Locally Based Coastal Fisheries Management: People's Participation and Local Management Body to Sustainability of Coastal Resources in Case of Thailand

Research PaperSoutheast Asian Fisheries Development Center/Training Department (SEAFDEC/TD) and the Department of Fisheries (DOF), Thailand adopted the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Fisheries Consultative Group (FCG) scheme to implement a coastal resource management program. SEAFDEC/TD and DOF incorporate to formulate the collaborative project entitled ‘Locally Based Coastal Fisheries Management in Pathew District (LBCFM-PD), Chumphon Province, Thailand’. Objectives of the project are to broadly achieve sustainable use of coastal resources and to alleviate poverty of fishing communities, in particular for small-scale fisheries. Community-based fisheries management (CBFM) approach and co-management (CM) are the main concepts of the LBCFM-PD project framework. Under the Thai Constitution 1997, decentralization of authority has supported local government and people’s organization to share part of responsibility for coastal resource management. People’s participation driven through whatever type of local management body is key mechanism to manipulate two core activities of the LBCFM-PD project: the establishment of LBCFM framework and local business development. Local people’s participation practicing in decision-making process accomplishes outcomes of the project of phase I (2001-2003). The Chumphon Province proclaims the demarcated areas where trawls and push net are prohibited. Both local communities and local governments have achieved consensus on the establishment of aquaculture zone management for avoiding conflict between fish-farmers and fishers using the same fishing grounds. A number of women joins and establishes a group that operates fish processing business. They have gained advantage of fish technology transferred and created additional income sources. The Pakklong Sub-district Administrative Organization (Ao.Bo.To.) has promoted the group’s business to apply ‘One-Tambol, One-Product’ OTOP scheme