The India MPA Workshop Proceedings. Social Dimensions of Marine Protected Areas Implementation in India: do Fishing Communities Benefit? 21-22 January 2009, IMAGE Auditorium, Chennai, India

In the current context of natural resource management, marine protected areas (MPAs) are being widely propagated as an important tool for the conservation of marine and fisheries resources. The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) recently undertook a series of studies on MPAs in India to highlight the various legal, institutional, policy and livelihoods issues that confront fishing and coastal communities. In order to discuss the findings of these case studies and to suggest proposals for livelihood-sensitive conservation and management of coastal and fisheries resources through participatory processes, ICSF organized a two-day workshop on ‘Social Dimensions of Marine Protected Area Implementation in India: Do Fishing Communities Benefit?’ at Chennai on 21-22 January 2009. This publication—the India MPA Workshop Proceedings—contains the prospectus of the workshop, a report of the proceedings and the consensus statement that was reached by organizations and individuals who particapated in the workshop. This publication will be useful for fishworkers, non-governmental organizations, policymakers, trade unions, researchers and others interested in natural resource management and coastal and fishing communities.

Environmental impact of hydraulic escalator dredging on oyster communities

A study to assess the effects of hydraulic escalator dredging on an oyster community was initiated at the request of the Department of Natural Resources, Mary1and Tidewater Fisheries Administration. The purpose of the work was to reevaluate a study done by Manning (1957). A site in the Patuxent River north of Broome Island classified as oyster bottom was selected to conduct an in - situ intensive experiment using the Manning study as a framework for project design. Clams and oysters were present in the study area,although oyster populations were limited in number. (PDFs consists of pp 1-97 and additional Sect II: Middle Bay proposed reclassification sites)

Self-recruiting species (SRS) from farmer managed aquatic systems: are they important to the livelihoods of rural communities?

Why are SRS important? The answer is to be found in this well-structured survey under: SRS as food source; SRS as additional source of cash income; Role of SRS in social capital. An analysis of the threats to SRS and the potential management options for farmer managed aquatic systems are also available in this survey along with the following definition of SRS: SRS are defined as aquatic animals that can be harvested from farmer managed aquatic systems without regular stocking. (PDF contains 4 pages)

A livelihoods study of farmers and fishers in Dang Kom Village - Kandal Province

The main objective of this study was to build the capacity of the CFDO and provincial staff to conduct livelihoods studies using a more participatory approach. The livelihoods study team comprised one person from the CFDO, four people from the Kandal Provincial Fisheries Office and two from the Kandal Department of Women's Affairs. Before conducting the field study, the team members participated in a three-day training workshop on how to use various PRA tools and techniques. The study team then spent five days in the village finding out about people’s livelihoods and the resources available to them. [PDF contains 37 pages]

Developing alternatives for optimal representation of seafloor habitats and associated communities in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

The implementation of various types of marine protected areas is one of several management tools available for conserving representative examples of the biological diversity within marine ecosystems in general and National Marine Sanctuaries in particular. However, deciding where and how many sites to establish within a given area is frequently hampered by incomplete knowledge of the distribution of organisms and an understanding of the potential tradeoffs that would allow planners to address frequently competing interests in an objective manner. Fortunately, this is beginning to change. Recent studies on the continental shelf of the northeastern United States suggest that substrate and water mass characteristics are highly correlated with the composition of benthic communities and may therefore, serve as proxies for the distribution of biological biodiversity. A detailed geo-referenced interpretative map of major sediment types within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) has recently been developed, and computer-aided decision support tools have reached new levels of sophistication. We demonstrate the use of simulated annealing, a type of mathematical optimization, to identify suites of potential conservation sites within SBNMS that equally represent 1) all major sediment types and 2) derived habitat types based on both sediment and depth in the smallest amount of space. The Sanctuary was divided into 3610 0.5 min2 sampling units. Simulations incorporated constraints on the physical dispersion of sampling units to varying degrees such that solutions included between one and four site clusters. Target representation goals were set at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent of each sediment type, and 10 and 20 percent of each habitat type. Simulations consisted of 100 runs, from which we identified the best solution (i.e., smallest total area) and four nearoptimal alternates. We also plotted total instances in which each sampling unit occurred in solution sets of the 100 runs as a means of gauging the variety of spatial configurations available under each scenario. Results suggested that the total combined area needed to represent each of the sediment types in equal proportions was equal to the percent representation level sought. Slightly larger areas were required to represent all habitat types at the same representation levels. Total boundary length increased in direct proportion to the number of sites at all levels of representation for simulations involving sediment and habitat classes, but increased more rapidly with number of sites at higher representation levels. There were a large number of alternate spatial configurations at all representation levels, although generally fewer among one and two versus three- and four-site solutions. These differences were less pronounced among simulations targeting habitat representation, suggesting that a similar degree of flexibility is inherent in the spatial arrangement of potential protected area systems containing one versus several sites for similar levels of habitat representation. We attribute these results to the distribution of sediment and depth zones within the Sanctuary, and to the fact that even levels of representation were sought in each scenario. (PDF contains 33 pages.)

