This document presents the results of a participatory research process aimed at identifying priority actions to inform transformation towards sustainability in the Sechura Bay, Peru marine resource system.
In 2024-2025, participatory modeling workshops were held with 45 informants from the Sechura marine resource sector, including fishers, mariculturists, divers, processing companies, and government representatives. The workshops involved mapping and discussing their “mental models,” or beliefs about how the system works, using a tool called fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM).
The analysis of the FCMs aimed to:
1. Develop comprehensive models of the system dynamics shaping sustainability challenges in Sechura, based on the collective knowledge of 45 informant mental models
2. Identify key “leverage points” for intervening in the Sechura marine resource system: those areas where changes could generate the greatest transformative impacts on the rest of the system.
This document summarizes six key leverage points based on the FCM analysis, along with a set of priority actions to address them refined through a final workshop series with study informants.
Schlüter A., Nagel B. and Nuñez Beingolea C. (2026) Policy Brief 2026/1 - From Mental Systems To Leverage Points In The Sechura Marine Resource System 10.21244/zmt.2026.002
@misc{Schlüter2026,
Title = {Policy Brief 2026/1 - From Mental Systems To Leverage Points In The Sechura Marine Resource System},
Author = {Schlüter, Achim and Nagel, Ben and Nuñez Beingolea, Carlos},
Year = {2026},
Doi = {10.21244/zmt.2026.002},
Abstract = {This document presents the results of a participatory research process aimed at identifying priority actions to inform transformation towards sustainability in the Sechura Bay, Peru marine resource system.
In 2024-2025, participatory modeling workshops were held with 45 informants from the Sechura marine resource sector, including fishers, mariculturists, divers, processing companies, and government representatives. The workshops involved mapping and discussing their “mental models,” or beliefs about how the system works, using a tool called fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM).
The analysis of the FCMs aimed to:
1. Develop comprehensive models of the system dynamics shaping sustainability challenges in Sechura, based on the collective knowledge of 45 informant mental models
2. Identify key “leverage points” for intervening in the Sechura marine resource system: those areas where changes could generate the greatest transformative impacts on the rest of the system.
This document summarizes six key leverage points based on the FCM analysis, along with a set of priority actions to address them refined through a final workshop series with study informants.},
}
TY - RPRT
AU - Schlüter, Achim
AU - Nagel, Ben
AU - Nuñez Beingolea, Carlos
TI - Policy Brief 2026/1 - From Mental Systems To Leverage Points In The Sechura Marine Resource System
PY - 2026
DO - 10.21244/zmt.2026.002
AB - This document presents the results of a participatory research process aimed at identifying priority actions to inform transformation towards sustainability in the Sechura Bay, Peru marine resource system.
In 2024-2025, participatory modeling workshops were held with 45 informants from the Sechura marine resource sector, including fishers, mariculturists, divers, processing companies, and government representatives. The workshops involved mapping and discussing their “mental models,” or beliefs about how the system works, using a tool called fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM).
The analysis of the FCMs aimed to:
1. Develop comprehensive models of the system dynamics shaping sustainability challenges in Sechura, based on the collective knowledge of 45 informant mental models
2. Identify key “leverage points” for intervening in the Sechura marine resource system: those areas where changes could generate the greatest transformative impacts on the rest of the system.
This document summarizes six key leverage points based on the FCM analysis, along with a set of priority actions to address them refined through a final workshop series with study informants.
ER -
