The voices of youth in envisioning positive futures for nature and people

The unpredictable Anthropocene poses the challenge of imagining a radically different, equitable and sustainable world. Looking 100 years ahead is not easy, and especially as millennials, it appears quite bleak. This paper is the outcome of a visioning exercise carried out in a 2-day workshop, attended by 33 young early career professionals under the auspices of IPBES. The process used Nature Futures Framework in an adapted visioning method from the Seeds of Good Anthropocene project. Four groups envisioned more desirable future worlds; where humanity has organised itself, the economy, politics and technology, to achieve improved nature-human well-being. The four visions had differing conceptualisations of this future. However, there were interesting commonalities in their leverage points for transformative change, including an emphasis on community, fundamentally different economic systems based on sharing and technological solutions to foster sustainability and human-nature connectedness. Debates included questioning the possibility of maintaining local biocultural diversity with increased connectivity globally and the prominence of technology for sustainability outcomes. These visions are the first step towards a wider galvanisation of youth visions for a brighter future, which is often missing in the arena where it can be taken seriously, to trigger more transformative pathways towards meeting global goals

Depletion Of Marine Megafauna And Shifting Baselines Among Artisanal Fishers In Eastern Brazil

Increasing exploitation effort and efficiency have been leading to population declines and extinctions among large marine animals. Understanding the magnitude of such losses is challenging because current baselines about species' abundances and distributions in the sea were mostly established after humans had started affecting marine populations. For artisanal fisheries, from which written historical records are rarely, if ever, available, approaches based on gathering anecdotal information from fishers' knowledge are a promising method to know the past environmental conditions. We interviewed coastal artisanal fishers, with ages varying from 15 to 85 years, to detect temporal changes in the catch abundance of large fish species, particularly the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis and the goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara within Abrolhos Bank, Brazil. Most fishers considered that fishing has led to species depletion. However, older fishers reported significantly more species and larger species as depleted than young fishers. Older fishers caught significantly larger largetooth sawfish and goliath grouper in the past than younger fishes. The largetooth sawfish has not been caught or sought for more than 10 years. Probabilistic tests provided no definitive evidence for local extinction, although the past record of sightings indicates a population decline close to the threshold level for extinction probability. We provide evidence that small-scale artisanal fisheries can decimate the abundance of large coastal fishes, one of those almost close to local extinction. Finally, our results suggest that the younger generation is not aware of past ecological conditions, indicating the occurrence of a shifting baseline syndrome among the fishing community

Governing Wide Coastal-marine Protected Territories: A Governance Analysis Of The Baleia Franca Environmental Protection Area In South Brazil

This is a governance analysis of a large coastal-marine protected area encompassing over 156,000. ha and including nine coastal cities in south Brazil - Baleia Franca Environmental Protection Area (BFEPA). While the governance focus of BFEPA has been on participative incentives, progress has been challenging given the enormous size of the area protected and because more bottom-up processes continuously clash with top-down higher-level decisions in the country. It is argued that while current interpretative incentives should be maintained and strengthened, economic and legal incentives should be where more substantial progress has to be made. While major expectation for innovation and change is currently placed in the on-going formulation of a participative Management Plan, entrenched views on development, planning and governing must be challenged. This is not an easy task considering it opposes the prevailing economic development rationale in Brazil. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.41118125(2010), Ministério do Meio Ambiente-MMA Panorama da conservação dos ecossistemas costeiros e marinhos no Brasil. Brasília;Polette, M., Vieira, P.F., The strides and gaps in Brazilian integrated coastal zone management: an undercover evaluation of the scientific community's perceptions and actions (2009) Ocean Yearb, 23, pp. 670-685Gerhardinger, L.C., Godoy, E.A.S., Jones, P.J.S., Sales, G., Ferreira, B.P., Marine protected dramas: the flaws of the Brazilian national system of marine protected areas (2011) Environ Manage, 47 (4), pp. 630-643Chuenpagdee, R., Interactive governance for marine conservation: an illustration (2011) Bull Mar Sci, 87, pp. 197-211Olson, M., (1982) The rise and decline of nations, , Yale University Press, New HavenVivacqua, M., Santos, C.R., Vieira, P.F., Governança territorial em zonas costeiras protegidas: uma avaliação exploratória da experiĉncia catarinense (2009) Desenvolvimento Meio Ambiente, 19, pp. 159-171Gerhardinger, L.C., Godoy, E.A.S., Jones, P.J.S., Local ecological knowledge and the management of marine protected areas in Brazil (2009) Ocean Coastal Manage, 52, pp. 154-165Jones, P.J.S., Qiu, W., De Santo, E.M., Governing marine protected areas - getting the balance right (2011), http://mpag.info, Technical report, United Nations Environment Programme, Available at[accessed 17.10.12]Seixas, C.S., Berkes, F., Learning from fishers: incorporating local knowledge in policy design and assessment (2003), pp. 333-71. , In: Vieira PHF, editor. Conservação da diversidade biológica e cultural em zonas costeiras: enfoques e experiĉncias na América Latina e no Caribe, 1. Florianópolis: APED Editora(2007), Núcleo de Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento. NMD/UFSC Avaliação local participativa de ecossistemas litorâneos no sul do Brasil. Projeto piloto de criação de uma Agenda 21 Local na área da Lagoa de Ibiraquera, município de Imbituba e Garopaba, estado de Santa Catarina. Florianópolis, NMD-UFSCMacedo, H.S., (2008), Processos participativos na gestão de áreas protegidas: estudo de caso em unidades de conservação de uso sustentável da zona costeira do Sul do Brasil. Dissertação de Mestrado - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciĉncias Humanas. Programa de Pos-Graduação em Sociologia Politica. Florianópolis(2007), ICMBio, IBAMA,MMA. Estudos para criação da reserva extrativista de imbituba e Garopaba/SC. FlorianopolisVieira, P.F., Rumo do desenvolvimento territorial sustentável: esboço de roteiro metodológico participativo (2006) Eisforia, 4 (4), pp. 249-309Dagnino, E., Sociedade civil, espaços públicos e construção democrática no Brasil: limites e possibilidades (2002) Sociedade civil e espaços públicos no Brasil, pp. 279-303. , Paz e Terra, Rio de Janeiro, E. Dagnino (Ed.)Kearney, J., Wiber, M., Learning communities as a tool in resource management (2006), In: Proceedings of the November 2005 Halifax learning communities workshopDavidson-Hunt, I.J., O'Flaherty, R.M., Researchers, indigenous peoples, and place-based learning communities (2007) Soc Nat Resour, 20, pp. 291-30

