Sustaining Community Fish Refuges in Cambodia through Community-Based Governance

In Cambodia, inland fisheries, including Rice Field Fisheries (RFFs), are a key element of rural food and nutrition security, seasonal income, and an important cultural asset. However, these fisheries are increasingly threatened by habitat loss, changes in land use, overfishing, pollution, and clima...

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Main Authors: Baldivieso, Carla, De Silva, Sanjiv, Gleich, Pia, Soeun, Kimourn, Neth, Sreypov, Ou, Phichong, Sun, Vathanak, Sean, Vichet, Oem, Sothanh, Koy, Chandy, Ostrower, Lara, Freed, Sarah, Mak, Sithirith, Dubois, Mark, Sieber, Stefan, Bonatti, Michelle
Format: Brief
Language:Inglés
Published: WorldFish 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180159
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author Baldivieso, Carla
De Silva, Sanjiv
Gleich, Pia
Soeun, Kimourn
Neth, Sreypov
Ou, Phichong
Sun, Vathanak
Sean, Vichet
Oem, Sothanh
Koy, Chandy
Ostrower, Lara
Freed, Sarah
Mak, Sithirith
Dubois, Mark
Sieber, Stefan
Bonatti, Michelle
author_browse Baldivieso, Carla
Bonatti, Michelle
De Silva, Sanjiv
Dubois, Mark
Freed, Sarah
Gleich, Pia
Koy, Chandy
Mak, Sithirith
Neth, Sreypov
Oem, Sothanh
Ostrower, Lara
Ou, Phichong
Sean, Vichet
Sieber, Stefan
Soeun, Kimourn
Sun, Vathanak
author_facet Baldivieso, Carla
De Silva, Sanjiv
Gleich, Pia
Soeun, Kimourn
Neth, Sreypov
Ou, Phichong
Sun, Vathanak
Sean, Vichet
Oem, Sothanh
Koy, Chandy
Ostrower, Lara
Freed, Sarah
Mak, Sithirith
Dubois, Mark
Sieber, Stefan
Bonatti, Michelle
author_sort Baldivieso, Carla
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In Cambodia, inland fisheries, including Rice Field Fisheries (RFFs), are a key element of rural food and nutrition security, seasonal income, and an important cultural asset. However, these fisheries are increasingly threatened by habitat loss, changes in land use, overfishing, pollution, and climate change. In response to these pressures, international organizations, government agencies, local NGOs, and local communities have partnered to implement Community Fish Refuges (CFRs) within RFFs to protect fish stocks, increase productivity, and strengthen local food systems. Managed by local communities with support from the Fisheries Administration Cantonment (FiAC) and external parties in the early stages of implementation, CFRs provide multiple benefits including stable aquatic habitats; increased production of aquatic foods; enhanced food and nutrition security; greater supplementary income; groundwater recharge, and climate resilience. However, the sustainability and success of CFRs largely depend on the capacity of local villagers to collaborate and engage in collective action. In this policy brief, some of the challenges of collective management and grassroots decision-making in a rural Cambodia context were examined, and underscored the social dimensions that development actors, policymakers, and funding agencies who initiate development interventions must consider.
format Brief
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language Inglés
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
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publisherStr WorldFish
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spelling CGSpace1801592026-01-22T15:50:52Z Sustaining Community Fish Refuges in Cambodia through Community-Based Governance Baldivieso, Carla De Silva, Sanjiv Gleich, Pia Soeun, Kimourn Neth, Sreypov Ou, Phichong Sun, Vathanak Sean, Vichet Oem, Sothanh Koy, Chandy Ostrower, Lara Freed, Sarah Mak, Sithirith Dubois, Mark Sieber, Stefan Bonatti, Michelle climate resilience adaptive management community fish refuges rice fish food and nutrition security rice field fisheries local governance community-based governance social-ecological sustainability inclusive participation local leadership In Cambodia, inland fisheries, including Rice Field Fisheries (RFFs), are a key element of rural food and nutrition security, seasonal income, and an important cultural asset. However, these fisheries are increasingly threatened by habitat loss, changes in land use, overfishing, pollution, and climate change. In response to these pressures, international organizations, government agencies, local NGOs, and local communities have partnered to implement Community Fish Refuges (CFRs) within RFFs to protect fish stocks, increase productivity, and strengthen local food systems. Managed by local communities with support from the Fisheries Administration Cantonment (FiAC) and external parties in the early stages of implementation, CFRs provide multiple benefits including stable aquatic habitats; increased production of aquatic foods; enhanced food and nutrition security; greater supplementary income; groundwater recharge, and climate resilience. However, the sustainability and success of CFRs largely depend on the capacity of local villagers to collaborate and engage in collective action. In this policy brief, some of the challenges of collective management and grassroots decision-making in a rural Cambodia context were examined, and underscored the social dimensions that development actors, policymakers, and funding agencies who initiate development interventions must consider. 2025-12-31 2026-01-19T20:50:03Z 2026-01-19T20:50:03Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180159 en Open Access application/pdf WorldFish Carla Baldivieso, Sanjiv De Silva, Pia Gleich, Kimourn Soeun, Sreypov Neth, Phichong Ou, Vathanak Sun, Vichet Sean, Sothanh Oem, Chandy Koy, Lara Ostrower, Sarah Freed, Sithirith Mak, Mark Dubois, Stefan Sieber, Michelle Bonatti. (31/12/2025). Sustaining Community Fish Refuges in Cambodia through Community-Based Governance. Bayan Lepas, Malaysia: WorldFish (WorldFish).
spellingShingle climate resilience
adaptive management
community fish refuges
rice
fish
food and nutrition security
rice field fisheries
local governance
community-based governance
social-ecological sustainability
inclusive participation
local leadership
Baldivieso, Carla
De Silva, Sanjiv
Gleich, Pia
Soeun, Kimourn
Neth, Sreypov
Ou, Phichong
Sun, Vathanak
Sean, Vichet
Oem, Sothanh
Koy, Chandy
Ostrower, Lara
Freed, Sarah
Mak, Sithirith
Dubois, Mark
Sieber, Stefan
Bonatti, Michelle
Sustaining Community Fish Refuges in Cambodia through Community-Based Governance
title Sustaining Community Fish Refuges in Cambodia through Community-Based Governance
title_full Sustaining Community Fish Refuges in Cambodia through Community-Based Governance
title_fullStr Sustaining Community Fish Refuges in Cambodia through Community-Based Governance
title_full_unstemmed Sustaining Community Fish Refuges in Cambodia through Community-Based Governance
title_short Sustaining Community Fish Refuges in Cambodia through Community-Based Governance
title_sort sustaining community fish refuges in cambodia through community based governance
topic climate resilience
adaptive management
community fish refuges
rice
fish
food and nutrition security
rice field fisheries
local governance
community-based governance
social-ecological sustainability
inclusive participation
local leadership
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180159
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