These Voluntary Protection Zones, recognized under this denomination in the new Chilean Benthic Law, are inserted within the Territorial User Rights for Fisheries (TURF or AMERB, as abbreviated in Spanish) managed by artisanal fishers' organizations. It is a model that allows combining exploitation and conservation in the same system, and where the aim is to increase biodiversity and at the same time improve the livelihood and resilience of coastal communities in Chile.
The Valparaíso region is where it all began. What started as a research project grew over time to unsuspected levels. From their own realities, the artisanal fishers unions of La Polcura, Zapallar, Cachagua, Maitencillo and Ventanas have contributed in a crucial way to the strengthening of this marine conservation model led by local communities. These five TURF-Reserves have served as a learning platform that is constantly nurtured by a diversity of perspectives, challenges and experiences that have been integrated into the program. As each TURF-Reserve advances in its consolidation process, the program continues to be enriched by new perspectives and contributions. It is no longer only about the Union: today it is a whole multiplicity of actors that come into play and make this initiative even stronger.
“If we do not take care of the few resources we have, no one will have them. The species that inhabit the "Isla de los Pingüinos" (Cachagua Island) will have no way to feed themselves in the future, and so will our children and families. It is with this understanding that we began the work to allocate a not minor area of our Territorial User Rights for Fisheries (AMERB as abbreviated in spanish) to the creation of the TURF-Reserve, which is a marine protection area that will be the hope of both species and people.”
Manuel FigueroaPresident of Cachagua Artisanal Fishers Union
