RFLP Philippines Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) “Regional Fisheries Livelihood Programme” PHILIPPINE PROJECT: INCEPTION PLANNING DOCUMENT (DRAFT) 11th January 2010 Prepared by Willie Bourne Consultant Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION 3 1.1 Background 3 1.2 Inception Planning Document purpose 3 2.0 ORIGINAL WORK PLAN 4 2.1 Summary of RFLP activities in the Philippines 4 2.2 Work plan by Component 4 2.3 Implementation arrangements 7 2.4 Inputs 8 3.0 CONSULTANT REVIEW FINDINGS 9 3.1 Component 1: Fisheries Co-Management 9 3.2 Component 2: Safety at Sea and reduced vulnerability 11 3.3 Component 3: Improved quality of fish products and market chains 12 3.4 Component 4: Diversified livelihoods for fishing households 13 3.5 Component 5: Improved access to micro-finance for fishers, processors & vendors 13 4.0 PROPOSED INTERVENTION 15 4.1 Strategies and guiding principles for project implementation 15 4.2 Proposed target groups and geographical coverage 19 4.3 Component 1: Fisheries Co-Management 21 4.3.1 Target Groups and Partners 21 4.3.2 Original work plan (ProDoc) 22 4.3.3 Revised work plan (for discussion) 23 4.4 Component 2: Safety at Sea and reduced vulnerability 24 4.4.1 Target Groups and Partners 24 4.4.2 Original work plan (ProDoc) 25 4.4.3 Revised work plan (for discussion) 25 4.5 Component 3: Improved quality of fish products and market chains 26 4.5.1 Target Groups and Partners 26 4.5.2 Original work plan (ProDoc) 26 4.5.3 Revised work plan (for discussion) 27 4.6 Component 4: Diversified livelihoods for fishing households 28 4.6.1 Target Groups and Partners 28 4.6.2 Original work plan (ProDoc) 28 4.6.3 Revised work plan (for discussion) 28 4.7 Component 5: Improved access to micro-finance for fishers, processors & vendors 29 4.7.1 Target Groups and Partners 29 4.7.2 Original work plan (ProDoc) 29 4.7.3 Revised work plan (for discussion) 29 5.0 MONITORING AND EVALUATION 31 6.0 ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 34 7.0 NEXT STEPS 35 2 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background The Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme RFLP, which began activities in September 2009, is funded by Spain (US$ 19.54 million) and will operate for 4 years in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam. RFLP management, including the Regional Manager and the Technical Advisor are based in the FAO Asia and the Pacific Offices in Bangkok, Thailand; while each country will have a national RFLP office located in the main area of RFLP geographic focus. The RFLP addresses the following issues in south and south-east Asia: The failure to manage the interface between fisheries and the wider external environment; Over-fishing, declining stocks and catch per unit effort and threatened aquatic species; The vulnerability of poor small-scale fisher communities and their livelihoods; Spoilage of aquatic product along the distribution chain and low income for small-scale fishers Limited development focus on poor small-scale fisher communities, limited access to micro-finance services and extremely limited supplementary and/or alternative livelihood options. The primary stakeholders and target beneficiaries are (i) coastal fishers, processors, traders and their families, their organizations and their communities, including the local authorities and; (ii) government organizations and institutions responsible for the administration, management and development of the coastal fisheries at local, district/province and national levels. The RFLP outcome is: ‘Strengthened capacity among participating small-scale fishing communities and their supporting institutions towards improved livelihoods and sustainable fisheries resources management’. Major RFLP outputs will be: Co-management mechanisms for sustainable utilization of fishery resources; Improved safety and reduced vulnerability for fisher communities; Improved quality of fishery products and market chains; Diversified income opportunities for fisher families; Facilitated access to micro-finance services for fishers, processors and vendors; and Regional sharing of knowledge in support of livelihood development and reduced vulnerability for fisher communities and of sustainable fisheries resource management. 