Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mekong River Fish Conservation Zones in Southern Laos: Assessing Effectiveness Using Local Ecological Knowledge

  • ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Small-scale fisheries are important in Laos, where rural people heavily depend upon Mekong River and tributary fish stocks for their livelihoods. Increasing pressures from human exploitation and habitat disturbance, however, have raised serious concerns about the potential depletion of various species. This has led to the establishment of large numbers of Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) or “no-take” fish sanctuaries in southern Laos based on a “community-based fisheries co-management” framework. This study uses the local ecological knowledge (LEK) of fishers to assess the effectiveness of village-managed FCZs in enhancing fish stocks in the mainstream Mekong River in Khong District, Champasak Province. Focus group interviews about species that are believed to have benefited from different FCZs are compared with parameters such as FCZ area, age, depth, localized gradient, water velocity, and the presence of wetland forests nearby. The results suggest that no one aspect is likely to account for variations in fish stocks; rather, it is the interaction between numerous factors that has the largest impact. Secondly, the results indicate that microhabitat diversity and protection are critical for maintaining and enhancing Mekong fisheries. Deep-water pools are particularly important as dry season refuges for many fish species, and FCZ depth may be the single most important environmental factor affecting the success of FCZs in the Mekong River. FCZs have the most potential to benefit relatively sedentary species, but may also benefit highly migratory species, given the right conditions. This study shows that integrated approaches to stock assessment that employ LEK and scientific fisheries management have considerable potential for improving Mekong capture-fisheries management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abramovitz J. 1996. Imperiled waters, impoverished future: The decline of freshwater ecosystems. Paper no. 128. Worldwatch Institute, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed M., H. Navy, L. Vuthy, M. Tiongco. 1998. Socioeconomic assessment of freshwater capture fisheries in Cambodia: Report on a household survey. Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird I. G. 2001a. Aquatic biodiversity in the siphandone wetlands. in G. Daconto (ed), Siphandone wetlands. CESVI Cooperation and Development, Bergamo, Italy. Pages 64–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird I. G. 2001b. Towards sustainable co-management of Mekong River inland aquatic resources, including fisheries, in Southern Lao PDR. G. Daconto (ed), Siphandone wetlands. CESVI Cooperation and Development, Bergamo, Italy. Pages 89–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird, I. G. 2005 (in press). Local ecological knowledge and small-scale freshwater fisheries management in the Mekong River in Southern Laos. in N. Haggan, B. Neis, and I. G. Baird (eds.), Putting fishers’ knowledge to work: Changing the face of fisheries science and management. Blackwell Publishing, and UNESCO, Oxford

  • Baird, I. G., and B. Phylavanh. 1999. Fishes and forests: Fish foods and the importance of seasonally flooded riverine habitats for Mekong River fish. Technical report. Environmental protection and community development in Siphandone Wetland Project. CESVI Cooperation and Development, Pakse, Lao PDR

  • Baird I. G., P. Dearden. 2003. Biodiversity and resource tenure regimes: A case study from Northeast Cambodia. Environmental Management 32:541–550

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird, I. G., P. Kisouvannalath, V. Inthaphaisy, and B. Phylavanh. 1998a. The potential for ecological classification as a tool for establishing and monitoring fish conservation zones in the Mekong River. Technical report. Environmental Protection and Community Development in Siphandone Wetland Project. CESVI Cooperation and Development, Pakse, Lao PDR

  • Baird, I. G., V. Inthaphaisy, B. Phylaivanh, and P. Kisouvannalath. 1998b. A rapid fisheries survey in Khong District, Champasak Province, Southern Lao PDR. Technical report. Environmental protection and community development in Siphandone Wetland Project. CESVI Cooperation and Development, Pakse, Lao PDR

  • Baird, I. G., V. Inthaphaisy, P. Kisouvannalath, B. Phylavanh, and B. Mounsouphom. 1999a. The fishes of Southern Lao (in Lao). Lao Community Fisheries and Dolphin Protection Project, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Vientiane

