5.1. External and Internal Beginnings
5.1.1. External beginnings
A community-based co-management programme, initiated externally to the community, is one in which the idea for the programme originates outside of the community. For example, the programme may begin where an external agent (i.e. NGO, academic or research institution) and/or government agency identifies a problem(s) (for example, poverty in fishing communities, overfishing, destructive fishing), plans to address the problem through co- management, further identifies an area or community in the country to focus the programme, then establishes the programme. In another case, the programme may be initiated as part of a larger donor-assisted development programme in the country in which community-based co-management is the intervention approach. Or it may be that the government has declared a protected area and wants to develop a co-management partnership to manage the area (Boxes 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4).
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Box 5.1. External Beginnings: Laughing Bird Caye and Friends of Nature, Belize.
Laughing Bird Caye is a sand and shingle island surrounded by a broad lagoon filled with a variety of coral reef structures located approximately 19 km from the town of Placencia.
The area has traditionally been a fishing ground for local fishers. In the late 1970s, resorts in the area began to take tourists to the area. In the mid-1980s, local residents became concerned about declining resource conditions in the area, as well as talk about private development and an oil storage concession. In 1991, several community leaders organized the Friends of Laughing Bird Caye (FOLBC) to begin a consultation process in the community about the creation of a protected area and a national park. Through the efforts of FOLBC, the caye was declared a protected area in 1992. Working with the Department of Forestry, the FOLBC continued the consultation process to establish a management plan and buffer zone. FOLBC was registered as an NGO in 1996. In 1996, the caye was declared a national park and in 1998 a World Heritage Site. FOLBC continued its lobbying efforts for conservation of the area. In 2000, FOLBC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Forestry to co-manage the national park. Under its co-management agreement, the renamed Friends of Nature (FON) assumed control of the regulations on zoning and the behaviour of users. FON is authorized to police within the management zones. FON appointed an advisory committee composed of people from the local villages in the area to assist in formulating policy on management. FON conducts environmental education programmes and maintains consultations with users of the national park and community members.
Source: Pomeroy and Goetze (2003).
In the case of a programme which begins externally to the community, there may or may not be early consultation and collaboration with the community in designing and preparing for the programme. In many externally initiated programmes, the details of the programme objectives, intervention approach (co-management) and the specific areas of the programme are decided in the design phase away from the community. For example, an NGO might specialize in co-management and have the resources to undertake a co- management programme in a community. The NGO would then conduct a community scoping activity (e.g. a needs assessment) to determine the feasibility of undertaking a co-management programme in the community.
Once a programme community or area is identified, it is recommended that community members be consulted and allowed to participate as early in the programme life as possible in order to obtain their input, support and ‘buy-in’. Although the project idea may not originate with the community, Box 5.2. External Beginnings: Community-based Coastal Resource Management
(CBCRM) Work in Pagaspas Bay, Batangas, Philippines.
A Filipino NGO called CERD started its CBCRM programme in Calatagan, Batangas province in 1992. CERD first asked the permission of barangay (village) officials to conduct a study in some portions of Pagapas Bay. Their staff stayed in the community for almost 8 months. Subsequently the research results were presented to community members in a bay-wide consultation. Farmers, fishers, teachers, students and local politicians attended the consultation. The various stakeholders agreed that illegal fishing was the main cause of poverty in Pagaspas Bay and they agreed to work together to solve this problem.
CERD staff trained some young people in the community and formed a drama group.
These young people led other community members in requesting the local government to declare Pagaspas Bay as a marine reserve. Recognizing the strong commitment of the people to protect the bay, the local government eventually decided to declare Pagaspas Bay and the entire municipal waters of Calatagan as a ‘marine reserve and in the state of rehabilitation’.
The next steps led to the formation of several fisher organizations along the bay.
These steps were:
1. Selecting potential fisher leaders in the community that served as the core group;
2. The community organizers of CERD and the local leaders explained the benefits of organizing and invited interested people to attend a founding congress of a proposed fisherfolk organization;
3. The first municipal-wide congress of fishers was held and, subsequently, the Samahan ng Maliliit na Mangingisda sa Calatagan (SAMMACA) was formally organized;
4. Education and environmental awareness activities were held, e.g. basic course on marine ecological awareness and women’s orientation; and
5. To expand organizing work and at the same time localize decision-making processes, barangay organizations of fishers were formed and became part of the municipal-wide SAMMACA.
