Case 2-3 Establishing a CLPA with the support of external actors: case of the organisation of Lompoul and Diifer

COGEPAS, CLPA, coordination between CLPAs, ADUPES, external actors, Lompoul, Diifer

New CLPAs have been established in Lompoul and Djifer with the support of the Co-management of Artisanal Fisheries in Senegal (hereafter referred to as COGEPAS) project implemented by JICA from 2009-2013. This case study focuses on the activities and challenges faced by these CLPAs.

In the four localities targeted by the COGEPAS project (Lompoul, Kayar, Joal and Djifer), the project supported establishing two new CLPAs where none existed in Lompoul and Djifer. During which, COGEPAS organised a seminar to sensitise the fishing community on their functions and roles and trained the elected members of the CLPAs on their respective roles and responsibilities, the functioning of the Council and the points to consider in promoting their activities. As a result, the two CLPAs were registered in October 2010 and were the subject of Ministerial Order No. 09077.

An interview survey was conducted with stakeholders of the Lompoul CLPA in June 2017. By then, it had been 11 years since the Lompoul Fishing Centre was built, and six years since the CLPA was organised with the support of COGEPAS. It was found that the CLPA had continued its activities as in the implementation period, such as limiting the number of set gillnets and drift nets, limiting mesh length, promoting the use of life jackets and verifying the acquisition of fishing licenses. At the time of the interview, the CLPA members felt that it was necessary to cooperate with neighbouring CLPAs because (1) CLPAs must operate such that conflicts between fishers fishing in waters under the jurisdiction of several CLPAs are avoided, and (2) migratory fishers move according to the migration of fish schools, thus there is a need to jointly manage waters under the jurisdiction of several CLPAs. Hence, the Lompoul CLPA continued the resource management activities introduced by COGEPAS, and also explored the possibility of cooperating with neighbouring CLPAs.
Of the four areas targeted by COGEPAS (Lompur, Kayar, Joal, and Djifer), CLPAs were newly established in Lompur and Djifer. Seminars and awareness-raising activities were conducted to educate the fishing community residents on the functions of CLPAs. Key members of the CLPAs learned about their roles and responsibilities, management of the committee, and how to promote their activities. Both CLPAs were registered in October 2010 and issued as Ministerial Decree No. 09077.

In June 2017, in the CLPA in Djifer, also supported by COGEPAS, fisheries resource management activities were conducted, such as a 10% reduction in gillnets and the seeding of juvenile cymbium. Another initiative to convert the natural spawning bed materials used in the cuttlefish/squid trap fishery, the main fishery in the locality, into artificial materials was also implemented. However, after the end of COGEPAS, the fisheries resource management activities of the CLPA stagnated, and in 2016, the CLPA of Djifer was restructured with support from the EU’s ADUPES project (Senegal Sustainable Management of Fish Resources Project). Under the newly restructured CLPA, a fisheries resource management committee, a dispute resolution committee, a finance committee and an external relations committee were formed to conduct activities such as awareness raising, participatory monitoring, signalling sudden changes in weather conditions with a flag, generating funds to implement activities, visiting enterprises, improving the quality of fisheries products, and developing the CLPA’s managerial environment.

Some of the CLPAs established with the support of external actors have continued to conduct fisheries resource management activities while others have stagnated. Therefore, it is important to examine the reasons for this difference. The emerging need for collaboration with neighbouring CLPAs is also important for the fisheries resource management activities targeting migratory resources.

Chapter 2　Establishing and strengthening the resource management implementation system

2.1 Establishing and strengthening resource management organisations

Institutions that intend to introduce co-management of fisheries resources or their representatives shall gather fisheries stakeholders and residents of the target communities, and explain the challenges of fisheries resource management and the activities to overcome them. Then, the purpose, necessity, and role of the resource management organisation shall be explained, and such organisation shall be formed or restructured in a participatory manner.

What kind of resource management system should be established to implement co-management of fishery resources in Senegal and neighbouring countries? This case study will be helpful when attempting to form an organisation responsible for resource management in an area where resource co-management is to be conducted with the assistance of external actors.