World Fish Congress Conference 2012
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This document discusses using community-based participatory research methods to study fisheries and livelihoods in the Lower Mekong Basin of Laos. It describes applying these methods in Nam Kading River communities to measure fish diversity, the role of wild fish in diets and livelihoods, and total economic value. Local field technicians were trained to collect catch, household consumption, and market data. Results showed high fish species diversity and the importance of wild-caught fish for food. Opportunities and challenges of the approach are discussed, such as improving data accuracy and retaining field technicians.
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World Fish Congress Conference 2012
- 1. Fisheries and Livelihoods in The Lower Mekong Basin: Benefits and Challenges of Community-based Participatory Research Harmony Patricio, Doug Demko, Daniel Schperberg
- 2. What makes the Mekong special?
- 3. Research Challenges in a Large and Dynamic System High number, widely distributed fishers Subsistence, artisanal, and commercial scale fisheries Women, men, children participate Fishing wide variety of habitats Over 250 gear types used High species diversity Massive migrations
- 4. What is the “best” way to conduct research considering… Rich diversity and massive migrations Need extensive geographic coverage Productive fishery Need different scales of harvest surveys; economics Extreme hydrography Need seasonally stratified sampling Importance for food and income Need consumption and market sampling Hydropower impacts Need sites near proposed dams, quantify migrations
- 5. What is community-based participatory research? Engages communities Ensures goals driven by community interests Provides appropriate training
- 6. Nam Kading River, Lao PDR We applied this method of participatory research in Lao People’s Democratic Republic Our study area is in central Laos near the Nam Kading Protected Area Goals: measure species diversity in catches and the role of wild fish in sustainable livelihoods, total economic value, total catch estimates
- 7. Methods: Community-Based Consultation with communities and resource managers to identify goals Train local field technicians to collect data in their own villages
- 8. Methods: Catch Sampling Catch sampling: Collect data on species ID Photograph every species Total biomass Individual lengths and weights Gear types Effort Time of day Income from fishing Destination: Fish kept for consumption Amount sold
- 9. Methods: Household Food Consumption Consumption sampling: Appointment with households ID and weigh all food items Geographic / production source Wild harvest Purchase Trade Gift, etc. Family demographics Age and sex of family members Total income Main activity for the day
- 10. Methods: Local Market Sampling Market sampling For each vendor: ID species Weight for sale at market open Price/kg/species Source of fish Relative demand for different species Total sold (kg) Income at market close
- 11. Results: Fish Family Diversity Pak Kading Hatxaykham Pak Xoun Phon Ngam
- 12. Results: Household Consumption Dry Season Wet Season 1 November 2010 – 30 April 2011 1 May 2011 – 30 October 2011
- 13. Results: Animal Protein Consumption Dry Season Wet Season 1 November 2010 – 30 April 2011 1 May 2011 – 30 October 2011 Insects 1%
- 14. Opportunities and Challenges of Participatory Research Opportunities: Increase frequency and geographic coverage of sampling Access to households unlikely without local technicians Builds capacity, engages communities, fosters conservation awareness Challenges: Data accuracy, species ID (local vs. scientific names) Seasonal activities by villagers (ie. rice planting and harvesting) Retention of technicians (family obligations, opportunities for other work)
- 15. How do we improve the effectiveness of participatory research? Data accuracy verify adherence to protocols frequent communication students from local universities to support techs verify species ID with photos, experts, DNA samples consider analysis at genus rather than species level Seasonal activities Design sampling to consider such activities follow proportion of villagers to rice huts consider self-reporting by subset of villagers Technician retention Additional incentives communicate opportunities for future work using new skills
- 16. Conclusions Characteristics of Mekong well aligned with participatory approach Best way to cover large area, diversity of habitats, species, and fishing methods Best way to access households for consumption data Maximize data, reduce field costs, engage resource users Ultimately building local capacity
- 17. Thank You! Harmony Patricio harmonypatricio@fishbio.com Doug Demko dougdemko@fishbio.com Daniel Schperberg Learn more at… fishbio.com/conservation
Editor's Notes
- Project Objectives include:Establish baseline biological and ecological data for wild fisheries (including all aquatic organisms) in the Nam Kading RiverQuantify contribution of wild fisheries to the diet and sustainable livelihoods of households in villagesMeasure the market value of the aquatic resources that are sold by villagersHope that data will help develop strategies for more sustainable management together with government agencies, fishing committees, fishers, and villagersEvaluate the ecological, economic, nutritional, and social values of aquatic resources
