Mapping out regulations
p. 197
Résumé
The maritime and coastal areas of the Global South are characterised by the diversity and sectoral specialisation of environmental rules. The result is a lack of clarity, even a lack of knowledge of applicable law. Addressing this problem is becoming urgent.
Texte intégral
1In 2010, as they sailed the Saloum Bay in Senegal, IRD and IUCN researchers became aware of the complex regulatory maze governing the maritime areas of the Global South and, more importantly, its lack of clarity as fishing, oil drilling and nature protection rules overlapped within the same area. In 2013, this led to the production of various regulatory atlases for the maritime areas of Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea and Cape Verde.
Seine fishing, Senegal.

© IRD/G. Roudaut
2The idea was to present the different regulatory layers on the same interactive map, in order to display the different rules applicable to a given location with just a few clicks. This research revealed inconsistencies, notably in Mauritania where two decrees, one issued by the Ministry of Defence and the other from fisheries authorities, were incompatible. This was also the starting point for the drafting of the first environmental law textbooks in these countries. In Senegal, the atlas – and the regulatory errors detected – is a guiding document for the ongoing national reform.
Inshore fishing canoes, Senegal.

© IRD/O. Dugornay
3This approach has been replicated since then as another atlas was created in 2017 for Cape Verde. A fifth atlas is being developed in Brazil, in keeping with the Paddle European project and as part of an interdisciplinary process. The idea is no longer to simply map out regulations but to supplement them with data from the fields of ecology or physics. In Brazil, this has helped pinpoint areas very rich in fish, which may warrant a marine protected area classification.

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