Abstract:
Fisheries and marine resource use contribute to the livelihood, food security and cultural identities of many people globally. In Southwest Madagascar, where employment opportunities are scarce and agricultural alternatives are limited, there is a strong dependence on marine resources. Increased pressure on marine habitats and resources requires effective fisheries governance and marine spatial planning to sustain people’s livelihoods. This necessitates the inclusion of relevant stakeholders involved in marine governance as diverse perspectives are critical for sustainable decision making. However, despite women’s vital contributions in fisheries and marine resource use, they are to date inadequately represented in decision making in southwest Madagascar. To better understand reasons underlying women’s limited participation in marine governance, this research adopted a comparative participatory approach in two different governance contexts in southwest Madagascar. By using semi-structured interviews and Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) with four communities in the north of Toliara, four communities in the south of Toliara, three non-governmental organizations and three ministries, the study analysed context specific barriers, interacting socio-cultural, economic and institutional factors and leverage points through qualitative content analysis, centrality measures, feedback loops and leverage point analysis. Leverage points are places to intervene in a system where a small shift can bring about a significant change and are aggregated into four broad types of system characteristics (from shallowest to deepest): parameters, feedback, design and intent. Results demonstrate that socio-cultural factors such as traditional gender norms, gendered knowledge hierarchy, and acceptance of women leaders are the key barriers identified by communities in the south of Toliara. Communities in the north of Toliara highlighted psychological fears and time poverty as barriers. Meanwhile NGOs emphasized traditional gender norms as the key barrier to women’s participation. Finally, ministries confirmed socio-cultural factors, including traditional gender norms and women’s confidence and agency as important barriers. Overall, the research highlights that socio-cultural influences are paramount and all stakeholders need to act collectively for meaningfully increasing women’s participation in marine governance. Findings suggest that the south communities need to prioritize strengthening women’s agency (parameter level leverage point), north communities should promote empowerment frameworks for women (parameter) and both leverage points would eventually enable communities to recognize the social legitimacy of women’s participation (intent). NGOs should focus on sustainable intervention strategies (parameters and design level leverage points) that cater to contextual differences across regions and ministries should ensure the legal the inclusion of women in marine decision making (design level leverage point). Thus, this study provides recommendations for promoting contextualized, equitable and collaborative marine governance in southwest Madagascar.