  • Baird, I. G., V. Inthaphaisy, P. Kisouvannalth, B. Vongsenesouk, and B. Phylavanh. 1999b. The setting up and the initial results of a villager based system for monitoring fish conservation zones in the Mekong River, Khong District, Champasak Province, Southern Lao PDR. Technical report. Environmental Protection and Community Development in Siphandone Wetland Project. CESVI Cooperation and Development, Vientiane

  • Baird I. G., Z. Hogan, B. Phylaivanh, P. Moyle. 2001a. A communal fishery for migratory catfish Pangasius macronema in the Mekong River. Asian Fisheries Science 14:25–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird I. G., B. Phylavanh, B. Vongsenesouk, K. Xaiyamanivong. 2001b. The ecology and conservation of the smallscale croaker Boesemania microlepis (Bleeker 1858-59) in the mainstream Mekong River, Southern Laos. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 49:161–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird I. G., M. S. Flaherty, B. Phylavanh. 2003. Rhythms of the river: Lunar phases and migrations of small carps (Cyprinidae) in the Mekong River. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 51:5–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakker K. 1999. The politics of hydropower: developing the Mekong. Political Geography 18:209–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batterbury S., T. Forsyth, K. Thompson. 1997. Environmental transformation in developing countries: Hybrid research and democratic policy. The Geographical Journal 2:126–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Bawa Village Community. 1997. Mozambique’s Tchuma Tchato initiative of resource management on the Zambezi: A community perspective. Society & Natural Resources 10:409–413

    Google Scholar 

  • Bush S. 2003. “Give a man a fish...”: Contextualising living aquatic resources development in the lower Mekong basin. Working paper series, working paper no. 8. Australian Mekong Resource Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Bush S. R. 2004. Scales and sales: Changing social and spatial fish trading networks in the Siphandone Fishery, Lao PDR. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 25:32–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chomchanta P., P. Vongphasouk, S. Chanrya, C. Soulignavong, B. Saadsy, T. J. Warren. 2000. A preliminary assessment of Mekong Fishery Conservation Zones in the Siphandone area of Southern Lao PDR, and recommendations for further evaluation and monitoring. Final report. The Living Aquatic Resources and Research Centre (LARReC), Vientiane

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge G. (compiler). 1996. An inventory of wetlands of the Lao PDR. Wetlands Programme. IUCN—The World Conservation Union, Vientiane

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge G. F., T. Sorangkhoun, I. G. Baird. 1997. Community fisheries in Lao PDR: A survey of techniques and issues. IUCN—The World Conservation Union, Vientiane

    Google Scholar 

  • Colchester M., C. Erni. (eds.). 1998. Indigenous peoples and protected areas in South and Southeast Asia. International Work Group for Indigenous Associations, Copenhagen

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowx I. 1991. Catch effort sampling strategies: Conclusions and recommendations for management. in I. Cowx (ed.), Catch effort sampling strategies: Their application in freshwater fisheries management. Fishing New Books, London. Pages 404–413

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham P., 1998. Extending a co-management network to save the Mekong’s giants. Mekong Fish Catch and Culture 3:6–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Daconto G., (ed.) 2001. Siphandone wetlands. CESVI Cooperation and Development, Bergamo, Italy

    Google Scholar 

  • Dudgeon D., 2002. An inventory of riverine biodiversity in monsoonal Asia: Present status and conservation challenges. Water Science and Technology 45:11–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer F. 2000. Citizens, experts, and the environment: The politics of local knowledge. Duke University Press, Durham

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisheries Office, Ratanakiri Province and [NTFP] the Non-Timber Forest Products Project, Ratanakiri Province. 2000. A study of the downstream impacts of the Yali Falls Dam in Ratanakiri Province, Northeast Cambodia. Fisheries Office, Ratanakiri Province and NTFP, Ratanakiri, Cambodia

