Periodic Reporting for period 3 - TRADITION (Long-term coastal adaptation, food security and poverty alleviation in Latin America)
Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-02-29
TRADITION is investigating the Historical Ecology of small-scale fisheries in South America, specifically by looking at 6000-year record of coastal exploitation along the coast of Brazil. We are drawing together archaeological, palaeoecological, historical, and ethnographic records to address how past coastal economies adapted to the spread of agriculture, what was the impact of past climate and environmental changes on coastal populations, what was the impact of European colonisation on the development of small-scale fisheries, what was the role of historical institutions and regulations in the negotiation between traditional and modern practices in small-scale fisheries, how have the historical practices and events shaped current small-scale coastal communities, and finally how can this knowledge benefit current management strategies.
Present day and future fisheries – through collaboration with the International Panel for Ocean Sustainability we are fostering the importance of cultural heritage to high level (EU) Ocean conservation and management policy; In addition, members of the team have co-led the production of an Inter-Coastal and Marine Networks Seminar, along with members of PainelMar. In the weeks following the Seminar, the Executive Secretariat of PainelMar was invited to contribute to the Fishing Working Group, one of the 30 groups that make up the Federal Government’s transition team (of the new elected president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva). In this sense, the consortium contributed with several propositions in the areas of health, education, security and food sovereignty, territorial rights, and the environmental sustainability of aquatic resources. Brazilians live in a historic moment, and the members of the ERC Tradition project are contributing directly to the resurrection of pathways for strengthening democratic institutions, with hope, memory, science, and technology united towards the sustainability of the ocean and artisanal fisheries. Historical fisheries - We compiled and published a dataset spanning 180 years of small-scale and industrial fishing in Brazil, shedding light on human impact on marine biodiversity, the effects of early fisheries policies on social struggles, and the significance of fishing in Brazilian history. Prehistoric fisheries - We created a comprehensive reference baseline on pre-European faunal diversity in Brazil, now accessible through SiBBr. Additionally, we developed the South American Archaeological Isotopic Database, advancing our understanding of fisheries' role in the emergence of urban centres and colonization of small oceanic islands in the Americas.
We made significant progress that were not contemplated during the inception of the project: Mobilizing science for all: In response to COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions we launched a series of 6 free online webinars entitle “Marine Historical Ecology” with renowned world leaders in the field including John Erlandson, Camilla Speller, Loren McClenachan, Critina Brito, Oliver Craig and XXXXX, David Orton and Canan Chaklilar. We had around 100 registration for each event with attendees from all around the world. Cross-fertilizing and knowledge exchange: 1) We are now partners of ERC-CoG LICCI (UAB, Spain), which is creating a web-based platform in which any citizen in the world will be able to contribute information on local indicators of climate change impacts. We are working with them for collecting some information of small-scale fisheries perception of climate change. 2) We have been invited to take part of Grupo Pró-Babitonga (Brazil), which is an autonomous multi-stakeholder forum formed by representatives of public and societal sectors and have been endorsed by Brazil’s Federal Action Plan for the Coastal Zone as a regional integrated coastal management policy experiment. We are contributing with historical data on small-scale fisheries in the region. Influencing policy-makers: we are working with members of the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in Brazil (Iphan) to adequate their policy for analysing archaeological remains in order to contemplate recent developments of biomolecular archaeology, such as non-destructive analysis. We took part of the International research workshop with policy-makers and stakeholders in Brasilia (Brazil). This event was hosted by CNPq and promoted by the Conselho Nacional das Fundações de Amparo à Pesquisa (Confap), in partnership with the British Academy and Newton Fund. The workshop involved researchers across all career stages who were interested in an interdisciplinary discussion on issues related to Climate Change, Cities & Infrastructure, and Inequalities, and who wanted to build on their Newton Fund-supported projects to develop further international and interdisciplinary research collaborations. This event provided opportunities for engagement with policymakers, and participants were able to raise the profile of their research and discuss research findings with colleagues across disciplines. This was an opportunity to enhance the visibility of our ERC project TRADITION and the vibrant research environment at ICTA and the Dept. of Prehistory at UAB. Beyond our aims and specific objectives, overall we are positive that TRADITION will inspire others in Latin America and wound to world to lead independent and joint effort towards mobilizing archaeology and history in socio-ecological studies on small-scale fisheries and beyond.