Co-Management

1. Co-Management Activities and Process

3. The co-management spectrum

4. Who does what? Government • local officers who interact directly with the LMI and are responsible for various monitoring and conflict resolution activities, and for enforcing government legislation etc.; • regional or provincial level officers who might help formulate and coordinate management plans and activities with LMIs, help facilitate communication among them and grant licences or access rights. Provincial level offices or local government units may have a high degree of autonomy; • the Minister who has ultimate responsibility for formulating eco-tourism policy in line with national development goals and international obligations.

5. Many governments and their respective administrative levels may need to be convinced of the benefits of co-management before making changes to existing management legislation or promoting it as policy and practice on a larger (national) scale. Therefore, in addition to their existing roles of formulating, monitoring and evaluating fisheries policy and development plans, new roles of government departments may also include monitoring and evaluating the performance of the co-management policy itself, and making refinements and adjustments where necessary.

6. New roles of government departments may also include formulating local management plans with LMIs to ensure that management objectives are consistent with policy goals or objectives, and that the rules and regulations or management interventions selected by the LMI in pursuit of their objectives comply or are consistent with existing national legislation. The monitoring of management plans also allow governments to coordinate the management activities of LMIs and thereby minimize conflicts and promote integrated approaches to management.

7. Another important role of government departments might be providing local managers with information or technical advice to formulate management plans or pursue alternative livelihoods. Facilitating communication and learning among LMIs in support of adaptive approaches to management plan performance evaluation , as well as to help evaluate the co-management policy are other important new roles that government departments may adopt. Effective communication is fundamental to build trust among stakeholders and encourage their continued participation in the co-management partnership.

8. Who does what? LMILocal Management Institution The local management institution (LMI) typically comprises a committee representing the interests and welfare of local stakeholders including fishers, traders, processors, farmers, land-owners, water users, nursery owners, manufacturers, and people who provide credit and other services. They may be responsible for the co-management of the resources within a defined resource (e.g. Belum State Park), section of river, or stretch of coast or lake shoreline.

9. Committee members often comprise elected village representatives including village headmen. Local government staff may represent the government on the committee, provide technical advice and support and ensure that management plans are formulated within the overall framework of the countries legislation.

10. LMIs may also be responsible for resolving conflicts locally, contributing local knowledge or participating in data collection programmes to help governments coordinate local management activities, formulate and evaluate national ecotourism policy and development plans, comply with reporting obligations and inform intersectoral planning decisions.

11. Representatives of LMIs, and government departments may also form higher-level management decision-making bodies or committees when overarching management plans or the coordination of management plans of more than one Committee is required.

12. Intermediary organizations This category of stakeholders covers a range of independent organizations including NGOs, international projects, aid agencies, extension and development projects, research institutions. However, this category might also include intermediary or sub-national management bodies comprising representatives from both LMIs and various administrative levels of government.

13. Key roles of these organizations might include helping local managers formulate and evaluate their management plans by providing knowledge and advice and helping design and implement effective data collection systems. Other important related roles might include developing communication networks and facilitating information sharing among LMIs.