  • [FAO] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1999. Aquastat—FAO’s Information System on Water and Agriculture. Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

  • Friedlander A., J. C. Nowlis, J. A. Sanchez, R. Appeldoorn, P. Usseglio, C. McCormick, S. Bejarno, A. Mitchell-Chui. 2003. Designing effective marine protected areas in Seaflower biosphere reserve, Columbia, based on biological and sociological information. Conservation Biology 17:1769–1784

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garaway C. J. 1999. Small waterbody fisheries and the potential for community-led enhancement: Case studies in Lao PDR. T. H. Huxley School for the Environment, Earth Sciences and Engineering, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine. University of London, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Haggan N., B. Neis, I. G. Baird (eds). 2004 Putting fishers’ knowledge to work: Changing the face of fisheries science and management. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill M. T., S. A. Hill. 1994. Fisheries ecology and hydropower in the Mekong River: An evaluation of run-of-the-river projects. Mekong Secretariat, Bangkok

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirsch, P., and P. Noraseng. 1999. Co-management of fisheries in diverse aqua-ecosystems of southern Laos. Paper presented at the International Workshop of Fisheries Co-Management, Penang, Malaysia, 23–28 August 1999. ICLARM, Pakse, Lao PDR

  • Hirsch, P., and A. Wyatt. 2004. Negotiating local livehoods: Scale of conflict in the San River Basin. Asia Pacific Viewpoint 45:51–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogan Z., 1997. Aquatic conservation zones: Community management of rivers and fisheries. Watershed 3:29–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubbel D., 1999. Food for the people: Natural fisheries of the Mekong River. Watershed 4:22–36

    Google Scholar 

  • [IIED] International Institute of Environment and Development. 1997. Participatory learning and action. Participation and fishing communities. PLA Notes. International Institute of Environment and Development, London

    Google Scholar 

  • [IRN] International Rivers Network. 1999. Power struggle. The impacts of hydro-development in Laos. International Rivers Network, Berkeley, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Jentoft S., B. J. McCay, D. C. Wilson. 1998. Social theory and fisheries co-management. Marine Policy 22:423–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johannes R. E. 1998. Dataless management. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 13:243–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson C. 1998. Beyond community rights: Small-scale fisheries and community-based management in southern Thailand. TDRI Quarterly Review 13:25–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolding J. 2002. The use of hydro-acoustic surveys for the monitoring of fish abundance in the deep pools and Fish Conservation Zones in the Mekong River, Siphandone area, Champassak Province, Lao PDR. Technical report from a test survey. LaRREC, Vientiane

    Google Scholar 

  • Kottelat M., T. Whitten. 1996. Freshwater biodiversity in Asia with special reference to fish. World Bank technical paper no. 343. The World Bank, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Lieng S., C. Yim, N. P. van Zalinge. 1995. Fisheries of the Tonlesap River Cambodia, I: The Bagnet (Dai) Fishery. Asian Fisheries Science 8:258–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Masae A., A. Nissapa, and S. Boromthanarat. 1999. An analysis of co-management arrangements: A case of fishing community in Southern Thailand. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Fisheries Co-Management, Penang, Malaysia, 23–28 August 1999. CORIN and ICLARM, Songkhla, Thailand

  • Matics K. I. 1997. Recent developments and announcements: Measures for enhancing marine fisheries stock in Southeast Asia. Ocean and Coastal Management 34:233–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCay B. J., S. Jentoft. 1996. From the bottom up: Participatory issues in fisheries management. Society & Natural Resources 9:237–250

    Google Scholar 

  • Memon P. A., B. Sheeran, T. Ririnui. 2003. Strategies for rebuilding closer links between local indigenous communities and their customary fisheries in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Local Environment 8:205–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Olomola A. 1998. Sources and resolution of conflicts in Nigerian artisinal fisheries. Society & Natural Resources 11:121–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomeroy R. S., M. B. Carlos. 1997. Community-based coastal resource management in the Philippines: a review and evaluation of programs and projects, 1984–1994. Marine Policy 21:445–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pomeroy R. S., B. M. Katon, I. Harkes. 2001. Conditions affecting the success of fisheries co-management: Lessons from Asia. Marine Policy 25:197–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poulsen A. F. 2001. Deep pools as dry season fish habitats in the Mekong River basin. Report for the assessment of Mekong fisheries component (AMFC). Mekong River Commission, Vientiane

