Systematic conservation planning in floodplain fisheries: To what extent are fishers’ needs captured in prioritisation models?

Systematic conservation planning ( SCP ) is a promising tool underpinned by the idea that multistakeholders’ needs should be considered in any conservation action. However, there is almost no research verifying whether those proposed solutions indeed capture local people's needs. In this article, a SCP exercise was developed in the Pantanal wetland, Brazil, to propose a possible new negotiated solution for environmental protection areas and fisheries zone. To test the validity of the SCP ‐delivered solutions, physical maps showing them were presented and discussed with local people. None of the proposed possible SCP scenarios was accepted locally as workable. The fixed solutions proposed by SCP do not map onto the spatial–temporal flexibility of floodplain fisheries. Current, SCP approaches seem far from being able to incorporate the livelihood uncertainties of floodplain fisheries into mathematical models in a way that encompasses people's needs and, therefore remains only a theoretical tool for sustainability.