Written by Liseth Escobar- FAO’s Indigenous Peoples Unite. Inputs from Lilia Java, Indigenous leader of the Tikuna, Cocama and Yagua Indigenous Territory.

In the south of the Colombian Amazon, along the riverine border with Peru, lies the land inhabited by the Tikuna, Cocama and Yagua Indigenous Peoples, for whom aquatic ecosystems are vitally important. They have inhabited the Amazonian aquatic ecosystems such as wetlands and riversides for millennia, their culture and identity closely tied to the water and the beings that inhabit it.

This is the case of artisanal fishing, an activity that is responsible for more than 80% of the animal protein consumed by the indigenous population of this territory. Fishing also represents the second most important economic activity after agriculture, and is the basis of the identity of the Magüta people, also known as Tikuna, an ethnic group whose stories of the origin of creation are directly linked to fishing and aquatic ecosystems.

We had the opportunity to talk to Lilia Java, an environmentalist, Cocama leader of the Tikuna Cocama Yagua territory and head of the team of indigenous women researchers who conducted research on artisanal fishing.

FAO promotes local fisheries research with gender focus: research on food systems was an important starting point

Recognizing the diversity hosted in the Tikuna, Cocama and Yagua territory, as well as the ancestral practices that Indigenous Peoples have maintained for the sustainable production of food, FAO, the Alliance International Biodiversity (CIAT) and the Fundación Omacha carried out a study there in the year 2018. This research aimed at profiling the Tikuna, Cocama, Yagua food system, highlighting the importance of artisanal fisheries and their contribution to food sovereignty and food security. The research involved representatives of the communities of Puerto Esperanza, 20 de Julio, Santa Clara de Tarapoto, Nuevo Paraíso, San Francisco, Ticoya and the urban area of the Puerto Nariño municipality, who participated through a series of thematic workshops that allowed the characterization of the food system. Participants identified the information that later was synthesised as a chapter in the 2021 FAO publication entitled Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems. Perspectives on Sustainability and resilience from the frontline of climate change.

According to Lilia Java, “the research led by FAO became an important precedent to promote gender-focused fisheries research in our territory. Approximately 50% of the participants in the field workshops were women of different ages, children, youth and the elderly, who are able to work together with the fishermen and were given the opportunity to lead roundtable discussions. In each workshop they could present the findings on the different topics that were addressed, and this allowed us to map our food system, with the communities themselves acting as co-authors for the publication".

Having had the experience of women leading roundtable discussions during the research with FAO, there was an interest in starting a process to train women as local researchers in artisanal fisheries. "Recently, in 2021, the organization Conservation International opened a call to support women who could provide environmentally sustainable solutions to problems in the Amazon basin. We presented a proposal in which our main objective was to train the women of our territory in fisheries research, such that women could lead fisheries data collection in their own communities. The experience gained from the previous research with FAO had made it clear that women’s voices are of great importance in the sustainability debate. That background helped women to understand that the role we play is as important as that which men play when it comes to artisanal fisheries, perhaps even more so, and with FAO workshops we could understand that we play a key role during post-capture activities; as such we wanted to continue the investigative process, but this time through our own research” said Lilia Java.

The proposal was approved by the organization Conservation International in the framework of the project "Development program for indigenous women leaders in environmental solutions for the Amazon." A team of twenty members conducted the first research on artisanal fisheries with a gender approach, carried out in the Tikuna, Cocama and Yagua territory from early 2021 to mid-2022.

"Several women in the team had previously participated in the research conducted with FAO. That was very important because this opened opportunities for them to be heard, and demonstrated the important role of women in preserving traditional knowledge for food production and sustainability. Additionally, our participation in fisheries research has enabled us to actively participate in debates on the environmental and food, not only at the local level but also at a global one too," says Lilia Java.

Indigenous women and artisanal fishing

The recent research carried out by women in the Tikuna, Cocama and Yagua territories has allowed them to better understand the importance of their role in fishing activities, especially those areas related to post-harvest. Preliminary results of their research revealed that women are responsible for almost 100% of post-harvesting activities such as cooking and ensuring the nutrition of their families. It supported the notion that women are responsible for feeding their families, as they are the main holders of traditional knowledge that enshrines healthy diets in which fish is one of the main sources of animal protein.

The women collected biological-fishery data that shows that their diets comprise 61 species of fish, whilst providing inputs for a database in which they registered more than 3.7 tons of catches. “These numbers are still very small when compared to the monthly catches obtained from the water bodies along our territory, which support our livelihoods and the biodiversity dwelling here”, Lilia concludes.

Achievements and future challenges

Following the research on food systems led by FAO, with the consultation of the team of indigenous women researchers, a significant step was taken in starting to close the gender gaps found in fisheries research in the territory, setting in place a crucial network of local women researchers interested in knowledge generation to support decision-making for artisanal fisheries, their management, food systems and sustainability. Subsequently, the team of women have attended academic events and local debates addressing food systems, artisanal fisheries management and environmental sustainability.

There are still great challenges for the future, and financial support is required in order to continue the process of training women training, with a view to the long term goal of generating primary information and evidence of their significant contributions to sustainability, including recognition at both the local level and by the national government.

Read the full chapter of the Tikuna, Cocama, Yagua system in FAO’s book on Indigenous Food Systems here.