- The Mekong is quite a special basin. It’s very large and complexMekong flows over 4,000km from headwaters. Most of our work in Lower portion of Basin. South of the Chinese borderWhat makes the Mekong special?Very high species diversity – over 850 fishes described, perhaps up to 1500 Most productive inland fishery on EARTH – over 3 mil. metric tonnes harvested per yearHighest range in flow of ALL large rivers – distinct wet and dry seasonsabout 60 million people in basin highly dependent on aquatic resourcesSystem is undergoing rapid change from development – for example over 120 dams either built or in the worksMajor concerns over impacts on fisheries and associated food security
- Of course there are many challenges to working in such a dynamic systemHigh number of fishers who are widely distributed, over a large geographic area Subsistence, artisanal, and commercial scalesWomen, men, and children are fishing in a wide variety of habitatsNearly all species harvested are consumed (even rays and puffers)Over 250 gear types usedHigh diversity and massive migrations
- What is best way to research considering complexity of the system?Rich diversity and massive migrations undertaken by many species, we need extensive geographic coverageNeed to apply integrated and interdisciplinary approachEssential to work very closely with villagers through participatory researchUse interdisciplinary/integrated approachEssential to work closely with villagers through participatory research
- Brief description of the definition of Community-based participatory research?Based on: Engaging communities from early stages of project developmentEnsuring that goals of research driven by the communityinterests Requires conducting appropriate trainings so that villagers can actively participate in accurate data collection. This is one of our training events.
- We applied this method of participatory research in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (or Lao as I will call it), as a pilot projectHere is our study area, in central Laos near the Nam Kading Protected AreaGoals: measure species diversity in catches and the role of wild fish in sustainable livelihoods, total economic value, total catch estimatesRecognizing that fish are about more than just species, more than just money hereit is about wellbeing, nutrition, and security for these rural people
- For our methods: we consulted with communities and resource managers to identify those goalsTrained local field technicians to collect data in their own villagesConsultation with communities and resource managers to identify goalsTrain local field technicians to work in their own villagesCatch sampling: Meet fishers at landing sites, collect data on species ID, photo of every species, total biomass, individual lengths and weights, gear types, effort, time of day, amount of fish kept for consumption, amount sold, income from fishing at last sale Consumption sampling: make appointment with households ahead of time, ID and weigh all food items in meal, collect data on geographic and production source of each item (ie. Wild harvest, purchase, trade, gift, etc.), family demographics, income, main activity for the dayMarket sampling: For each vendor ID species, total weight for sale at market opening, price per kg, source of fish (wild, aquaculture, direct harvest, purchase from fisher or trader), near market close collect data on total weight sold and income earned by species, relative demand for different species
- Catch sampling: Meet fishers at landing sites, collect data on species ID, photo of every species, total biomass, individual lengths and weights, gear types, effort, time of day, amount of fish kept for consumption, amount sold, income from fishing at last sale
- Consumption sampling: make appointment with households ahead of time, ID and weigh all food items in meal, collect data on geographic and production source of each item (ie. Wild harvest, purchase, trade, gift, etc.), family demographics, income, main activity for the day
- Market sampling: For each vendor ID species, total weight for sale at market opening, price per kg, source of fish (wild, aquaculture, direct harvest, purchase from fisher or trader), near market close collect data on total weight sold and income earned by species, relative demand for different species
- Preliminary data, still working out some issues in the database for missing bars18 families, grey are uncertain ID so we are working on those with photos and DNAOver 100 speciesHigh seasonal diversity in catch composition, linked with changes in river level and associated migrationsThough Cyprinids were nearly always the dominant family
- Here some results from household consumption surveys. Separated by season because harvest level varies quite a bit between seasons. The pie charts represent the proportion of total food consumed by weight for each category. After summing food types into five categories, and summing all food categories, a percentage of the total for each category was determined (November 1st 2010 to April 30th 2011) and the wet seasons (May 1st 2011 to October 30th).
- When we look at just animal protein we really see the importance of fish and other aquatic animals for nutrition
- Seasonal activities, such as rice production, make it difficult to get accurate catch and consumption data because villagers often spend the night or several days in small huts on their rice fields, where they are still catching and eating fish, but it’s challenging to capture this data because they are widely distributed
- So some recommendations for addressing challenges
- Despite these challenges we conclude that because of the characteristics of the Mekong, and for similar systems, the participatory approach is very usefulBuilding local capacity is our primary goal for working in the region
- This was a good day, where one boat brought in over 200kg of small fish. Though we were scrambling ensure we got a good sample, and separate all speciesThank you and I’m pleased to take questions.