Figure 7. The structure of the national, regional and provincial network of Conservation Marine and Coastal Resources. The structure shows that all members are fishermen who are leaders in their respective villages and local organizations. This means that the local fisherman conservation group involves the key stakeholders who are committed to solving all problems related to marine and coastal resources. The significance of this structure lies in its bottom-up approach. The task force would be the driving force throughout the entire process of strategy formulation from the local level (bottom level) up to regional and national level. The committee from the upper level will always report back to the stakeholder forum at each step of the process to invite feedback and to allow for the eventual correction following the feedback provided by key stakeholders. A major lesson learned from this local fishermen network is that it is important to empower local people in finding the best solutions for problems. In their meetings, they are able to brainstorm the best possible solutions. Moreover, the network provides local fishermen with a sense of ownership of the natural resources in their community. Having a sense of ownership inspires them to conserve these resources for future generations. Building effective stakeholder participation and engagement process not only improves stakeholders’ information and buy-in on policy and strategy, but also helps mitigate problems that threaten project viability. Identifying and engaging the correct and key stakeholders should be a priority at the inception of designing a national policy and strategy. Also, a stakeholder task force representing and reflecting various interests should serve as the driving force throughout its formulation. Local fishermen also need capacity support through training and independent technical advice, or by setting up multi-stakeholder monitoring schemes in which communities participate alongside technical experts. All these lessons learned reflect the sustainable management of natural resources that could serve as a best practice for every community. ENCOURAGING PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN BUSINESS AND COMMUNITIES FOR BIODIVERSITY 35
In Celebration of His Majesty the King of Thailand’s 84th Birthday Anniversary
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