Back to the future: integrating customary practices and institutions into comanagement of small-scale fisheries

In many parts of the world, marine-resource governance systems include aspects of customary marine tenure and traditional sociocultural institutions for resource management. These practices are rooted in historical context and vary by culture and location, with place-specific practices and customs that are based on local knowledge systems. In this chapter, we review the incorporation of customary practices into contemporary management, highlighting the roles of social history, changes in customary practices, and their application in, and influence on, modern legal and policy contexts. Next, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of integrating historical management practices into modern governance systems, exploring the roles of comanagement and participatory approaches in successful "back to the future" management approaches. To conclude, we look to the future of integrated management systems and their potential to address social-ecological challenges in coastal areas that face increasing population densities and growing dependence on coastal and marine resources