©EDUARDO SORENSEN

OCEANSPROGRAM
2020 - 2025

THE PERUVIAN OCEAN
The Peruvian marine and coastal ecosystems
degrade at an excessive rate, affecting
their capacity to provide us with food,and deteriorating the livelihoods of thepeople who depend on the extraction andcommercialization of its resources, due tothese threats:

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Unplanned
occupation anddevelopment ofmarine andcoastal zones

Overfishingand illegal
fishingHigh informality
rates in thefishing sector

Weakgovernance ofmarine andcoastalecosystems

Insufficientscientificinformation tomanage themeffectivelyCI-Peru’s Oceans Program seeks to contribute to theefforts of the Peruvian Government to improve the healthof the country’s marine and coastal ecosystems and thelivelihoods of local communities, while adding to theglobal efforts promoted by our organization to:

Stabilize the climate

Protect nature

Promote wellbeing

Resilience to climate change

1. LARGE-SCALE MARINEPROTECTION
Creation and effective management ofmarine and coastal natural protectedareas and protection of endangered
species’ critical habitats
Peru has the National System of Natural Protected Areas(SINANPE), which is made up of 76 Natural ProtectedAreas (NPA) that are managed at national level by theNational Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP).
Only four NPAs of the SINANPE protect marineecosystems, representing approximately 8 % of theprotection of the Peruvian’s ocean surface. The Nasca
Dorsal National Reserve is the only exclusively marine
NPA, and the largest in Peru.

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CI seeks to support the Peruvian Government instrengthening the network of marine and coastal NPAs
by creating new protected areas, developing instruments
for the effective management of the NPAs prioritized byCI Peru, and generating mechanisms that guarantee theirfinancial sustainability.
We also seek to generate scientific information aboutmarine megafauna species (small cetaceans, whales,
sea turtles, sharks and manta rays), that contributes tothe adoption of both regional and national policies that
improve the protection of their migration routes.

2. SUSTAINABLEFISHERIES
Sustainable management of selectedartisanal fisheries
We want to recover small-scale fisheries using themethodology of CI’s Community Fisheries Improvement
Project (CFIP) in at least two pilot sites, one inside a marineand coastal natural protected area.

Finally, we want to promote the application of sciencebased tools to help improve decision-making in themanagement of marine and coastal ecosystems, such as CFPI uses a set of tools that leverage science and theknowledge of social actors to assess and improve the social,
the Ocean Health Index (OHI).

2025 GOALS
Contribute to the establishment of at least 1
Marine Protected Area (MPA).
Strengthen the effective management anddevelop financial sustainability mechanisms
for at least 2 marine and coastal NPAs.
Generate scientific information on marinemegafauna species that contributes to protect
their migration routes at regional level.
Develop at least one pilot to estimate the OHIat national level.

©CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL/DANIELA AMICO

environmental and economic sustainability of fisheries.
This model entails three main components: governance,by which sustainable manufacturing good practices andthe protection of critical ecosystems that support theeconomic activity are promoted; capacity building of fishingcommunities; and finally, market incentives.
Through the implementation of this model in pilot areas, wewill address the problem of artisanal fishing in the country
by strengthening the governance of fisheries and the comanagement systems, promoting formalization, fighting
against illegal fishing, and strengthening the value chain of
the selected fisheries. Thus, we will work with the fishingcommunities so they can access fairer markets in a moresustainable manner. We will also support SERNANP in
the development of instruments and regulations for thesustainable management of the small artisanal fisheries
inside the natural protected areas.

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We will also create market incentives for artisanal fishermenthat keep traditional artisanal fishing practices and/oruse fishing arts that have a low impact on the ecosystem.
With this we seek to rediscover the social and ecologicalrelationships between the sea, the history, and the cultureof coastal communities.

2025 GOALS
Implement at least 2 Community Fisheries
Improvement Projects (CFIP).
Develop 1 pilot to improve the commercializationof fishing products captured using traditional
and/or low impact practices on the ecosystem.