1.2 Inception Planning Document purpose In June 2008, a preparatory visit was made to ZDN province to identify key outcomes and outputs in the design of the RFLP Philippines programme. A follow up visit was made in October 2009 by Regional RFLP staff to meet key Government staff and to discuss priority RFLP start-up activities in ZDN. In December 2009, following the official signing of the RFLP in Bangkok, a short term consultant was recruited The findings of this Consultant’s input, which included a one day Inception Planning workshop on 17th December 2009 in Dipolog City, is embodied in this Inception Planning Report. The report is presented under the following sections: Section 2.0 presents a summary of the original work plan from the ProDoc Section 3.0 gives a synopsis of this Consultant’s field visit findings Section 4.0: Proposed intervention: includes strategies and guiding principles for implementation and information on proposed geographical coverage and target beneficiaries; revised Component details (activities and outputs) Section 5.0: covers Monitoring and indicators Section 6.0 summarises issues and recommendations Section 7.0 covers the proposed next steps to conclude with the conduct of a National Inception Workshop planned in February 2010. 3 2.0 ORIGINAL WORK PLAN The following sections are summarised from the Project Document (ProDoc) in Annex 3C1: 2.1 Summary of RFLP activities in the Philippines , the field activities in the Philippines will be undertaken in two coastal cities (Dipolog and Dapitan City) and 10 municipalities of Zamboanga del Norte (ZDN) Province, on the north western coastline of Mindanao Island. General overuse of near-shore resources owing to population pressure Seasonally economically important coastal fisheries resources (sardines and other small pelagic species) in danger of overfishing and in need of management Considerable interaction between large-scale (commercial) and small-scale (municipal) fisheries competing for the same resource with resulting conflicts ZDN (population 1,000,000) is ranked one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines Insufficiency of reliable and updated sector information Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils (FARMCs) as co-management institutions established but not functional Insufficient access to and use of ice and insulated fish boxes Flagship product (bottled sardines) and other fisheries products with limited market access Storms, bad weather, and pirates are significant risks for the fishers Absence of navigational aids and other safety equipment in the major fishing grounds of Sindangan Bay 2.2 Work plan by Component 1. Co-management mechanisms for sustainable utilization of fishery resources Outputs Activities Year Y 1 Y 2 Y 3 Y 4 1.1: Trainings and Strengthen existing Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management workshops in support of Councils (FARMCs) at Local Government level co-management improve institutional capacity to Form / strengthen fisherfolk organisations and link them to larger monitor and manage networks Promote inter-municipal cooperation in resources management (establish Sindangan Bay Municipal Alliance for Fisheries Management) Build capacity of LGU planners and fisheries administration staff Build capacity of BFAR regional and provincial fisheries administration staff 1.2: Co-management Improve information base on aquatic resources plans reviewed, updated, Review and update LGU fisheries resources management plans approved and implemented by co- management institutions Assist in the drafting of local regulations on fishing gears and effort (e.g. closed seasons, FADs) Support the design of an inter-LGU Sardine Resources Management Plan Support implementation of plans Support delineation of inter-municipal fishing ground boundaries and coastal habitats for conservation purpose 1 See Annex 3 C: Philippines Work plan, Implementation arrangements and inputs 4 Outputs Activities Year Y 1 Y 2 Y 3 Y 4 1.3: Participatory Design participatory enforcement mechanisms enforcement measures Promote compliance with regulations through awareness raising applied among commercial and municipal fishing sectors Provide patrol / enforcement equipment Support enforcement and monitoring measures Assist BFAR with review of existing regulations on reducing illegal fishing 1.4: Improved habitat Train and assist co-management partners (BFAR, LGUs, management practices fisherfolk) in identification and implementation of habitat demonstrated protection measures Provide equipment for resource and habitat conservation 1.5: Procedures for Design participatory monitoring tools and procedures participatory monitoring of management measures Enable co-management partners to document and analyze impact developed and of resource management and habitat protection introduced 1.6: Registration and Assist LGUs in designing registration system and database licensing system for fishing crafts improved Assist LGUs in registration of fishing crafts 2. Measures to improve safety at sea and reduce vulnerability for fishers and their families Outputs Activities Year Y 1 Y 2 Y 3 Y4 2.1: Assessment of Design participatory information gathering system and data base accidents and their causes Implement data gathering, processing and analysis 2.2: Increased awareness of Design awareness