Lessons from the Lagoon

Lessons from the Lagoon

Cesearch towards Community Based Coastal Resources Management in Tam &iang Lagoon Viet Nam Edited by Veronika J. Brzeski Gary F. Newkirk ARCHIV 639.22.001.5(597) B7 IDRCm. LIb. Lessons from the Lagoon Research towards Community Based Coastal Resources Management in Tam Giang Lagoon, Viet Nam Edited by Veronika J. Brzeski and Gary F. Newkirk Published by Coastal Resources Research Network (CoRR) baihousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada In association with Canadian International bevelopment Agency (CIbA) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada V International bevelopment Research Centre (IbRC) / t Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Coastal ResourcesResearch Network(C0RR) LesterPearson International Institute Daihousie University Halifax,Nova Scotia B3H 3H5 Canada (http:Ifwww.dal.calcorr) In association with CanadianInternational Development Agency (CIDA) Ottawa,Ontario, Canada International Development ResearchCentre (IDRC) Ottawa,Ontario, Canada First Published 2000 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Lessonsfrom the Lagoon: Research towardsCommunity Based Coastal ResourcesManagement in Tam Giang Lagoon, Viet Nam ISBN 0-7703-9494-9 1. Coastal zone management -- Vietnam-- TamGiang Lagoon. 2. Fishery management -- Vietnam -- Tam Giang Lagoon. 3. Aquaculture -- Vietnam -- Tam Giang Lagoon. I. Brzeski,Veronika J. (Veronika Julia), 1964- II. Newkirk,G. F. (Gary Francis), 1946- III. Coastal Resources Research Network. SH307.V5L4 2000 333.95 '6'09597 C00-950235- 1 The research that led to the publicationof this book was carried out by a grant from Viet Nam Sustainable Economic Development Programme (VISED)which was fundedby CIDA and IDRC. Table of Contents Preface VeronikaJ. Brzeski v Acknowledgements vii List ofMaps viii List ofAbbreviations ix General Maps 1 - 6 Managementof Biological Resources in Tam GiangLagoon Truang Van Tuyn and Veronika J. Brzeski 7 ResearchProcess Trucing Van Tuyn and TOn Thât Pháp 15 Research Overview Research Team 25 An Historical Perspective on the Management ofLagoon Resources Nguyn Xuãn Hbng, Tr'àn. Van Tuan and TOn That Pháp 39 Settlementof Sampan People VO Thi Hbng and Nguyn HThiThong 55 GenderRoles in Farmingand Fishing Activities LThiNamThuãn 69 Aquatic ResourcesMarketing BiÜ Thi Tam 79 Community Banning ofElectric Fishing Trucing Van Tuyn 89 Participatory Development of Peanut Crops Trucing Van Tuyn, Tr'ãn Van Minh and L Thi Nam Thuân 99 Aquaculture - its Introductionand Development Le Van Mien, TOn That Pháp and Hoang NghiaDuyet 115 Migration ofMarine Species into the Lagoon Lê Van Mien and TOn That Pháp 135 111 Freshwater Macrophytes - their Ecologyand Exploitation Lê Thi Nam Thu.n, Truiing Van Tuyn and Nguyen H'Ong Viêt 145 Fishing in Quang Thai Commune L Thj Nam ThuAn, Tnrcing Van Tuyn and Nguyen H'Ong Viêt 169 Fishing in Sam - An Truyen- Thuan An Area TOnThâtPháp 187 Fishing in Vinh Ha Commune VO Van Phü, Nguyen Quang VinhBInh, Nguyen Xuãn Khoa and TOn That Chit 203 Appendix A. Background on Viet Nam, the Lagoonand Fishing 213 Appendix B. List ofFish and Invertebrate Species Exploited in the Lagoon 218 Appendix C. Project People 225 iv Preface Veronika Brzeski This book is as much about a lagoon and the people that live on it or on its shore as it is about a group of researchers trying a new way of doing research. The chapters in this book describe the lagoon, its resources and environment and the people that rely on them for their livelihoods - farmers, fishers, aquaculturists, buyersand sellers,women and men. I will let the chapterstell their own stories and spend a few words introducing the "researchteam", the people who researched and wrote those chapters. This book summarizes the information collected over 2 years by 19 researchers (see Appendix C) working on an internationally funded project"Management ofBiological Resources in Tam Giang Lagoon". The projectidea was originally conceived by Gary Newkirkand Stephen Tyler, workingunder the auspices of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada), and Vietnamese scientists from several national and provincial institutions and universities (see Management of Biological Resources in Tam Giang Lagoon). Funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the IDRC, through ajoint national project called VISED (Vietnam Sustainable Economic Development), it had as one of its objectives: "To develop institutional capacity in inierdisczplinary andparticzpatory research methods applied to naturalresources management." In the past, IDRC projects focused on increasing the scientific capacity ofresearchers in developing countries with great success - training and facilitating training of scientists to international levels. However, suchprojects did littleto alleviatethe povertythat