Source: Aleroza et al. (2003).
the sooner they are aware that their community has been selected as a programme site, the sooner the community members can help shape specific programme objectives and strategies. If the programme objectives and strategies are kept relatively general at this early stage, community members can be given an opportunity to provide input into further programme design and planning and gain a sense of ownership of the project. Programme sustainability has been shown to improve when community members are given the opportunity to participate early in the programme design and planning stages and have an incentive to want to participate (Pollnac et al., 2003).
Once a community is identified, an externally initiated programme may assist community members in problem identification, consensus building, accessing information and initial action planning. In some cases, an externally initiated programme, due to funding or donor demands, may immediately initiate implementation activities such as community organizer integration or education and capacity building (Box 5.5).
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Box 5.3. External Beginnings: The Sokhulu Subsistence Mussel-harvesting Project, South Africa.
The Sokhulu Tribal Authority lies on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal between St Lucia and Richards Bay, immediately to the southwest of the Maphelane Nature Reserve, which forms part of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park World Heritage Site. Prior to the promulgation of the Marine Living Resources Act in 1998, mussel harvest was controlled by a licence and bag-limit system and by specification of implement type. Traditional methods and quantities of mussel harvesting by subsistence gatherers were illegal under the legislation and were prevented by active law enforcement by the provincial conservation authority, the Natal Parks Board (NPB). Large-scale illegal harvesting of mussels by subsistence gatherers occurred at night along the coast, and conflict existed between subsistence gatherers and licensed recreational gatherers, and with the authorities. Violent clashes erupted between the Sokhulu community and gatherers and the NPB. The management staff felt that this situation could not persist and that the Sokhulu community should be approached in an attempt to try to find a solution. With outside funding, the NPD staff met with the local chief and an agreement was made to assemble all gatherers to discuss the matter. The meeting was well attended and an open and frank discussion was held on the problem. Despite some wariness on the part of the gatherers, they agreed to form a joint committee with the NPB staff to share information and generate an understanding between staff and the Sokhulu gatherers. The first few meetings were facilitated by an independent person, but once the initial mistrust and conflict was overcome, external facilitation was not necessary. Agreements were made to develop a sustainable harvesting system and to increase the capability of members of the fishing community to participate in management decisions. Decision-making within the subsistence zone is a joint endeavour, with the gatherers involved in decisions about the quota and in setting collecting rules.
Source: Harris et al. (2003).
Box 5.4. External Beginnings: The Lake Malombe and Upper Shire River Fisheries, Malawi.
The Shire River and Lake Malombe are natural outlets of Lake Malawi. Biological studies suggested that fish stocks, such as the commercially important cichlid (Oreochromisspp., locally known as chambo) have been declining. This was attributed to the increase in use of narrow meshed seine nets which catch juvenile chambo. The livelihoods of fishers and their families were threatened by this decline in the fishery. Traditional management structures had largely died out with the commercialization of the fishery and government measures to regulate entry to the fishery and protect breeding and juvenile fish through closed seasons and legal mesh sizes proved ineffective. The Fisheries Department, with guidance and assistance from outside donor agencies, introduced the concept of co- management as a guiding principle of fisheries management under a pilot Participatory Fisheries Management Programme (PFMP). The strategy employed to implement the PFMP involved the creation of a Community Liaison Unit composed of fisheries extension staff and Beach Village Committees representing the fishing communities. The co- management strategy which was to be employed under the PFMP did not come from the fishing communities, and this caused some initial problems based on mistrust, struggles for power, and lack of a true partnership between the government and fishing communities. Although many of these issues have been resolved over time, the ‘top- down’ approach to initially implementing co-management was problematic.
Source: Hara et al. (2002).
Box 5.5. Selecting a Community with the Potential for Successful Implementation of Co-management.
With limited resources (financial, funds, time, people), initiators and facilitators of co- management often ask how they can select a community with greater chances for successful co-management. While there is never a 100% guarantee for success and sustainability of a co-management programme, there are a few characteristics about communities that can be considered before programme initiation. This is based on work by Ostrom (1990, 1992), Pomeroy et al. (2001), McConney et al. (2003b), Sverdrup- Jensen and Nielsen (1998) and Sowman et al. (2003). The characteristics include:
● Clearly defined boundaries;
● Group/community homogeneity;
● High dependency on the resource that is threatened/in crisis;
● Strong community ties to the sea and the resource;
● Individual incentive to participate due to livelihood being threatened;
● Existing organization to engage in co-management;
● Legal right to organize;
● Existence of decentralized authority;
● High level of indigenous knowledge about the resource;
● Supportive government and community leadership;
● Defined resource property rights;
● Resources are sedentary creatures that do not range far in their life cycle, distribution corresponds with human settlements, fall under one jurisdiction.