In May 2020, Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD) coordinated with Sub-Department of Fisheries of Binh Dinh Province to organize a conference on the co-management sharing, recognizing the assignment of management rights of community organisation in Bai Dua area in Nhon Ly commune and communications on the co-management in aquatic resources protection at LMMA Quy Nhon Bay.

Photo: Key stakeholders at the conference in Nhon Ly commune, Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh  

The series of activity aim to disseminate key results of the Project “Enhancing the resilience of small-scale fishing communities and marine ecosystems at the Locallly Managed Marine Areas, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam” phase 2 (2017-2019). Thereby, the project partners and stakeholders shared experiences and lessons learned in the process of implementing Co-management in the aquatic resources protection under the Fisheries Law 2017 and conducted a public communication to raise awareness on the co-management in protecting aquatic resources and sustainable tourism development in Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) in Quy Nhon. Besides that, through the coference, participants discussed the next plan to ensure the sustainability of the project with the participation and cooperation of stakeholders in the implementation of Co-management in protecting aquatic resources and reducing illegal fishing in the Central coast of Vietnam.

Photo: Co-management communication and coral reef monitoring in Bai Dua, Nhon Ly

Attending the workshop, there are about 60 participants from the various agencies, including Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Dinh Province, Sub-Department of Fisheries of Binh Dinh Province, People’s Committee of Quy Nhon City,  Economic Division of Quy Nhon City, Culture and Information Division of Quy Nhon City, Department of Tourism of Binh Dinh Province, Binh Dinh Fisheries Association, Nhon Ly Border Guard, People’s Committee and community groups of Nhon Ly, Nhon Hai and Ghenh Rang communes; Representative of the Central region: Cu Lao Cham MPA Management Board, Representative of Tan Hiep commune; MCD, GEF and local mass media.

Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) is a necessary and useful method for supporting sustainable development through balancing ecological health, livelihoods of the community and a good governance in areas where fisheries activities are practiced. In Vietnam, this apporach is much interested by managers and already included in the general principle of fisheries management (Fisheries Law 2017). Co-management in the protection and development of aquatic resources is part of the EAFM approach and is effective tool that has been recently included in the legal document in Article 10 of the 2017 Fisheries Law and has been guided to comply with the Decree 26 / ND-CP issued on May 24^th, 2019.

At the conference, Ms. Than Thi Hien – Deputy Director of MCD presented the project results and lessons learned from EAFM pilot/Co-management practice in protection of the coral reef ecosystems and recommendations to scaling up initiatives in the South Central Coastal Region of Vietnam. This is an opportunity for stakeholders to share practical experiences, lessons learned, challenges and propose appropriate solutions contributing to the replication of Co-management in the similar ecosystem areas across the region.

The co-management implementation in Bai Dua of LMMA Quy Nhon Bay is recognised as one of the first practices implementing the Fisheries Law 2017 in Binh Dinh and nationwide. The area was selected based on the urgent needs of the local community on aspects such as protecting ecosystems and ensuring long-term livelihoods of the people. At the same time, the application of the management plan and operational regulations has received a high consensus and commitment from the community to ensure the sustainability. On February 4, 2020, the People’s Committee of Quy Nhon City issued Decision 445/QD-UBND recognizing and assigning management rights to community organization to implement Co-management in protecting aquatic resources in Bai Dua, Nhon Ly commune, Quy Nhon City.

Mr. Tran Kim Duong, Deputy Head of Binh Dinh Sub-Departmetn of Fisheries stated opportunities and challenges in the process of implementing Co-management in Bai Dua, Nhon Ly. Based on the practice of coastal fisheries management principles under the EAFM/Co-management approach at LMMA Quy Nhon Bay, it is proposed to make some recommendations and suggestions to improve local and national policies.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Danh (Vice Chairman of Nhon Ly People’s Committee, Head of Nhon Ly Community organisation) shared his experiences in campaigning for setting up a community organization in Nhon Ly commune, developing a management plan on Bai Dua coral reef area and making a regulation on management activities associating exploitation and protection of aquatic resources with sustainable tourism development in the area.

Attending the conference, representatives from The Management Board of Cu Lao Cham MPA also shared the achieved results until 2019 and presented the plan to implement Co-management at Bai Huong Sub-Area in the protection of aquatic resources in the next years (2020-2024). The main objectives and activities of the plan include (i) protecting and restoring coral reef ecosystems and biodiversity; (ii) registration of legal fishing facilities and enforcement of legal fishing regulations; (iii) strengthening community organization capacity; (iv) and developing community-based ecotourism as an income generating livelihood (50-60% contribution to household gathering).

The activiy in the framework of the Project “Enhancing the resilience of small-scale fishing communities and marine ecosystems at the Locally Managed Marine Area, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam” phase 2 (2017-2019) funded by ADM Foundation, implemented by MCD in collaboration with Binh Dinh Sub-Department of Fisheries, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Dinh Province. The overall objective of project is to strengthen institutional capacity, practice, and policy development through the application of (Ecosystem Fisheries to Management Approach) in the coastal areas of South Central Vietnam.

MCD has facilitated localities in the sustainable management of high biodiversity at the Locally Managed Marine Area, where important coral ecosystems and aquatic resources need to be protected and maintained. MCD has organized activities to support communities in sustainable livelihoods development to improve and diversity household income sources as one of the necessary solutions to minimize dependence of the community on the ecosystem, helping to reduce overexploitation and contribute to ecosystem restoration.