Case 1-4 Creating a forum for coordinating opinions: cases of fisheries resource management activities initiated from daily group meetings

Key words	Group meetings, COGEPAS, vocational groups (collèges), forum for coordinating interests
Context	To start a fisheries resource management activity, it is necessary to create a platform where stakeholders, members and leaders of relevant groups and organisations can meet and discuss regularly. This case study focuses on how to create such a platform.
Content	A group meeting in the fishing village is the first step to setting up a discussion platform. Social group leaders (such as fishers’ leaders), who are the direct stakeholders for planning fisheries resource management activities, with the support of the administration, discuss the challenges facing their groups and the current state of the target resources, and share their understanding with group members. Based on this common understanding, they discuss the concrete fisheries resource management activities required and share their ideas on how to implement them. The group meeting provides a platform not only for sharing information and exchanging views through discussion between members, but also for future for meetings with fisheries resource co-management organisations, such as the CLPA, and the administration. In the COGEPAS project, the trade group (college) meeting in Joal was used as a basis for the development of the grouper (called ‘thiof’ in the local language) resource management plan.
Lessons Learned	Community members forming the core of the group meeting, such as fishers’ leaders, first engaged in information exchange and communication with their friends, and gradually widened the circle of discussion. It is not just one or two meetings, but a series of repeated exchanges on a daily basis that can lead to significant results in the future.
Guideline chapter relevant to this case study	Chapter 1 Identifying the challenges of resource management activities and coordinating stakeholder interests 1.2 Coordination of interests and consensus building among stakeholders (3) Create a platform for coordination of interests In resource management activities, a ‘forum’ should be established where leaders of relevant groups, organisations, and government agencies on the identified issues can meet regularly and whenever any problem arises to discuss and coordinate their opinions. A somewhat more formal organisation such as a ‘council’ is also desirable, but informal gatherings are acceptable if conditions permit.
Situation to which this case study could refer	When there is a problem and action is needed, the starting point may be a group meeting where people who share an awareness of the problem discuss it. This case study can be applied to such situation.