Wednesday, June 18, 2025 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Integrative Learning Center ILCN101
Communication Challenges and Opportunities When scaling-up Participatory Research: Lessons From a national-level Project on Artisanal Fisheries Adaptation
online
Micaela Trimble1,2, Diana Cervantes1, Emilie Dupuits3, Gerardo Fernández4, Luisa Galindo5, Francisco Malfatti6, Gastón Martínez6, Silvia Morales1, Soledad Pasquariello6, Gonzalo Pérez7, Alberto Pierotti8, and Adriana Saldaña-Espejel9
1Universidad de la República (Udelar), Uruguay, 2 SARAS Institute, Uruguay, 3Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, 4SUNTMA, Uruguay, 5La Fundación Humedal La Conejera, Colombia, 6CURE-Udelar, Uruguay, 7Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Chile, 8Municipio de Salinas, Uruguay, 9En Comunidad y con los Ecosistemas, Mexico
Artisanal fisheries in Uruguay face multiple and interdependent challenges, including those related to resource conditions, socioeconomic, cultural, and governance dimensions. Climate change is one of the drivers that can intensify the so-called fisheries crisis. In this dynamic and uncertain context, fishers’ adaptation becomes crucial. In 2023, the Latin American Network of Participatory Research (RIPAL), joined efforts with Uruguayan academic institutions and other actors (e.g. the National Union of Seaworkers) to lead a transdisciplinary project on this topic involving artisanal fishers. The objectives were (1) to collaboratively analyze challenges imposed by climate change on artisanal fisheries in Uruguay’s coastal and inland areas, and (2) to generate a co-creation and learning environment between researchers and fishers from multiple locations of the country to explore ongoing and potential adaptation strategies. Fifty-five fishers and fishworkers (39 men and 16 women) participated in the project (August - December 2023), belonging to 4 regions of the country with different fishing and environmental characteristics: rivers, Río de la Plata estuary, lagoons, and Atlantic Ocean. The main methods used were photo-voice, semi-structured interviews, and workshops. In this presentation we focus on the communication components of the project, considering both the process and its outcomes/outputs. The combination of in-person, virtual and hybrid activities allowed for the involvement of fishers from multiple locations and promoted learning and relationship-building among them, as well as between academic and non-academic participants. Two important outputs of the project were a web map showing fishers’ perspectives about the changes in the social-ecological systems they inhabit, and a photo-exhibit with pictures shared by fishers (through photo-voice), available online and printed. Communication and participation challenges in this national-level participatory research project are also discussed.
