Kong, S. L. (2006) Finding 1

Community-based extension and education contribute to successful community-based natural resource management among Cambodia fisheries.  The approach emphasized:

  • raising understanding among fishermen about the underlying principles of participatory democracy, ecological principles and regulatory principles of co-management;
  • nurturing, enhancing, and empowering local organizations (through participatory decision-making);
  • assisting in democratizing fishery governance at the community level to fine-tune management strategies for addressing the concerns of disadvantaged fishermen.

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Maurel, P., Craps, M., Cemesson, F., Raymond, R., Valkering, P., & Ferrand, N. (2007) Finding 1

Social learning refers to the growing capacity of a social network to develop and perform collective actions. In promoting social learning in watershed management, it is important to frame information in such a way that a convergence of views becomes possible through interaction and collective learning processes, e.g. maps illustrating the impacts of water releases, as perceived by the users; graphs showing flow/time relationship and details of the hydrological regime; and field trips and video sessions to allow participants to see the impact of water releases on fish reproduction. Other useful tools include, for example, tools to communicate a vision about water management such as might be accomplished with a 3D model of a hydro-electric dam, a3D chart localizing all the dams on the river, video cassettes and measuring instruments, which testify that the water management authority cares about people’s safety, and stakeholder involvement in data gathering. Continue reading →

Maurel, P., Craps, M., Cemesson, F., Raymond, R., Valkering, P., & Ferrand, N. (2007) Finding 2

Social learning refers to the growing capacity of a social network to develop and perform collective actions. In promoting social learning in watershed management, use technical information in a way that supports local actors to explore and clarify their own understanding of the river basin. Beware of information or communication tools that are either poorly designed or used inadequately, for example with too much technical content. Those can act as a barrier by overwhelming actors with technical information which is not relevant or understandable for them. Continue reading →