Just Aquatic Governance: The Amazon basin as fertile ground for aligning participatory conservation with social justice

Abstract

Governance of natural resources in the Amazon has changed over time, especially when it comes to participatory regimes. Yet these regimes have rarely focused on the conservation of aquatic systems or have failed to fully deliver social justice. Participatory regimes in the Amazon basin that rely on the provision of freshwater ecosystem services can potentially favour transformative and just conservation. A framework referred to as the ‘Just Aquatic Governance’ model is proposed to organize and facilitate the transition of continuing and future endeavours that seek conservation while also supporting distinct aspects of social justice. If conservation of aquatic systems can be reconciled with all aspects of social justice, then transformative and just governance regimes could emerge without further burdening those at the forefront of conservation. The Just Aquatic Governance framework is divided into three aspects of social justice, organized according to the following pillars: (i) recognitional – support for cultural diversity and the maintenance of livelihoods, including food security; (ii) procedural – the right to autonomy and territory, and support for participatory forms of governance; and (iii) distributional – promotion of gender equality and fair distribution of economic benefits. Although not a panacea, the model proposed here, which can also influence policy strategies, can potentially align both conservation demands and social aspirations in the Amazon – a historical, yet still imperative, need in the region.

Research networks should improve connectivity for halting freshwater insect extinctions

“…Solutions to manage freshwater ecosystem services from developed countries cannot always be used in tropical regions, which are characterised by their high social and economic inequalities. For example, the Amazon basin demands participatory regimes to manage aquatic resources that balance the social, economic, and ethnic conflicts (Lopes et al ., 2021). In this way, global conservation science, biodiversity distribution, and conservation priorities, mainly in relation to threatened species, become misaligned with local demands (Di Marco et al ., 2017).…”

“…Solutions are now urgently required for managing freshwater systems and their inhabitants (Palmer et al ., 2014; Samways et al ., 2020; Tickner et al ., 2020). These include creation of protected areas, restoration, increase in habitat heterogeneity, channel recovery, and reduction in impact of alien invasive species (Palmer et al ., 2014; Watson et al ., 2014; Samways et al ., 2020), as well as specific solutions that consider local and regional demands (Lopes et al ., 2021). For example, protected areas are one of the main solutions to safeguard biodiversity, but freshwater species are rarely considered in general conservation strategies (Leal et al ., 2020; Tickner et al ., 2020), despite there being tools for systematic conservation planning for freshwater ecosystems, which can account for river dynamics (Reis et al ., 2019).…”

Impacts of dams on freshwater turtles: a global review to identify conservation solutions

“…It may also be possible to complement this with environmental education actions at different levels of society (including children), to revalue the importance of freshwater turtles as components of the ecosystem and diverse cultures (Ghaffari et al, 2014; Gonzalez-Zarate et al, 2011; Le Duc et al, 2020). Another strategy would be to implement community management to regain the cultural, economic, ecological, political and social values of the communities over their natural resources (Brownson & Fowler, 2020; Campos-Silva et al, 2018; Harper et al, 2021; Lopes et al, 2021).…”

Grand Challenges to Support the Freshwater Biodiversity Emergency Recovery Plan

“…Socioecological systems in turn require participatory management and governance regimes that can foster biodiversity conservation alongside societal benefits and social justice. For example, a "Just Aquatic Governance" framework has been proposed for the Amazon Basin, based on three pillars of social justice: recognitional, procedural and distributional (Lopes et al, 2021). The need for inclusive socio-ecological freshwater science and governance is particularly acute in the biodiverse, multicultural Amazon Basin (Castello, 2021).…”