Promotion of FMSP guidelines for floodplain fisheries management and sluice gate control

Background

Various studies in South and South East Asia (especially in Bangladesh) have shown a decline in floodplain fisheries production and consequent adverse impacts on the livelihoods of poor fishers. These people, who depend on floodplains for their livelihoods, face many problems associated with the lack of integrated management of fisheries. Many of the key stakeholders currently see floodplain management in purely sectoral terms, and few take into account future climate change impacts. There is a need for improved adoption of more integrated approaches to floodplain management, incorporating lessons learned from past FMSP projects focusing on this issue. This will inform those involved with policy making, planning and implementation of floodplain management activities in Bangladesh and also the wider South and Southeast Asian region.

Approach

Promotion of FMSP-developed materials guiding the integrated management of floodplain fisheries resources, took into account key factors such as establishment of sanctuaries, management of sluice gates to benefit both rice and fish, and climate change impacts. The project targeted both local managers in Bangladesh, e.g. sluice gate managers and fisheries officers, and national, regional and international policy makers in the South and South east Asian region (especially West Bengal, India).

New project materials produced included leaflets, PowerPoint presentations, posters, bill boards, articles in newspapers and newsletters, a field manager's guide, a DFID policy brief and web pages with key messages and download facilities. Existing knowledge and new materials were promoted using a range of different communication channels, as appropriate to different stakeholder groups, including workshops, seminars, presentations at informal meetings, a stall at the Bangladesh Fish Fair, pot songs and street theatre. Materials and activities were developed with the Bangladesh partners, BCAS and CNRS, developing them as regional centers of excellence on FMSP and related DFID knowledge on floodplain fisheries.

Findings

The project's Bangladesh collaborators, BCAS and CNRS, have been involved in developing all of the materials produced by the project, and led all of the local promotional activities. They remain as joint centers of excellence on integrated fisheries management in Bangladesh, and now specifically on the knowledge produced by the FMSP floodplains cluster (and related work by NRSP and others).

At the regional level, awareness was raised about the FMSP guidelines on floodplain fishery management by a two-day dissemination workshop in West Bengal. This was attended by 25 Indian stakeholders, in addition to an invited participant from the Bangladesh Department of Fisheries. A report on the uptake of the workshop recommendations has been prepared by the local collaborator, West Bengal Department of Fisheries. Preparations have also been made for raising awareness in other Asian regions, including the Mekong, by the submission of project materials to the STREAM website and newsletter.