Indicators for management of coral reefs and their applications to marine protected areas

Informed planning and decision-making in the management of natural resources requires an ability to integrate complex interactions in ecosystems and communicate these effectively to stakeholders. This involves coping with three fundamental dilemmas. The first comes from the irregular pulse of nature. The second is the recognition that there are no strictly objective criteria for judging the “well-being” of an ecosystem. The third is posed by the quest for indicators with some integrative properties that may be used to analyze an ecosystem and impart the information to the relevant resource users. This paper presents some examples of indicators used to: 1) assess the status of a coral reef and, in particular, the state of its fisheries resources; 2) identify reefs that are most threatened by human activities; and 3) evaluate the likelihood of success of management interventions. These indicators are not exhaustive, but illustrate the range of options available for the management of coral reef ecosystems.

Community management of Mekong River resources in Laos

The Mekong River is one of Asia's greatest rivers. It is the lifeblood of millions of small-scale farmers and fishers in China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the river is particularly important because for the landlocked country, the Mekong is the Sea of Laos. In southern Lao PDR, fisheries for native fish species constitute an extremely important source of subsistence protein and income for local people. It has been estimated that wild-caught fish constitute at least 90% of the protein for lowland Laotians living next to the Mekong. Despite the extreme importance of fish to the diets and economics of communities along the Mekong, the resource, and the people who depend upon it, are in danger.

Community management of coastal resources, southern Thailand

The involvement of communities with the assistance and support of government and non government organizations on the management of the coastal resources in Southern Thailand are discussed. The 3 most important resources, mangrove, seagrass and coral, create a complex coastal ecology. Several man-made activities causing the deterioration of this resources are also presented.

Participatory management of a reservoir fishery in northeastern Brazil

Consensus, compromise and cooperation. That was how more than 100 fishers reached agreement on how they would manage their own fishery in a small reservoir in northeastern Brazil. The long hard road that led to the agreement, the final congress in which fishers made minor history and the lessons that others may draw from the experience are described in this article. The fishers agreed on a nonfishing period of protected areas and a seasonal ban on certain nets in the face of a government department that told them the measures were non-building and essentially illegal.

On modeling and management of capture fisheries: one view

Sustainability of benefits from capture fisheries has been a concern of fisheries scientists for a long time. The development of fisheries management models reflects the historical debate (from maximum sustainable yield to maximum economic yield, and so on) of what benefits are valued and need to be sustained. Social and anthropological research needs an increased emphasis on bio-socioeconomic models to effectively determine directions for fisheries management.

Management of mangrove areas in Calauag Bay, Quezon Province, Philippines

The findings are presented of a study conducted in Calauag Bay, Quezon Province, Philippines in order to estimate resource rent of mangrove areas converted to fishpond production. The rents were calculated based on the technology practised by the farmers and the prices of inputs and outputs that prevailed during the study period. The major causes of mangrove depletion are cutting of mangroves for fuelwood and charcoal and clearing for fishpond development. It was concluded that there is justification for the government to increase the feed which could be used to rehabilitate the inland-coastal fisheries to improve productivity and ensure sustainability of the ecosystem for future generations.

Co-management of beach seine fisheries in Mozambique: a case study

In Mozambique, compliance with regulations in beach seines fishery is improved when the fishers themselves choose the season the government will declare closed. Beneficial side effects of co-management include a stronger sense of community and individual responsibility toward the common good. This article reports on a case study of fisheries co-management in the community of Inhassoro in the northern part of the province of Inhambane, about 800 km north of the capital of Mozambique, Maputo.

On the way to management of west Sumatra's coastal ecosystem

Various impacts on the coast of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra are presented together with activities and achievements to address them, e.g. public awareness, public relations and capacity building, including the establishment of a marine protected area.

Community fisheries management of freshwater lakes in Bangladesh

The Oxbow Lakes Small Scale Fishermen Project in western Bangladesh is primarily a Social Fisheries Project. The project aims at self-management of the Oxbow lakes fishing and fish farming by members of the local communities and the sharing of the benefits in an equitable manner. Project emphasis is on social and institutional aspects of the community water resource management and on improving the fish yields through better fisheries practices.

A bio-socioeconomic model for the management of the small pelagic fishery in northwest Peninsular Malaysia

The article was extracted from the author's dissertation entitled "Management of small pelagic fisheries on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia: a bio-socioeconomic simulation analysis". The basic structure and uses of this simulation model are presented here.

Management of wetland resources in the lower Mekong Basin: issues and future directions

The Lower Mekong Basin has extensive wetlands and these are being threatened by numerous problems. Most of these problems are interdependent and interact with one another. The lack of an appropriate definition of wetlands applicable to the region, pervasive inefficiencies and chronic lack of funds among riparian governments, and the poor appreciation of the true economic importance of wetlands and its resources are among the most prominent. The current definition, based on the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971), is too broad when compared to the understanding of wetlands as being swamps, marshes and the like, and was developed specifically for wetlands with international importance as waterfowl habitats. Furthermore, wetlands are composed of different types of resources, which require different modes of management. Often, institutional competition, overlapping mandates and sometimes jealousies occur between government departments when they try to assert their authority on a particular wetland resource and use, and put forward their development plans without considering how these may conflict with other wetlands uses. Finally, effective wetland management requires reliable statistics or information on rate of harvest of natural resources such as fish and others, fishing/harvesting methods over time in order to determine the level of exploitation, and the status of the natural resources. This information is needed to identify opportunities for expansion, to establish historical trends, and to determine when management interventions are necessary to protect the resources from being overused by other developments. In order to address these issues, ICLARM - The World Fish Center has launched a project, the aim of objectives of which are described in this paper.