Mekong River Commission

 

In recent years, governance reforms such as decentralisation and co-management have become accepted ways of improving the management and the development of many inland fisheries. In most instances, this means devolving authority from national to grass roots levels.

Management in the sense of deciding and implementing technical measures (such as gear restrictions, stocking or others) is happening largely at local level. However, it is not happening in isolation. The natural resources of the Lower Mekong Basin, such as the land, water, forest and fish, are shared resources, their usage is interdependent at all levels and scales.

By necessity, fisheries governance and management is a multi-layered and overlapping undertaking that reaches from the local to the regional. Most Mekong fish are migratory, and therefore developments outside local fisheries can have major implications. As a result, there is a need to link local to nationally and regionally coordinated management.

The MRRF Component supports fisheries institutions in the riparian countries to deal with these down- and upward management issues. During 2004, it emphasised the consolidation and propagation of examples of participatory local fisheries management, which can serve as models for the Lower Mekong Basin as a whole. In addition, it supported fisheries agencies to identify and take cross-scale linkages into consideration, address requirements and make use of opportunities at local, national and international levels.

Examples of MRRF's achievements in 2005-2005 include:

Improved reservoir fisheries management: Practical management measures, such as systematic stocking of reservoirs, maintenance of no-fishing zones, and enforcement of fishing regulations have shown positive results. These include:

• Doubling the production of some reservoirs in Lao PDR since 2000.
• Significantly increasing the income of some poor fishing communities in Viet Nam. Illegal fishing also fell by 80% in these villages.
• Supporting participatory fisheries management at 18 water bodies in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam. Many are now into their fourth year of operations and their managers are able to continue to administer the fisheries despite reduced involvement of the Component.

Propagation and out-scaling of participatory fisheries management: Participatory fisheries management is now declared government policy in a number of riparian countries.

In 2004, MRRF supported participatory management by:

• Helping establish and strengthen five new Community Fisheries at reservoirs and Mekong deep pools in the Cambodian stretch of the Mekong.
• Bringing together stakeholders from three districts near Khong Island, Champassak Province, Lao PDR, to address the complex task of management in this fishing area of regional significance.
• Undertaking participatory rural appraisals with a view to developing basin-wide negotiated fisheries management of the Songkhram River, one of the Mekong's major tributaries. This will be an important contribution to the reduction of conflicts between users and government agencies in this region.
• Fostering participatory resource management of rice/shrimp-culture in Viet Nam's Soc Trang Province in the Mekong Delta. This is an example of a 'local/global' linkage, as the region is a major producer in the world shrimp market. However, this experience also shows that bringing together managers at different levels is a complicated and long-term undertaking.

Identification and establishment of alternative sources of income: With increasing pressure on fisheries, MRRF recognises the development of alternative, or complementary, non-fishing incomes as an important function of fisheries management. MRRF has organised training workshops on alternative income generation in all the riparian countries.

This is already achieving positive results:

• In Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam income from such activities as handicrafts, trading, food processing and fish-culture is improving family livelihoods.
• In Cambodia, in particular, such activities also cater to the income needs of community-based management organisations providing an incentive for their members to participate.
• Credit mechanisms supported by the Component in Viet Nam (savings groups) and Cambodia (cow/rice banks) give their members much needed help in emergencies and purchase substitute gear that complies with fishing regulations.

Integrating fisheries management and fish marketing: Tasks and responsibilities of local management organisations have so far centred on issues of fisheries management planning, resource and habitat enhancement and protection and regulation of fisheries. However, sustainable management requires community management organisations to secure a fair share of profits to cover their costs and create an incentive for their members to participate.

• In Lao PDR, the Component developed an integrated marketing/management system for reservoirs in Vientiane Province.

Development of data collection and sharing systems for co-managed fisheries: Inefficient information flow and lack of coordination are major obstacles to better aquatic resources management.

• Following a workshop held in Thailand in 2005, MRRF established a data collection and sharing system using information from Huay Luang Reservoir in Udon Thani Province. Data collection and sharing will now comprise not only fisheries and aquatic resource use in the basin around Huay Luang, but also a wider range of resource users, from fishers to domestic users, irrigators and tourism operators.

Exchange of experiences between managers: Supporting communication between managers is an important activity of MRRF. Fisheries mangers can learn much by sharing mutual experiences with each other. Last year MRRF facilitated meetings at national as well as cross-boundary levels. These included:

• A visit by Lao women to Isaan to exchange experiences and learn about each country's rich heritage in fish processing.
• The Component also arranged meetings and forums where government managers at national
• level could exchange of experiences and develop common concepts. Cases in point are MRRF's inputs into the formulation of a co-management concept for the fisheries of Viet Nam, and the implementation of the work plan of the Technical Advisory Body on Fisheries Management (TAB).

During the coming year 'up-scaling' will gain momentum in fisheries management in the LMB. The Component will implement pilot field activities and experiments to develop other examples of cross-scale management. These include:

• Linking local user groups to national and, potentially, international user organisations (with an emphasis on Cambodia).
• Linking management by users across the basin of a major Mekong tributary (Songkhram).
• Facilitating cross-boundary management between Stung Treng, Cambodia and Champassak, Lao PDR.