Abstract
Natural resources co-management by local users, concerned local governments, and other stakeholders, with particular attention to the role of the users in resource management, has been strongly encouraged by many projects in Vietnam in recent years. There are many reasons for this. In general, though, various socioeconomic and environmental problems make the need for resource management clear, and management measures must be accepted by the users, if they are to have legitimacy and effectiveness. This paper focuses on the experiences of the Vietnam subcomponent of Management of Reservoir Fisheries, in order to make recommendations to decision-makers (a) on whether or not to promote fisheries co-management more systematically, and (b) how such promotion should be carried out. These recommendations are based on (a) an examination of the economics of co-management and other management systems at selected reservoirs, (b) other less measurable, but very important, costs and benefits, which enter comparative economics equations with difficulty, and (c) other lessons learned from efforts to establish co-management in six reservoirs in Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. In general, participation of fishers in managing the resources on which they depend should be promoted. However, there is great local variation among fishery resources and fishing communities, and no single model will apply to all. Local, not just central, government support is needed for any co-management effort to succeed. Policy guidelines are needed to encourage local governments to support co-management. This should be combined with developing among local officials an increased awareness of the need for user participation. Finally, resource users have very little money and time. They usually cannot afford to invest the resources needed to achieve successful management, so modest compensation for their efforts should normally be part of the process of promoting their participation.
Determinants of dam reservoir fisheries impacted by climate change as observed by managers from the entities authorized to exploit these fisheries in East-Central Europe
