Kesaro Loeung

Empowerment and Capacity Building of Community Fishery Committee in Undertaking Community-Based Aquatic Resources (Wetland) Management and Conservation

A visit to a newly established fish sanctuary (Lou Suong). Taken on 20 Sept 2008 in TT reservoir.

Electrocution devices confiscated by the community fishery management committee in coop with local authority. Photo taken on 20 September 2008 at WCS office, Ta Ong village.

Ta Ong village.

Village consultative meeting on the creation of Lou Suong fish sanctuary. Photo was taken on 25 August 2008 at 09: 09AM, at Paoy Char Buddhism pagoda (Paoy Char commune, Phnum Srok district, Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia), by Lou Vanny.

Trapeang Thma community fishery management committee at work. Photo was taken at Trapeang Thma reservoir in Banteay Meanchey province of Cambodia, on 26 February 2009, by Lou Vanny.

Town/RegionCountryCategoriesDate
Banteay Meanchey ProvinceCambodiaAsia, Community, Fisheries, Marine29 Aug 2008

The Trapeang Thma Wetlands is an internationally significant biological diversity conservation area. The Cambodian government issued a royal degree to conserve the area in 2000, after it was discovered to be home to at least 14 internationally endangered and global threatened wildlife species listed below. However, the government has no capacity to employ staff on the ground to monitor or enforce the law. The local community wishes to establish a wetland sanctuary where there is no human use, to establish a safe ground for these critical wildlife species to feed and breed. By having the sanctuary established, demarcated, monitored and patrolled by local community members, those wild aquatic resources can reproduce and regenerate all year round. Fish and other wild aquatic resources not only serve as a source of income and human food but also significantly reduce dependency of local households on those endangered species and provide those endangered species with increased food sources as well.

Internationally endangered Grus antigone, Important Dendrocygna javanica, Sarkidornis melanotus, Anastomus oscitans, Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus, Globally threatened/near-threatened Houbaropsis bengalensis, Pseudibis davisoni, Leptoptilos dubius, Haliacetus leucoryphus,Globally threatened primate Macaca fascicularis; ungulate Cervus eldii; and turtles Cuora amboinensis, Malayemys subtrijuga, and Indotestudo elongate.

With this Rufford Grant support, the local community fishery, especially the five elected management committee members representing villagers at the commune level, will carry out the following activities during 12 months:

(i) organizing concerned stakeholders consultations to discuss the newly proposed communal wetlands sanctuary (size and location),

(ii) identifying its administrative boundaries and produce mapping,

(iii) demarcating physical boundaries by putting wooden poles on ground,

(iv) putting signs on the site to raise public awareness to avoid conflicts between insiders and outsiders in term of use and access to the sanctuary,

(v) carrying out public environmental promotional campaign to other community groups to disseminate information and gain their support and participation in the sanctuary,

(vi) conduct local study tour visits to successful community fishery committees sites in the country to exchange experience.

For more information contact st102875@ait.ac.th

Project Update: Septemeber 2008

Two project staff who is a head and an extension of the Trapeang Thma community fishery (TTCF) attended the national symposium entitled "Emerging Trends, Challenges and Innovations for community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) in Cambodia" which was held from 10-11 September 2008 at Phnom Penh Hotel in Phnom Penh city, and organized by the CBNRM Learning Institute. The event provides them good opportunity to gain better understanding on decentralized policies and practices. They use what they have gained from such meeting to share with and disseminate to other villagers during awareness raising campaigns. All expenses including costs of transportation, meals and accommodations for them were born by the event organizer due to good cooperation.

Mr. William Murray who is a project adviser from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok paid his visit to the project site in Banteay Meanchey province, north-west of Cambodia from 18-20 September 2008. During the visit, he met with local project team (five TTCF committee members) and a commune head to discuss project progress and issues encountered. Summary of the progress for the month of September 2008 is a total number of six community fishery campaigns were held for eight villages in the commune of Paoy Char during the month. Total number of 429 participants (villagers-fishers) attended the campaigns. As the results, a total number of 13 fish electrocution devices (photo attached) are given to local authorities. Note on the project issue discussed was lack of manpower to assist the TTCF committee to carry out patrol and monitoring activities, especially at the night time. The meeting approved the recruitment of an additional project team member, Mr. Pich Horm effective from 1 October 2008, based on his active involvement, election by villagers and recommendation of the commune head and TTCF committee.

Project Update: February 2009

Read about the progress made to date in the interim report below.

File DownloadSize
Interim Report.doc751 KB
Final Report

Read about the activities undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.

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Final Report.doc1.06 MB

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