Strategic Plan (PENTUR), by 2025, “surfing” is described
as a specialized niche with great development potential(DEFENSA 2019).
In that sense, we propose to leverage the value andattraction of Peruvian waves for surfers all over the world, togenerate financial resources that contribute to preserve themarine and coastal ecosystems associated to these waves
and create surfing-based protection areas.

2025 GOAL
Implement a pilot where nature-based tourism
and surfing contribute towards the conservationof marine and coastal ecosystems with theparticipation of artisanal fisherman.

3. SUSTAINABLE TOURISM 4. CONSERVATION
AND RECREATIONOF IRREPLACEABLE
Promoting natured-based tourism andECOSYSTEMS
recreation activities
We seek to involve coastal communities in the promotionof a responsible and sustainable tourism in CI’s areas ofintervention, that enhances the value of the marine andcoastal natural resources and promotes their conservation.
By creating more opportunities to diversify their income,artisanal fishermen would reduce the pressure on marine
resources.
Peru is recognized worldwide as an important surfing
destination; therefore, in the Peruvian National Tourism©CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL/DALVA TELLO

Integrated management of coastalmangroves and wetlands
Spread along the almost 3,000 km of Peru’s coastline, aredifferent types of coastal wetlands which provide various
ecosystem services, crucial for human wellbeing and thelivelihoods of adjacent communities. However, these arehighly threatened mainly by urban sprawl. It is estimatedthat Peru’s coastal wetlands cover an area of approximately

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12,173 ha (MINAM 2015)1. However, of the 92 coastal wetlands
identified at national level (Pronaturaleza & CI 2010)2, only
six are natural protected areas (NPA).
In CI we seek to improve the conservation and restorationof mangrove ecosystems and other strategic coastal
wetlands due to their large biodiversity, the services they
provide to local people, and cultural value. In this sense,
we wish to strengthen the co-management model between
SERNANP and the Communal Reserve Management
Authority of the National Sanctuary Los Manglares deTumbes (SNLMT), leveraging CI’s experience with the Alto
Mayo Protected Forest Administration Contract. We will
create a governance and integrated management model inareas where mangroves are not yet protected, and we will
generate sustainable financial instruments that guarantee
their protection, based on compensation mechanisms forecosystem services such as the provision of food, fiber,regulation of natural hazards, control of soil erosion, carbon
storage, etc.

2025 GOALS
Strengthen the management of the National
Sanctuary Los Manglares de Tumbes, andimplement a financial mechanism based on
ecosystem services.
Design a governance and sustainable
management model for the mangroves locatedoutside the National Sanctuary Los Manglaresde Tumbes (SNLMT).
Promote conservation and sustainable
management actions in at least one coastalwetland with high biological and cultural value
for the coastal communities.

Additionally, we will develop conservation and sustainable
management actions in at least one coastal wetland withhigh biological and cultural value for the local communities.
Together with the State, we will promote sustainably
managed productive activities that benefit both the people
and the ecosystem, raising more awareness about theservices these wetlands provide. Enhancing the valueof the traditional knowledge of the local people who use
this marine and coastal ecosystem will also be of utmost
importance, along with the formulation and implementationof management instruments for these spaces of highbiological and cultural value.

CONTACT:
Cynthia Cespedes

Oceans Program Manager
ccespedes@conservation.org

ciperuci_peru
www.conservation.org/peru

AREAS OF WORKCONSERVATIONINTERNATIONAL

AmazonasPiura

For more than 30 years, Conservation Internationalhas worked to highlight and secure the critical benefits
that nature provides to humankind. Combining
fieldwork with innovations in science, politics andfinance, we have helped to protect more than six
million square kilometers of land and sea in morethan 70 countries. Today, Conservation International
works in nine departments of the country to generate
wellbeing for people hand in hand with nature.

SanCajamarcaMartín

HuánucoPascoUcayali

Madre de Dios
Cusco

1. MINAM. 2015. National Wetland Strategy approved by Supreme Decree N° 004-2015-MINAM.
2. Pronaturaleza & Conservation International. 2010. Base document for the development of a conservation strategy for the Peruvian coast wetlands.
Funded by CI and Ramsar.
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