Greater Peoples Participation and the Increasing Role of Local Government in Coastal Fisheries Management: Toward Decentralization of Resource Management

Abstract

This paper describes a possible proposal for a decentralized management system with a participatory approach, according to observation and investigation on the present system of local fisheries management in Chumporn Province. One major purpose of Locally Based Coastal Resource Management, Pathew District, in Chumporn (LBCRM-PD) is to experiment with a decentralized system within the existing legal framework of fisheries management that brings greater people s participation. The content of this paper is divided into three parts. The first part refers to new trends in decentralization under preparation for the proclamation of new fisheries acts. The second part discusses the elements of LBCRM. These are community-based management units (CBMU), and local government (including Sub-district Administrative Organizations). The last part concerns a perspective of a decentralization mechanism that is proposed in the context of LBCRM-PD practice and experiences. This paper concludes that LBCRM is a primary unit in decentralized coastal fisheries management, standing between the local fishery committee and local communities. The committee may contain a partial assembly of LBCRM units within a defined locality, while government fisheries agencies, provincial and district offices instruct the committee s activities. While sharing responsibility with the people, the role of local government certainly increases under the new regime.