TDA-IME Project Final Report June, 2013 which must be appropriate and site-specific in a situation where mangrove forest protection obligations are (or become) more important than rights to forest management. As also explained in the previous sections, appropriate and site-specific considerations are not restricted to the ecological setting alone; they must also include socio-economic conditions, e.g. differences in culture, language or religion within the community, as well as the overall political frame work. Therefore, while co-management is essentially a local solution to protecting mangroves, it could be implemented along entire coastlines and across boundaries following the guidelines and principles described here providing the six key conditions are in place. This will ensure not only effective, site-specific and appropriate protection and sustainable use of the mangroves as part of an integrated approach to coastal management, but also because co-management must be applied on a site-specific basis, it will also respect the differences in socio-economic and political conditions of different countries, or provinces/districts, rather than aiming for a simple “one solution fits all” approach. Poverty Reduction A recent report prepared for the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) Project (Townsley, 2010) highlights the prevalence of poverty among communities dependent on coastal and marine resources. Particular social or ethnic groups are commonly associated with this dependence. Many of the Khmer ethnic minority group in Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta, for example, are heavily dependent on hand-collecting of minor aquatic products from the mangroves, and activity which they undertake on a subsistence and opportunistic basis. This form of subsistence exploitation of mangrove resources is also still widespread in many other coastal areas and communities of Indochina (e.g. Macintosh et al., 2002). Coastal areas still offer a relatively diverse range of what Townsley (2010) refers to as “resource niches”. These niches create many opportunities for exploitation, but also for conflict. They are, or were until quite recently, open-access or common property resources, which mean that they are particularly important for the poor, who typically have very limited alternatives to subsistence fishing and gleaning. However, the traditional rights of poor or ethnic groups over coastal resources are increasingly threatened by other user groups, while their low social status also limits their access to political power and representation. In addition to their lack of empowerment, Townsley (2010) also noted that those who depend on coastal and marine ecosystems for their livelihoods are influenced by a wide range of sectoral policies and policy processes; he concluded that: “The impacts of conflicts between policies in different sectors are often felt most strongly in coastal areas because of the high and multiple development pressures exerted on them.” It is irrefutable that the combination of over-fishing and loss of mangroves and other coastal habitats important in the life cycles of fishery species has severely affected the livelihoods of coastal communities across the Asian region. Thus, the poor are forced to continue to exploit mangrove resources in a manner that is further degrading the resource base. The result is that the other ecosystem services that mangroves can provide are also being diminished. Despite the severity of these problems, good insight and experience has been gained by regional programs, like BOBLME/FAO and MFF/IUCN, on how to overcome them. The following assessment made by an APFIC/FAO consultative group on improving the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and aquaculture households aptly sums up the nature and scope of the approach needed (APFIC, 2009): Investment in effective resources management and governance and maintenance of ecosystem health are the major foundations or prerequisites for supporting and improving the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and aquaculture households. 77
Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis of Indochina Mangrove Ecosystems
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