Habitat Use And Abundance Of Goliath Grouper Epinephelus Itajara In Brazil: A Participative Survey

Developing survey strategies for threatened species is often limited by access to sufficient individuals to acquire information needed to design appropriate conservation measures. The goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) is a large reef fish, globally classified as critically endangered. In Brazil, fishing has been prohibited since 2002. Herein we investigated habitat use and abundance of E. itajara in Brazil drawn from a participative  survey, which engaged volunteer divers in data-collection. A total of 188 reports were recorded between 2005 to 2011 throughout 13 Brazilian states. Our results revealed that habitat type influenced the relationship between total length and depth of occurrence of E. itajara. We observed a significant difference between habitats, artificial presented a nonlinear and natural an asymptotic relationship. This study underscores the importance of developing conservation measures addressing specific habitats and locations to enhance population recovery. Artificial structures (shipwrecks and manmade reefs) are critical habitats that must be considered as highly sensitive areas to E. itajara strategic conservation policies. We suggest the creation and implementation of marine protected areas, as key strategies for E. itajara conservation, especially for artificial habitats and aggregation sites.124803810Amaral, A.C.Z., Jablonski, S., Conservation of Marine and Coastal Biodiversity in Brazil (2005) Conservation Biology, 19, pp. 625-631Auster, P.J., Semmens, B.X., Barber, K., Pattern in the co-occurrence of fishes inhabiting the coral reefs of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (2005) Environmental Biology of Fishes, 74, pp. 187-194Bullock, L.H., Murphy, M.D., Godcharles, M.F., Mitchell, M.E., Age, growth and reproduction of jewfish Epinephelus itajara in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (1992) Fisheries Bulletin, 90, pp. 243-249Carlson, J.K., Gulak, S.J.B., Simpfendorfer, C.A., Grubbs, R.D., Romine, J.G., (2013) Movement patterns and habitat use of smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, determined using popup satellite archival tags, , Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater EcosystemsCarvalho-Filho, A., (1999) Peixes: Costa brasileira, , ed. São Paulo, Editora MelroCollins, A.B., A preliminary assessment of the abundance and size distribution of goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara within a defined region of the Central Eastern Gulf of Mexico (2008) Proceedings of the 61st Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries InstituteCollins, A.B., Barbieri, L.R., (2010) Behavior, habitat, and abundance of the Goliath Grouper, Epinephelus itajara, in the Central Eastern Gulf of Mexico, , Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation CommissionCraig, M.T., Graham, R.T., Torres, R.A., Hyde, J.R., Freitas, M.O., Ferreira, B.P., Hostim-Silva, M., Robertson, D.R., How many species of goliath grouper are there? Cryptic genetic divergence in a threatened marine fish and the resurrection of a geopolitical species (2009) Endangered Species Research, 7, pp. 167-174Dalla Rosa, L., Ford, J.K.B., Trites, A.W., Distribution and relative abundance of humpback whales in relation to environmental variables in coastal British Columbia and adjacent waters (2012) Continental Shelf Research, 36, pp. 89-104Darwal, W.R.T., Dulvy, N.T., An evaluation of the suitability of non-specialist volunteer researchers for coral reef fish surveys. Mafia Island, Tanzania - A case study (1996) Biological Conservation, 78, pp. 223-231Eklund, A.M., Schull, J., A stepwise approach to investigate the movement patterns and habitat utilization of goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara, using conventional tagging, acoustic telemetry and satellite tracking (2001) Electronic tagging and tracking in marine fisheries, pp. 189-216. , In: Nielsen, J. L. (Ed.), Amsterdam, Kluwer Academic PublishersFélix-Hackradt, F.C., Hackradt, C.W., Populational study and monitoring of the goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822), in the coast of Paraná, Brazil (2008) Natureza & Conservação, 6, pp. 31-46Foster-Smith, J., Evans, S.M., The value of marine ecological data collected by