing sustainably harvested sh. Pescado Azul

provides a unique value-added secondary product that uses yellow-

n tuna caught exclusively by small-scale shermen who adhere to

egal shing regulations.

This emphasis is important, as the oceans of the coast o the

Galapagos Islands have been the site o large-scale and destructiveshing practices, where industrial vessels secretly enter marine

eserves and protected areas to capture commercially valuable sh

pecies. Both inside and outside marine protected areas, industrial

vessels routinely ignore legal limits on catch sizes and keep sh

hat have either not reached maturity or been able to complete the

eproductive cycle that ensures sustainability and regeneration.

ndustrial vessel techniques are also indiscriminate in what their nets

apture, requently catching sharks and other unique species that

re integral parts o their ecosystems, as well as charismatic species

hat are the backbone o the regions eco-tourism economy.

Pescado Azul ofers a business model that with numerous ben

or migratory pelagic sh species. The group uses control

measurement standards within their shing networks to ensure

juvenile sh are not captured and are thereore allowed to m

and reproduce and that shing techniques do not threaten o

marine biodiversity, including sharks and turtles.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

Prior to the initiative, local women had ew employm

opportunities, and those engaged in the sheries sector did

have a guaranteed market or their catch. The changes since

initiative began have been signicant. Targeting tourists wsustainable and environmentally-responsible product has impr

local incomes and opened up new markets to local shermen. W

the volume o processed sh sold by Pescado Azul is still lim

the business is already providing employment or ourteen pe

on the island o Isabela. Prior to September 2005, the wome

Pescado Azul had never received a wage or their eforts. Begin

in September 2005, the women began to earn an average o

300 every two months, and they had already increased incom

USD 500 or the July-August 2006 period.

Policymakers should work to help the poor. At the same time, they should be willing to lear

from local people, who have important knowledge to share and exchange. Projects must benef

the community. Projects that are designed and developed based on the needs of the poore

people will always have positive results.

Emma Flor, President of the Association


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Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYescado Azul is one o the rst cooperatives o its kind in the

Galapagos Islands, and is made particularly exceptional in that

t was spearheaded and remains operated exclusively by local

women. The organization has a great deal o resonance with the

ocal population, as it emphasizes traditional knowledge and the

onservation and sustainable use o local marine resources. In

erms o institutional sustainability, Pescado Azul has drated an

perations manual, dened processing procedures to standardize

ts work, and established accounting and reporting policies to

nsure transparency and good governance. The organization is

lso nancially sustainable, covering all operating and advertisingxpenses with revenues rom the sale o their products. Women are

aid in proportion to sales at the end o the month.

he next phase o the project will involve creation o a processing

acility, which is required or certication needed to begin exporting

he Pescado Azul products to larger markets on the mainland. A

rocessing acility would also make it possible to make the cooperative

year-round operation. Currently, Pescado Azul only provides

easonal employment due to a lack o rerigeration equipment and

roper storage acilities. Seasonal employment variations lead to

conomic uncertainty, which leads to environmentally unsustainable

ractices and impedes local development.

PARTNERS

National Institute o Fisheries (INP) was the one o the rst partners

or Pescado Azul, inspiring the women to start their own business

nd providing a workshop on sh processing techniques.

Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) strengthened the

rganization by providing workshops and assisting in the elaboration

bylaws. In addition, the CDRS provided rerigerators to get the

usiness started.

Araucaria provided a graphic designer to create the Pescado

logo, as well as a vacuum sealer, steel processing tables, an elect

balance, and a computer.

Galapagos National Park Service hired a ood engineer to prov

course or the women o Pescado Azul in value-added processin

USAID/WWF/WildAid: Through the USAID-nanced Conserva

o the Galapagos Marine Reserve project, Pescado Azul receiv

comprehensive technical assistance package rom WildAid and W

The intervention included: provision o equipment (a semi-indu

oven, a vacuum sealer, and rerigerators); technical assistanc

processing; development o a business plan; and, support indevelopment o marketing materials and a distribution strategy


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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

Presentation on Pescado Azul (PowerPoint)www.icran.org/pd/Pescado_Azul_Ecuador.ppt

Pescado Azul Photo Story (Vimeo)http://vimeo.com/15960157

Pescado Azul eatured on WWF websitehttp://www.worldwildlie.org/what/wherewework/galapagos/people.html
http://www.icran.org/pdf/Pescado_Azul_Ecuador.ppthttp://www.icran.org/pdf/Pescado_Azul_Ecuador.ppthttp://vimeo.com/15960157http://vimeo.com/15960157http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/galapagos/people.htmlhttp://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/galapagos/people.htmlhttp://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/galapagos/people.htmlhttp://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/galapagos/people.htmlhttp://vimeo.com/15960157http://vimeo.com/15960157http://www.icran.org/pdf/Pescado_Azul_Ecuador.ppthttp://www.icran.org/pdf/Pescado_Azul_Ecuador.ppthttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348160793.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348163605.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348165961.pdf

case studies undp: pescado azul women's association of isabela, ecuador

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