Environmental risk perception and adaptative strategies in a neotropical fishing population: Socioeconomic aspects and community participation

Rapid global transformations are increasing the vulnerability of tropical coastal environments and so there is a need to understand how traditional populations perceive environmental risks and their adaptative coping strategies to integrate their knowledge into management practices. We conducted semi-structured interviews to characterize a population of artisanal fishers on the northeast coast of Brazil to assess their perception of risks and strategies. We modeled the effects of socioeconomic factors on perceptions and used graph theory to describe the interactions between risks and strategies. Male fishers with a higher educational level and supplementary income were those who perceived more environmental risks. Since the pattern we found was salient risks with more mentioning of strategies, and that the population itself identified participatory strategies, we suggest that environmental management and policy proposals promote community participation aiming at identifying solutions which are consistent with the local socio-environmental reality.