Co-management approach on fisher group: a case study on Ramsar site, Tanguar haor in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, wetlands are managed through leasing system traditionally from time immemorial. Recently the Government accepted co-management approach for wetland fisheries management and this approach is being practiced in few wetlands for maximize revenue income. A study was carried out to evaluate trend and impact of co-management in Tanguar haor (a Ramsar site wetland) on fisheries resources and livelihood of resident people in the immediate vicinity of the wetland. In Tanguar haor, conflict between leaseholders and the local community was a common phenomenon in the past. Since 2003 the district administration of Sunamganj has been managing the vast wetland resources, however, local people participation was ignored in haor management system. Average monthly fish catch of fishermen increased by 17% after introduction of co-management system and 7 fish species reappeared after introduction of co-management. Average monthly volume of fish catch has increased from 70 kg to 87 kg. A well-defined management structure has been developed for integration of all people of Tanguar haor which would enable them to raise voice jointly and influence policy in their favour.

The potential for co-management in fisheries

Concerns have been raised over the sustainability of the fisheries resource base of Lake Victoria for some time. The draft National Fisheries Policy states: "The key issues in the fisheries sector are resource depletion through overfishing aggravated by use of destructive fishing gear and methods" (MAAIF 2000). A fishery is said to be degraded if any or all of the indicators begin to show including decline in catches from the fishery, higher proportion of immature fish in the catch and reduction in the species composition of the catch. Inadequate implementation of fisheries management is considered the main cause of resource degradation. One of the factors identified as constraints to fisheries management has been lack of involvement of the resource users.

Governance in co-management on the Lake Victoria fisheries, Uganda

In September 2007, the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute carried out a socio-economic survey on Governance in Co- Management in the fisheries of Lake Victoria. The purpose of the study was to determine the nature and performance of governance of the fisheries resources through co-management structures and systems.