    Google Scholar 

  • Poulsen, A. F. and J. Valbo- Jorgensen. 2001a. Deep pools in the Mekong River. Mekong River Catch and Culture 7(1):1, 8–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Poulsen A. F., J. Valbo-Jorgensen. 2001b. Fish migration and spawning habits in the Mekong mainstream: A survey using local knowledge. CD ROM. AMFC/MRC, Vientiane

    Google Scholar 

  • Primack R. B. 1998. Essentials of conservation biology (2nd edition). Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts T. R. 1993a. Environmental impact assessment: the EIA on EIA. Asian Society for Environmental Protection Newsletter 9:1–3, 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts T. R. 1993b. Just another dammed river? Negative impacts of Pak Mun dam on fishes of the Mekong Basin. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 41:105–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts T. R. 1993c. Artisinal fisheries and fish ecology below the great waterfalls of the Mekong River in Southern Laos. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 41:31–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts T. R., I. G. Baird. 1995. Traditional fisheries and fish ecology on the Mekong river at Khone waterfalls in southern Laos. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 43:219–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts T., T. Warren. 1994. Observations on fishes and fisheries in southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia, October 1993–February 1994. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 42:87–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Russ G. R., A. C. Alcala. 1999. Management histories of Sumilon and Apo Marine Reserves, Philippines, and their influence on national marine resource policy. Coral Reefs 18:307–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sjorslev J. G. (ed.). 2000. Luangprabang fisheries survey. AMFC/MRC and LaRREC/NAFRI, Vientiane

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorburn C. C. 2001. The house that poison built: Customary marine property rights and the live food fish trade in the Kei Islands, southeast Maluku. Development and Change 32:151–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • [UNDP] United Nations Development Program. 1999. Lao PDR Country Profile. UNDP, Vientiane

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren T. J., G. C. Chapman, D. Singhanouvong. 1998. The upstream dry-season migrations of some important fish species in the Lower Mekong River in Laos. Asian Fisheries Science 11:239–251

    Google Scholar 

  • William G. A., F. Krupp, M. Younis. 2003. Development and management of a network of marine protected areas in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region. Ocean and Coastal Management 46:741–761

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The Environmental Protection and Community Development in Siphandone Wetland Project, funded by the European Union, supported this study. CESVI Cooperation and Development and the Agriculture and Forestry Division of Champasak Province, Lao PDR implemented the project. We gratefully acknowledge our Lao co-workers: Phongsavath Kisouvannalath, Vixay Inthaphaisy, Bounpheng Phylavanh, Khamsouk Xaiyamanivong, and Bounthong Vongxenesouk. We are also grateful for the comments provided by David Dudgeon, Simon R. Bush, and one anonymous reviewer. We thank Ole Heggen from the Geography Department of the University of Victoria for preparing the maps, and finally, we especially thank the villagers in Khong District who participated in the survey.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Victoria, P.O Box 3050, Victoria, B.C., Canada, V8W 3P5

    Ian G. Baird & Mark S. Flaherty

  2. Global Association for People and the Environment (GAPE), P.O Box 860, Pakse, Lao PDR

    Ian G. Baird

Authors
  1. Ian G. Baird
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mark S. Flaherty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ian G. Baird
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ian G. Baird.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Baird, I.G., Flaherty, M.S. & Baird, I.G. Mekong River Fish Conservation Zones in Southern Laos: Assessing Effectiveness Using Local Ecological Knowledge. Environmental Management 36, 439–454 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-3093-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-3093-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation