Building community capacity to manage freshwater fisheries in Cambodia

Full Solution

by Nicholas Souter, Conservation International

Community resource mapping

N J Souter - Conservation International

Cambodia is home to one of the world’s largest inland fisheries. Centered around the Tonle Sap Lake and Mekong River, the fishery provides food and livelihoods for millions of people. Much of this common resource is managed by Community Fishery Organizations (CFi’s) - local fishers with a government mandate managing their local area to benefit their fishery resources. Unfortunately, Cambodian fishers are some of the country's poorest and most marginalized people. And the majority of Cambodia’s CFi’s are dysfunctional. Establishing functional CFi’s requires significant community capacity building, as CFi’s face challenges with government registration, organizational capacity, financial literacy, planning and implementation. Conservation International’s community capacity building approach addresses these issues and we have successfully partnered with fourteen CFi’s who are active in managing their local fishery resources.

Last update: 13 May 2024

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Context

Challenges addressed

Land and Forest degradation

Loss of Biodiversity

Wildfires

Conflicting uses / cumulative impacts

Ecosystem loss

Invasive species

Unsustainable harvesting incl. Overfishing

Lack of access to long-term funding

Lack of alternative income opportunities

Lack of food security

Lack of public and decision maker’s awareness

Lack of technical capacity

Poor monitoring and enforcement

Poor governance and participation

As most Community Fishery organizations in Cambodia are under-resourced, they are unable to adequately manage their local fishery resources. Their challenges include the destruction of flooded forests and shrublands for agriculture and by deliberately lit fires and illegal and overfishing. Whilst climate change and upstream hydropower development are altering natural flow regimes, which further threatens the fishery. Climate change is also seeing longer and hotter dry seasons and shorter but more intense wet seasons. Most lake communities have little or no capacity to manage their natural resources, or adapt to these changes, which are steadily degrading their livelihoods.

Scale of implementation

Local

Subnational

National

Ecosystems

River, stream

Wetland (swamp, marsh, peatland)

Theme

Ecosystem services

Protected and conserved areas governance

Sustainable livelihoods

Local actors

Protected and conserved areas management planning

Location

Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

South Asia

Process

Summary of the process

The four building blocks are complimentary. Block 1 - the SWOT and Situation analysis determine suitable communities and reveal information which is built upon in later blocks. Block 2 - Government liaison interacts with Block 1 as the support of local authorities is critical for long-term CFi success. Capacity is then built on these two blocks through Block 3 – community resource mapping and Block 4 CFi Committee training. Thes blocks provide the CFi with the structured knowledge and skills required to successfully manage their fishery resources.

Impacts

We have applied our approach to fourteen Community Fishery Organizations in Cambodia. Each CFi is recognized by the Royal Cambodian Government and their active committees are implementing their management plans. Building the capacity of these organizations has directly benefited the fourteen CFi’s 7347 members (including 3856 women). Whilst 43,470 ha of fish habitat, including open water, flooded forest and shrubland, rice paddy and dry season fish refuge ponds, is under community management. This has allowed our partner communities to consistently manage their CFi by conducting patrols for illegal fishing activity - often in conjunction with Fisheries Administration officials - providing twenty-four-hour protection of their fish refuge ponds during the dry season, responding to the threat of wildfire, and delivering education sessions to both CFi members and seasonal fishers on their rights and responsibilities under the Fisheries Law. Our partner communities have also started to restore over 500 ha of flooded forest. They have also forged strong ties with their local and district government authorities.

Beneficiaries

Community fishery organization members and their families benefit through improved fisheries management. Around 300 species of fish and their floodplain habitat is preserved, along with numerous IUCN Red List threatened birds, mammals, and reptiles.

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 2 – Zero hunger

SDG 15 – Life on land

SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions

Story

Srey Chek community fish refuge pond

N J Souter - Conservation International

When Conservation International began working with fishing communities on the Tonle Sap Lake in 2010, villagers questioned how our conservation work would affect fishing access. Through numerous meetings we discussed our conservation aims and how they could help their livelihoods. Conducting our solution’s situation analysis, allows us to understand their circumstances, which we followed with extensive training and capacity building. Through this these communities saw the benefits of conservation work and have changed their practices to protect their resources.

For example, when we began working with Srey Chek Community Fishery (CFi) in 2015 their CFi management committee was inactive and community members told us that their fishery resources were in decline due to over exploitation and rampant illegal fishing in their CFi area. By implementing the measures described in this solution, Srey Chek CFi has a strong and committed management committee which is supported by CFi members and local authorities from the village up to the Provincial level. This support involves active participation in CFi activities and funding. The CFi Committee now regularly patrols their CFi area, often accompanied by Fisheries Administration Officials and local authorities who are legally authorized to warn or fine illegal fishers and remove illegal fishing gear. Srey Chek CFi Committee members are not only protecting their community fish conservation area, but they are also helping the Fisheries Administration guard the nearby State fish sanctuary - reporting illegal activities direct to the Provincial Governor. The CFi Committee has also released fish such as the critically endangered giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis), and wildlife including pythons, and turtles received from CFi members and local authorities into their community fish conservation area.