Power sharing in fisheries co-management in Tam Giang Lagoon, Vietnam

Ho, Nga Thi Thanh; Ross, Helen; Coutts, Jeffrey

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2014.12.006

Cited by 31 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Government officials and university researchers worked together to devise a model of comanagement that would be suitable for local fishers. The processes of forming FAs, capacity building, and development of FA fisheries management plans have been described in detail in several recent papers (Tuyen et al 2010, Armitage et al 2011, Boonstra and Nhung 2011, Marschke et al 2012, Ho et al 2015. Throughout focus group discussions and key informant interviews there was a consistent message that although virtually all FAs in the Cau Hai lagoon have received rights allocations, most are still not performing their management functions.…”

Section: Collective-planning Phasementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding social-ecological change and transformation through community perceptions of system identity

Andrachuk¹,

Armitage²

2015

E&S

191

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ABSTRACT. We developed an empirical approach to consider social-ecological system change and transformation by drawing on resource users' knowledge and perceptions. We applied this approach in the Cau Hai lagoon, a coastal area dominated by small-scale fisheries in central Vietnam. Nine focus groups with more than 70 fishers were used to gather information about key social-ecological system elements and interactions, historical social-ecological dynamics, and possible thresholds between distinct social-ecological system identities. The patterns of change in livelihoods and resource exploitation in the Cau Hai lagoon are similar to those seen in other coastal lagoon and small-scale fishery contexts. Our findings show some promise for the use of local knowledge and the perceptions of resource user communities to understand and characterize social-ecological transformations. Importantly, however, we also demonstrate how social-ecological transformations are complicated processes driven by many factors beyond the control of any singular individual or group. We argue that (1) the occurrence of social-ecological transformations can result in either positive or negative outcomes and (2) that we need to direct our thinking away from drawing tidy conclusions about if and when social-ecological transformations take place. Our research also encourages scholars to carefully consider how we frame the benefits of participatory, community-based governance initiatives. Importantly, we need to examine the ways that governance initiatives will be beneficial for some people and detrimental for others, and we need to be fully aware of locally contested interests and acknowledge competing priorities for fisheries management and human well-being. Community-oriented assessments informed by resilience thinking can help to open up questions about economic, political, cultural, and environmental aspects of undesirable path dependencies and traps.

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Section: Collective-planning Phasementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding social-ecological change and transformation through community perceptions of system identity

Andrachuk¹,

Armitage²

2015

E&S

191

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“…It is estimated that 30% of the provincial population earns its living through fisheries and aquaculture (Phap et al 2002. The Tam Giang lagoon is said to represent a larger population of lagoon areas in Southeast Asia that experience trap dynamics related to ecological degradation and impoverishment of well-being , Huong and Berkes 2011, Boonstra and Nhung 2012, Armitage and Marschke 2013, Andrachuk and Armitage 2015, Boonstra and Hanh 2015, Ho et al 2015. Armitage and Marschke (2013) were probably the first to claim that the lagoon had entered a social-ecological trap.…”

Section: A Social-ecological Trap In the Tam Giang Lagoonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can income diversification resolve social-ecological traps in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in the global south? A case study of response diversity in the Tam Giang lagoon, central Vietnam

Hanh¹,

Boonstra²

2018

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Small-scale fishers and aquaculturists in the global south often face reinforcing feedbacks between resource degradation and livelihood impoverishment, a situation conceptualized as a social-ecological trap. It is argued that these traps can be overcome through income diversification, i.e., livelihoods that are maintained from variable income sources. Our aim was to further scrutinize that claim using the concept of response diversity. To do so, we applied the concept and analyzed income diversification in the Tam Giang lagoon, central Vietnam. Based on our analysis, we argue that high diversity in income activities does not necessarily lead to an escape from social-ecological traps. Although diversity in income activities in the case of the Tam Giang lagoon is relatively high, fisheries-and aquaculture-related income activities continue to dominate livelihood portfolios. The various gear and structures that these activities include all exploit the same ecologies, habitats, and niches of the lagoon. This finding triggers questions concerning the relative contribution of income activities to household income, but also how activities are (differently) connected to natural environments. Income diversification can only sustain natural resources and improve human well-being if it truly transforms livelihoods by connecting local users in new ways to ecologies and societies.