volunteers (2003) Biological Conservation, 113, pp. 199-213Frias-Torres, S., Habitat use of juvenile goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara in the Florida Keys, USA (2006) Endangered Species Research, 2, pp. 1-6Frias-Torres, S., Should the Critically Endangered Goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara be culled in Florida? (2012) Oryx, 1, pp. 1-8Gerhardinger, L.C., Hostim-Silva, M., Medeiros, R.P., Matarezi, J., Bertoncini, A.A., Freitas, M.O., Ferrreira, B.P., Fishers resource mapping and goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara (Serranidae) conservation in Brazil (2009) Neotropical Ichthyology, 7, pp. 93-102Gerhardinger, L.C., Medeiros, R., Marenzi, R.C., Bertoncini, A.A., Hostim-Silva, M., Local Ecological Knowledge on the Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara (Teleostei: Serranidae) in Southern Brazil (2006) Neotropical Ichthyology, 4, pp. 441-450Giglio, V.J., Adelir-Alves, J., Bertoncini, A.A., Using scars to photo-identify the goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara (2014) Marine Biodiversity Records, 7, p. e108Goffredo, S., Pensa, F., Neri, P., Orlandi, A., Gagliardi, M.S., Velardi, A., Piccinetti, C., Zaccanti, F., Unite research with what citizens do for fun: ‘‘recreational monitoring’’ of marine biodiversity (2010) Ecological Applications, 20, pp. 2170-2187Goffredo, A., Piccinetti, C., Zaccanti, F., Volunteers in marine conservation monitoring: A study of the distribution of seahorses carried out in collaboration with recreational scuba divers (2004) Conservation Biology, 18, pp. 1492-1503Heemstra, P.C., Randall, J.E., FAO species catalogue: Groupers of the world (Family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date (1993) FAO Fisheries Synopis, 16, pp. 1-382Holt, B.G., Rioja-Nieto, R., Macneil, M.A., Lupton, J., Rahbek, C., Comparing diversity data collected using a protocol designed for volunteers with results from a professional alternative (2013) Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 4, pp. 383-392Hostim-Silva, M., Bertoncini, A.A., Gerhardinger, L.C., Machado, L.F., The ‘Lord of the Rock’s’ conservation program in Brazil: The need for a new perception of marine fishes (2005) Coral Reefs, 24, p. 7Hussey, N.E., Stroh, N., Klaus, R., Chekchak, T., Kessel, S.T., SCUBA diver observations and placard tags to monitor grey reef sharks, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, at Sha’ab Rumi, The Sudan: Assessment and future directions (2013) Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 93, pp. 299-308(2009) Ibama apreende seis toneladas de peixe no Maranhão, , http://www.ibama.gov.br/noticias-2009/ibama-apreende-seistoneladas-de-peixe-no-maranhao, IBAMA, IBAMA, Brasília. 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The voices of youth in envisioning positive futures for nature and people

The unpredictable Anthropocene poses the challenge of imagining a radically different, equitable and sustainable world. Looking 100 years ahead is not easy, and especially as millennials, it appears quite bleak. This paper is the outcome of a visioning exercise carried out in a 2-day workshop, attended by 33 young early career professionals under the auspices of IPBES. The process used Nature Futures Framework in an adapted visioning method from the Seeds of Good Anthropocene project. Four groups envisioned more desirable future worlds; where humanity has organised itself, the economy, politics and technology, to achieve improved nature-human well-being. The four visions had differing conceptualisations of this future. However, there were interesting commonalities in their leverage points for transformative change, including an emphasis on community, fundamentally different economic systems based on sharing and technological solutions to foster sustainability and human-nature connectedness. Debates included questioning the possibility of maintaining local biocultural diversity with increased connectivity globally and the prominence of technology for sustainability outcomes. These visions are the first step towards a wider galvanisation of youth visions for a brighter future, which is often missing in the arena where it can be taken seriously, to trigger more transformative pathways towards meeting global goals. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group