Cooperativa dos Produtos de Ostras de Cananéia (Cooperostra, Oyster Producers’ Cooperative of Cananéia) is a community-based organization centered on the Mandira Extractive Reserve in São Paulo's Cananéia estuary lagoon. Launched in the mid-1990s following state-led interventions aiming at improving the sustainability, viability, and hygienic quality of artisanal oyster harvesting in Mandira, the initiative quickly grew to incorporate harvesting communities throughout the Cananéia estuary.

The cooperative's work has focused on reconciling oyster harvesting with the conservation of the region's biologically diverse mangrove forests. Innovative processes and technologies, including oyster nurseries and a purifying station, have been introduced to add value to oysters and enable their harvesting year-round, while the formation of the cooperative has allowed harvesters to circumvent middlemen and obtain fairer prices for their products.

 

Key Facts 

Equator Prize Winner: 2002

Founded: 1997

Location: Cananéia Estuary, south of São Paulo

Beneficiaries: Mandira quilombola community

Biodiversity: Mangrove forests, oyster genetic diversity

 

Case Study

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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