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“…The Tam Giang-Cau Hai lagoon system (well known as Tam government, but owing to lack of government involvement in the design process led by donor-funded projects (Ho et al 2015), the institutional support is weak and government is a somewhat passive partner. The reality is that FAs assist government in enforcement action but have limited role in lagoon planning and decision making.…”

Section: Fisheries Management In Tam Giang Lagoon Vietnammentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The members in this FA often did as the chairman asked because this man was seen to be always committed to take responsibility (legal or administrative) for the actions. This accountability is very important in Tam Giang Lagoon as the legal support for implementing comanagement is unclear (Ho et al 2015).…”

Section: Attributes Of a Leader In Fisheries Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study explores the influence of leaders on fishers' participation in co-management, and the elements making an influential leader in fishing communities in Tam Giang Lagoon, Vietnam in a context where incentives for participating in co-management are not clear due to low statutory support and policy for co-management (Ho et al 2015). This knowledge is necessary for selecting and building appropriate leaders for fisheries co-management in a non-western society.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fisheries co-management in Vietnam: From theory to practice. Case study in Tam Giang Lagoon

Ho¹

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Rapid declines in common pool resources worldwide have been a driver to shift fisheries management from government to co-management. During the last few decades, theoretical and practical issues of fisheries co-management have been widely documented, yet the building and implementation of fisheries co-management in developing country contexts, where co-management processes have been influenced by external agencies, has not been adequately addressed. This research aims to contribute to understanding about how co-management works in a developing country and to building successful fisheries co-management in Vietnam.In particular, it investigates how fisheries co-management emerged and became arranged; it analyses the factors affecting the development and implementation of fisheries co-management and the outcomes of the co-management. This research was conducted in Tam Giang Lagoon, Vietnam where six nested case studies, fishing communities -represented by their Fishery Associations -were selected for the research. Data were collected from a survey (n=252) and 12 focus group discussions with fishers; semi-structured interviews with 27 people who were resource managers, co-management experts, project staff, policy makers and fishers; and secondary data where available. The findings show that (1) Comanagement in Tam Giang Lagoon was arranged between fishers' organizations (Fishery Association -FA) and district government, with low involvement of the provincial level of government, which is responsible for fisheries policy, planning and legislation, in co-management processes. Co-management has evolved incrementally as a response to problems, rather than co-management being a consciously designed or negotiated system from the start. Further, the development of the co-management system was led by donor-funded projects and their involvement was crucial for starting co-management in the lagoon. However, the dominance of their project teams in building the co-management has left government in a passive position. The low participation of government in co-management processes, poor cooperation between the many different donor-funded projects, and lack of appropriate exit strategies of the projects, have resulted in an unsustainable and inconsistent co-management system. (2) Co-management has offered the opportunity to shift the fisheries governance into a new era where power can be ii shared between government and fishers. However as the national and provincial legislative framework has lagged behind the co-management progress, fishers are unable to exercise the shared powers and this makes the fishers' powers nominal rather than actual. Given that fisheries co-management is in its infancy in Vietnam and is still under development, the findings of this research are useful for government at different levels to build successful co-management systems in Vietnam. It also implies a need for the government to conduct an overview of the co-management system to gain the lessons and experiences from what has been done so far,...

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Power sharing in fisheries co-management in Tam Giang Lagoon, Vietnam

Cited by 31 publications

References 20 publications

Understanding social-ecological change and transformation through community perceptions of system identity

Understanding social-ecological change and transformation through community perceptions of system identity

Can income diversification resolve social-ecological traps in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in the global south? A case study of response diversity in the Tam Giang lagoon, central Vietnam

Fisheries co-management in Vietnam: From theory to practice. Case study in Tam Giang Lagoon

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