A livelihoods study of farmers and fishers in Dang Tong Village Kampong Chhnang Province

This is the report of a livelihoods study team working together with villagers from Dang Tong Village in Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia. The study of the livelihoods of farmers and fishers is based on information provided by the villagers of Dang Tong, who shared their knowledge and raised real problems related to their livelihoods. [PDF contains 37 pages.]

A livelihoods study of farmers and fishers in Koh Chbar Village Kratie Province

This is the report of a livelihoods study team working together with villagers from Koh Chbar Village in Kratie Province, Cambodia, to find out about the livelihoods of farmers and fishers. It is based on information provided by the villagers who shared their knowledge and raised real issues related to their livelihoods. [PDF contains 37 pages.]

A livelihoods study of farmers and fishers in Koh Reusey Village Kampong Chhnang Province

This is the report of a livelihoods study conducted in Koh Reusey Village, Prorlay Meas Commune, Kampong Leng District, Kampong Chhnang Province. The main objective of the study was to understand the villagers’ lives, their standards of living, the hardships they experience, external impacts on their lives, and current and future needs. The livelihoods team spent five days in the village from 27 June to 1 July 2002 and worked with 60 villagers. These included men, women, younger and older villagers. One hundred and thirty-five families in the village were represented. [PDF contains 21 pages]

A livelihoods study of farmers and fishers in Trorbek Pork Village Kandal Province

This is the report of a livelihoods study team working together with villagers from Trorbek Pork in Kandal Province, Cambodia. The livelihoods study is based on the current population census (1998) and key informant interviews: 10 to 70 villagers (50% women) representing the 140 families of Trorbek Pork Village, Kampong Kong Commune, Koh Thom District, Kandal Province. (PDF contains 40 pages)

A livelihoods study of farmers and fishers in Saob Leu Village Kratie Province

This is the report of a livelihoods study team working together with villagers from Saob Leu Village in Kratie Province, Cambodia. The study is based on information provided by the villagers, who shared their knowledge and spoke about the real problems they face with their livelihoods. [PDF contains 40 pages]

Structure and diversity in Mytilus californianus (Mollusca: Bivalvia) communities

Mytilus californianus (Mollusca: Bivalvia), the California marine mussel, occurs in intertidal populations so derise that they are referred to as "Mussel beds." The mussel beds range in physical complexity from structurally simple, essentially mono-layered assemblages, to structurally complex, multi-layered assemblages. The internal environment within the bed varies accordingly. The mussel bed provides either directly or indirectly, habitat, food and shelter for a large community of associated invertebrates. This study examines the relationship between physical complexity of the mussel bed habitat and composition of the associated community.

Telling stories, understanding lives, working toward change

Stories are helping us learn more about the livelihoods of the fishers and farmers with whom we work in eastern India. We are engaged with these communities in processes and activities aimed at improving their lives and promoting changes in government policy and service delivery in aquaculture and fisheries. Stories are told in several languages by women and men who fish and farm, about their lives, their livelihoods and significant changes they have experienced. We also record stories as narrated to us by colleague-informants. The written and spoken word, photographs, drawings and films – all are used to document the stories of people’s lives, sometimes prompted by questions as simple as “What do people talk about in the village?” Through the power of language, stories can be an entry point into livelihoods programming, monitoring and evaluation, conflict transformation and ultimately a way of giving life to a rights-based approach to development. (PDF contains 10 pages).

The Kandhkelgaon Story: a bold bid by women in Kandhkelgaon Village, Saintala Block, Bolangir District, to break out of their poverty trap

One third of the people on earth who are described as living in absolute poverty are found today in India. “These people,” says Mr B K Satpathy, “are caught in a poverty trap’.” “Poverty trap?” we ask. “These are creative weavers; their cloth has a distinctive style, but those who supply their thread also take away and sell the cloth, paying just a small labor cost for each saree. If they are skilled and work hard this amounts to only 25-30 rupees (60-70 US cents) per day.” Under this arrangement, weaving does not provide enough to live on, and people are seeking ways to escape their entrapment in poverty. (Pdf contains 6 pages).

Two worlds across a highway

The Government of Pakistan and FAO have put into practice a participatory process that sought to involve as wide a range of stakeholders as possible, with two rounds of consultations ‘close’ to people in communities and in some cases, actually with poor people and women. This is the relation of one day of these consultations in a little Pakistani village called Chilya. (Pdf contains 5 pages).