Participatory aquatic animal resource management of freshwater fishing communities : a case study of Hadpana community, Amphoe Si Sawat, Changwat Kanchanaburi

Abstract

To 1. study mechanisms and methods which facilitate participatory management of a community’s aquatic animal resources 2. analyze problems and obstacles in the process of developing participatory resource management in a recently settled community 3. propose recommendations for future sustainable resource management of a community. This research is a qualitative study that collected data by observation, semi-structured interviews and in-depth interviews. The participatory aquatic animal resource management of Hadpana community, which is a newly settled community, is unique in the sense that the community does not draw upon common traditional knowledge as a mechanism to manage the resource effectively, but utilizes management based on common benefits of the community’s members to manage the relationships between humans and resources. This research finds that the mechanism creating the successful resource management of Hadpana community consists of internal and external mechanisms. The internal mechanisms are: 1. the social control by using regulations and courtesy which is created and accepted by community members to manage the resources 2. the strong leadership 3. the strong community organization constructed from unity and determination of villagers. The external mechanisms are 1. the mutual operations between villagers and the Department of Fisheries officers who understand both the principles of participatory aquatic animal resource management and the unique features of the community 2. the external pressure to follow regulations due to the fact that the punishment of breaking regulations, including expulsion from the area, causes villagers to follow regulations and co-operate in the resource management effectively.