is so rampant inthose countries. In an effort to maintain its objectiveof building researchcapacity and, at the same time, to tackle some ofthe issues underlying poverty, participatory research was introduced. Such was the idealism behindthe conception ofthis project: to train researchers inParticipatory Research and, especially, togive themthe opportunity to practice and apply it in their own setting, with the participation oftheir own people. Since 1975, when Viet Nam was re-united and became a SocialistRepublic, Vietnamesepeople have had limited contact with the international community - particularlytrue for the scientific and academic community. In addition, after many years of war, the Vietnamesegovernment focused its energy on rebuilding the nation and on feeding its weakened population - noton scientific research. Thus research and universitycurricula have not followed those ofthe western world. What may appear to be a disadvantage was, in many aspects, an advantage in conductingresearch for this project. The littleresearch that was conducted in Vietnamese institutions was basedon very simple objectives to resolve real immediate needs. And that research was conducted by people with a much closer associationto naturalresources and rural areas - sons and daughtersof farmers and fishers. Thus when project work requiredthat they sleep in farmers'homes, play cards with themto pass the evenings away, share their meals with fishers and go off fishingin their boats, it quickly became a natural task - to work and socialize with the lagoon people. This may not seem very unusual but it is exceedingly rare in Canada for a universityprofessor or an officialfrom the Deparment of Fisheries and Oceansto spend afew days in a fishingvillage, eating,sleeping, talking,listening and socializing. A Canadian fisherman visitingViet Nam was astonished to watchan official from the Department of Fisheries bailing,with an battered Americanarmy helmet,a fisherman's boat - not becauseshe was concerned about her safety but simply because it was a task that had to be done. "Ifonly Canadian DFO personnel were like that, the V management of the fishery in Canada wouldbe different." In myexperience, development projects shouldnot be evaluated by their results: by how many objectives they have completed, by the increase in yield ofrice, nor by the number of rare speciesconserved; but by the changes that projects evoke within people affectedby them. And this project, one based on the principle that researchers must collaborate with resource users to tackle management issues, was and continues to be successful. It has produced changes in people with a certain influence in their country- universityprofessors and lecturers who teach the nextgeneration, civil servants who supply the data and information on whichpolicy and laws are based, and the resourseusers, farmersand fishers who shape the face ofthe country. And these changesare visibleto those lucky ones, such as myself, who witnessed them. These changes can not be measured but only described and so, allow me the opportunity to describe some of them: • A university lecturer in agronomy's first response to my questions about a mysterious lunar calendar responded with "nobodyuses it anymore, it is only used in religiousrituals". Twoyears later, he insisted that we refer to the lunar calendarin the finalreports because it is what people use to plant crops and raise fish. • An historian and an aquaculture extension agent collaborated with amarginalized groupof fishers in the research for Settlement of Sampan People; a fishery biologistworked with women to research Gender Roles in Farming and Fishing Activities; an agronomist facilitated the Community Banning ofElectric Fishing; a fishery biologist, a planktonexpert, and an animal husbandry researcher specializing in swine, with lagoon users, studied the advantages and disadvantages of aquaculture development and the social implications in Aquaculture - its Introduction and Development. • People who knew 'resource management' as management ofresources, came to understand that it reallymeant managing people and that, ifresource users managed themselves, resources could be conserved. • People whowere accustomed to speaking, eitherlecturing or trainingor advising, started listening and people who were accustomed to listening gained the confidence to speak. • Researchers who spoke of wanting to reach the 'truth' and 'reality', realized that perceptions, opinions, views and attitude, though often resulting in conflicting information, were even more important in management issues. • People who thoughtthat aquaculture development, which brought great economic advantages to coastal communities, in reality only broughtthose economic advantages to a few while the rest becameeven

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