Economic Relations and the Co-Management of Common Resources: the Case of Marine Fisheries in Pontal do Paraná, Southern Brazil

Abstract

This article discusses the importance of considering the economic dynamics in fisheries co-management. The discussion is based on a diagnosis of the main determinants of socioeconomic and ecological results of this activity in the municipality of Pontal do Paraná, on the coast of Paraná state, Southern Brazil. The analysis was guided by a systemic model that, in the light of the Marxist political economy, has incorporated elements of social organization of production to models that investigate the role of institutions in creating incentives to shape users' behavior and, hence, determine the results obtained with the use of common resources.  The approach proved extremely useful to understand the influence of economic dynamics in incentives to the behavior of fishermen and on the configuration of undesired results on fishing activity, such as the degradation of the natural resource base, social differentiation and poverty. Moreover, the approach pointed fruitful ways to incorporate the economic dimension into the co-management process in search of an economically efficient, socially fair and ecologically prudent activity.