The old parable says that if you teach a man to fish, you will
feed him for a lifetime. But what if there were no fish to be
caught? In the Abrolhos region of Brazil’s Bahia state, CI and
its network of partners are working to make sure that never
happens. The coastal waters there contain the most diverse
concentration of marine life in the South Atlantic. The vibrant
corals and extensive mangroves shelter hundreds of species, many
of which live their entire lives within a few kilometers of the
shore, providing residents of the region with their primary
source of protein. But in recent decades, illegal fishing and
destructive industrial and aquaculture practices increasingly
threatened that abundance — and the livelihoods of the local
communities who suffered the consequences. Now, the tide is
turning. By supporting the creation of the Corumbau Marine
Extractive Reserve, CI helped to demonstrate how truly
understanding and valuing the natural capital that sustains
communities can pay far-reaching dividends. T