Indigenous Fisheries Development and Management
Lao PDR
Australian Mekong Resource Centre
Indigenous fisheries in southern Lao PDR form a vital component of local people's livelihoods, both as source of nutrition and as a source of income. Capture fisheries provide the bulk of fish caught, eaten amd sold in this region, while aquaculture is growing in importance. Capture fisheries include not only mainstream Mekong and major tributary catches, but also fish caught in a wide range of smaller scale water bodies.

Changes to the fishery are occuring in part due to direct pressure resulting from changing demographic amd market conditions, and in part due to changing environmental conditions such as the development of pump imgation systems that allow second crop rice agriculture.

Management of fisheries involves individuals, communities and agencies at many levels. One of the clear lessons from this study is that the mamagement needs of different water bodies are quite distinct, amd that even superficially similar water bodies have become subject to quite different sets of rules and norms.

The more open systems are felt by local communities to be beyond their scope to manage. While seasonal backswamps have established traditional management systems, various changes in their use are likely to also involve changing rules of access, timing of fishing activities and other changes to management. It is a considerable challenge to see these changes effected in an equitable way.


~ About the project

~ The multiple dimensions of indigenous fisheries

 

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In collaboration with

Department of Livestock and Fisheries
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Lao People's Democratic Republic

Supported by

Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
and
International Development Research Centre

Web site developed by the

Australian Mekong Resource Centre
Division of Geography, University of Sydney
Email: mekong@mail.usyd.edu.au

Last updated
18 July, 2000
© AMRC 2000