Volume 6 September 2009
Recent Achievements Ø New Commitment Made for Continuing Wetlands Alliance (WA) to 2011 Ø Importance of Mekong Fish Biodiversity Highlighted at International Symposium Ø Latest WorldFish Research Presented at International Conference on Delta Research Ongoing Project Collaboration Ø WorldFish Contributes to Assessment of Proposed Mekong Dams Ø Project Launched to Address Collective Action and Tonle Sap Fisheries Future Work and Collaboration Ø A Review of Crab Banks to Start This Month Publication Ø An Article on “Dams and Fisheries in the Mekong Basin” Staff Update Ø Leadership Transition Update for Greater Mekong Program Ø Two New Research Staff on Board Ø Fulbright Research Fellow Back to top
Recent Achievements
F New Commitment Made for Continuing Wetlands Alliance (WA) to 2011 The Wetlands Alliance (WA) ended its three-year preparatory phase in June 2009, and Sida has committed to supporting the implementation of a revised WA strategy for the four countries until the end of 2011. While the preparatory phase focused mainly on engaging local partners and capacity building, the new phase will emphasize realizing lessons learned and achieving tangible outcomes in the form of poverty reduction and helping local partners mobilize resources. Back to top F Importance of Mekong Fish Biodiversity Highlighted at International Symposium Eric Baran gave a presentation on Mekong fish biodiversity at an international symposium “Asian Biodiversity: Characteristics, Conservation and Sustainable Use”, organized by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Asia Pacific - Biodiversity Observation Network meeting organized by the Ministry of Environment in Japan. A presentation entitled “Fish biodiversity along the Mekong River, from the Himalaya to the coast” can be downloaded from website. Eric was nominated for and accepted the role of a steering committee member for the Diversitas Network in the Western Pacific and Asia. Back to top F Latest WorldFish Research Presented at International Conference on Delta Research WorldFish participated in the 2009 DRAGON Asia Summit (DRAGON stands for Delta Research and Global Observation Network), where Eric Baran gave a presentation entitled “Ecological connections between the Mekong mainstream, the Tonle Sap Great Lake and the Mekong Delta”. Back to top
Ongoing Project Collaboration
F WorldFish Contributes to Assessment of Proposed Mekong Dams WorldFish is contributing to the “Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of Proposed Hydropower Development on the Mekong Mainstream in the Lower Mekong Basin”, commissioned by the MRC and led by the International Center for Environmental Management. The project will run for 12 months and assess the wider economic, social and environmental implications of the 11 proposed hydropower projects on the Mekong river mainstream. More information please visit: http://www.icem.com.au/02_contents/03/03.htm#seahp and http://www.mrcmekong.org/ish/SEA.htm Back to top F Project Launched to Address Collective Action and Tonle Sap Fisheries The WorldFish Center, Fisheries Administration, CDRI, and the Coalition of Cambodian Fishers have begun joint implementation of the project, “Building resilience of community fisheries in the Tonle Sap Lake: Collective action and the capacity to manage resource competition”. This action research project aims to strengthen the capacity of a network of fishing communities of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake to engage in collective action beyond the local scale, in support of governance arrangements that anticipate and manage competing uses of aquatic resources equitably. It will also distill lessons for other policy and institutional reform efforts aimed at supporting community based resource management where formal institutions for conflict management are weak.  The first case study consultations are being undertaken in Pursat and Kampong Chhnang provinces in October, with upcoming consultations planned in Siem Reap, Battambang, and Kampong Thom provinces. For more information please contact: Mam Kosal, Research Analyst, who is coordinating project activities Blake Ratner, Program Leader, Governance Back to top
Future Work and Collaboration
F A Review of Crab Banks to Start This Month CBNRM-Learning Institute and WorldFish will start an independent review of crab bank approaches, which has become popular in coastal Cambodia for women’s income generation as well as enhancing natural crab stocks. The research team will conduct case studies to explore what makes some crab bank practices successful, while others unsuccessful. For more information please contact: Olivier Joffre, Researcher, The WorldFish Center - Greater Mekong Region Chap Sopanha, Research Initiatives Manager, CBNRM-LI Back to top
Publication
F An Article on “Dams and Fisheries in the Mekong Basin” An article “Dams and fisheries in the Mekong Basin” by E. Baran and C. Myschowoda was recently published in a journal Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management. This paper draws on approaches in ecology, biology and policy analysis to examine the tensions between dams and fisheries in this region. The exceptional importance of Mekong fisheries, the ecological conditions necessary to sustain the fish production and the implications of dam development on fisheries are detailed. A copy of the article can be obtained from the journal or directly from the lead author Eric Baran. Back to top
Staff Update
F Leadership Transition Update for Greater Mekong Program As previously announced, Alan Brooks assumed leadership as Director of the Greater Mekong regional office as of 1 October 2009.  Alan has relocated to Phnom Penh from Bangladesh, where he was previously Director for South Asia.  Alan completed a round of visits with partners in Phnom Penh during the week of 21-25 September, and will be following up with additional visits to partners in the region, beginning with the MRC Basin Development Program regional stakeholder forum in Chiang Rai on 15-16 October. Outgoing Director Blake Ratner has moved into the role of Program Leader, Governance, assuming leadership of WorldFish Center’s work on governance globally. He is relocating to a base at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, D.C., to better engage development policy institutions and research partners working cross-regionally on these issues. However, he will also return regularly to the Mekong region, which remains one of the Center’s focal program areas for work on governance. Back to top F Two New Research Staff on Board Dyna Eam and Seila Chea have recently started working as Research Officers to support local partners through the Wetlands Alliance. Dyna has five years of research experience on community livelihood strategies, aquatic resource management, rural socioeconomics, community-based natural resource management, and policy and institutional analysis in coastal Cambodia and Tonle Sap Great Lake. He holds a B.Sc. in Fisheries from the Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia, and a M.A. in Sustainable Development from the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD), Chiang Mai University in Thailand. With knowledge of a variety of issues, Dyna will be promoting cross-disciplinary and participatory approaches for analyzing institutional and policy challenges relating to food security and livelihoods. He has assumed a lead role in some of the Wetlands Alliance’s work in coastal Cambodia. Seila has almost 5 years experience in community-based natural resource management, resource governance, action research and community produced media, and most recently with the Salaphoum project which the Wetlands Alliance has supported. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the Prek Leap National School of Agriculture (PNSA). She plays a leading role in providing backstopping to stakeholders in community-based action research, community produced media, and good governance of natural resources management in Northeastern Cambodia. Back to top F Fulbright Research Fellow Naomi Schwartz, Fulbright Research Fellow has recently joined WorldFish to start a study on the resilience of small scale fisheries in Cambodia to environmental changes. This study will be 10 months long and will focus on the ways in which social groups in the small-scale fisheries sector have adapted to short- and long-term environmental changes. Back to top
The WorldFish Mekong Update is produced by the WorldFish Center Greater Mekong regional office, compiled and edited by Keat Thida and Mith Samonn. We welcome your comments, ideas and contributions for future e-bulletins. While every effort has been made to check the accuracy of information in this e-bulletin, WorldFish Center cannot accept responsibility for errors and omissions. For more information please contact The WorldFish Center Greater Mekong regional office #35, Street 71. Beng Keng Kang 1, Chamkamon. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. PO Box 1135 (Wat Phnom). Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel: (+855-23) 223 206-8 Fax (+855-23) 223 209 Email: worldfish-cambodia@cgiar.org To subscribe or unsubscribe the WorldFish Mekong Update newsletter please email Keat Thida. The WorldFish Center assures you that your personal information will not be given or sold to any individual or organization. Back to top
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