Community Fisheries management is complex and each CFi committee needs to convene and record meetings, hold elections, and be financially transparent and accountable. The committee also needs the skills to work with local authorities and understand the legal framework within which they operate. We provide these skills by delivering training modules in meeting procedure, committee management, Fisheries Law, gender in NRM, environmental protection, proposal and report writing, and budget management.

Co-creating a community assets and natural resources map sets the scene for community capacity building. A community resource map depicts both natural features (e.g. streams, ponds, paddy fields etc.) and physical infrastructure. Through resource mapping we learn how villagers manage, conserve, and use their natural resources. At least 10 knowledgeable community members should develop the community resource map, including CFi management committee and CFi members, women, elders, and local authorities. With the facilitation of the project team, a knowledgeable community member drafts the map. Before being depicted the location of important features should be discussed and confirmed by other participants. The map should also depict any formal zones (e.g. community fishing areas or community fish conservation areas) or discuss potential areas for zonation.

A group discussion follows the completion of the map to determine people’s reliance on and interaction with their natural resources, as well as major management and conservation challenges. This allows us find areas for improvement in community development, natural resources management and conservation.

A situation analysis provides background information upon which community capacity building efforts are based. First, we conduct a rapid SWOT analysis of a Community Fishery (CFi) and its associated community. The SWOT analysis compiles basic information about each community and examines CFi structure and function. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by each community are addressed in a group discussion among the implementation team and a small number of community representatives. The Climate Vulnerability Analysis builds a picture of each community’s unique climate change challenges, particularly those associated with their Community Fish Conservation Areas. 
We use the SWOT analysis to determine if a community is suitable for further engagement and if so, we conduct a detailed situation analysis which delves deeper into a CFi’s characteristics and challenges. This allows us to decide whether we partner with a community, and if so, the results help us develop a suitable approach to working with them. The situation analysis is also used to determine women’s involvement in community fisheries – we then build on this information to increase their participation as we implement further building blocks. The Climate Vulnerability Analysis is the fire step in our extensive partnership with a community.

As Community Fisheries operate under a government mandate engaging the local authorities - especially the Fisheries Administration Cantonment and local Commune officials - is critical to the success of any engagement with a CFi. Local authorities need to understand, and support, Conservation International’s engagement with a CFi. First, we meet with the Fisheries Administration at national and local levels, presenting our programme, and identifying potentially suitable CFi’s. These meetings build relationships with senior government officials and obtain information such as local contacts within potential CFi’s. Having established high level support we contact local authorities such as the commune and in briefing them of our approach gain an appreciation of each CFi’s current status, challenges and opportunities.

The purpose of this block is to propose financial mechanisms to sustain ghost fishing gear surveillance and improve fishers' compliance with the management agreement. This is an economic analysis that helps to build a shared view of how the problem could be managed, how much that would cost in a certain period, and which funding options are available to the community, including potential income generation from the upcycling of ghost fishing gear and other marine debris.

The purpose of this building block is to identify the impacts of ghost fishing both on the ecosystems and the people.

Rapid ecological assessments are used to establish a baseline of the impacts observed in two ecosystems: mangroves and rocky reefs, identified as key conservation priorities in the management plan of the regional protected area.

The social-ecological aspects of the problem require more time for data collection. Surveys of perception, in-depth interviews, and workshops are used to obtain information from the fishing and diving community about how the problem is happening in the area and its social and economic implications. The goal is to gain a deep understanding of the situations that lead to fishing gear abandonment, loss, or discard.

The purpose is to improve the local capacity to safely remove ghost fishing gear from the sea. The existence of a permanent diving center in the area is mandatory to provide security during all aquatic activities of the training and cleaning campaigns.

The purpose is to encourage fishers to actively prevent fishing gear loss and to report it when it happens. Fishers are invited to participate in interviews and workshops, where they share their experiences and ideas for solutions in the local context.