RCUK-SEA: Using Nexus Thinking to Empower Community-Based Management of Mangrove Fisheries

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Malaysia formally recognises the national and international value of its mangrove resources and has awarded them extensive protection. Nevertheless, the total area of mangroves continues to decline and mangroves are threatened by environmental degradation as natural resources are traded-off against population growth and economic development. The solution to mangrove degradation no longer lies in resource protection, but in fostering understanding that mangroves are embedded within a context of complex interactions of multiple uses involving stakeholders with different interests, i.e. the mangrove nexus.Mangroves support highly productive fisheries, but mangrove destruction has severely affected the livelihoods of fishermen who are known to be among the most economically disadvantaged in Malaysia and many other developing countries. While efforts are made at many scales by different stakeholders against mangrove fishery loss, there has been a tendency for them to work in isolation with little communication between them. Opportunities for mangrove dependent fishing communities to engage in the management of the resource on which they depend have been limited.Through an application of nexus thinking, this project will improve understanding of the interdependencies, tensions and trade-offs between the mangroves, their associated fishery and their users, in the context of human and environmental change. The Klang Islands mangrove forest will be used as a case study. This forest (ca. 15,000ha) forms part of a larger tract of mangrove forest stretching over 100km along the coast of the state of Selangor. The coastline maintains some of the most productive cockle and coastal fisheries in Malaysia. To support the continued and sustainable use of the Klang Islands fishery and the communities dependent upon them, this project has three aims: 1) to progress the application of nexus thinking to the sustainable management of Klang Island fishery resources; 2) to set the foundations for community-based fishery management in the Klang Islands mangrove system, 3) develop a programme of environmental education emphasising the importance of mangroves.Working with three project partners (Penang Inshore Fishermen Welfare Association, Department of Fisheries, Selangor and Wetlands International) these aims will be achieved through a series of stakeholder workshops, supported by student projects and effective knowledge exchange. The project will initiate communication between stakeholders (fishermen, government, industry and NGOs) and begin a process of empowerment that will encourage fisheries dependent communities to directly participate in fishery resource management. This will directly support the mission "Creating a developed, independent and progressive fishermen community" outlined by the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia. It will also contribute to strengthening the participation of stakeholders and cooperation between planning and implementation agencies, one of four objectives identified for the implementation of coastal zone management since the Ninth Malaysia Plan. To ensure that this project legacy can be capitalised upon, the structure and mechanisms for ongoing community engagement projects will be established (e.g. appointment of appropriate local community heads, creation of lines of communication between local fishermen associations and local government, identification of roles for project partners).