Case CD-1 Creation of the Begbesu fishers’ organisation

【2. Côte d’Ivoire】

Context	Co-management of fisheries resources is not widespread in Côte d’Ivoire. Following Senegal’s example, the Ivorian authorities created the Begbessou Fishers’ Organisation to promote co-management of Lake Kossou’s fisheries resources. This case study presents the details.
Content	Kossou Lake is an artificial lake created in 1972 as a hydroelectric dam lake. When the lake was created, the government released juveniles of tilapia, Machoiron and Silture, which have become an established fishery resource in Lake Kossou. Most fishers in Côte d’Ivoire come from neighbouring countries, with over 90% of sea fishers being Ghanaian and a large proportion of inland fishers being Malian. Fishing activity in Kossou Lake has also been supported by Malians. However, when the agricultural sector became sluggish, Ivorians who had become involved in farming also became newcomers to the Kossou Lake fishing industry. As a result, fishing effort in Kossou Lake increased and stocks declined. Catches have also fallen drastically, as follows. 2000: 2,000 metric tons 2008: 500 metric tons 2020: 262 metric tons 2021: 50 metric tons Sometimes, conflicts arise between Malian fishers, traditionally involved in fishing, and Ivorian fishers, who started fishing later, and it has also been difficult to mitigate conflicts and promote dialogue between fishers of different nationalities. To mitigate this situation, MIRAH has launched co-management of fisheries resources at Begbessou on Kossou Lake, with reference to the case of Senegal, Awareness activities In Begbessou, there is an association of Ivorian fishers, an association of Malian fishers, an association of buyers (women) and an association of processors (women). In January 2023, as part of the follow-up activities to the COPAO project, representatives of these organisations, MIRAH, local government representatives and village chiefs took part in a workshop to discuss the joint management of fisheries resources in Begbessou. It was agreed that to halt the decline in catches and stocks in Kossou Lake, it is necessary to stop catching small fish, and that this requires a concerted effort by all concerned to avoid buying and processing small fish. Discussion about more specific activities In May 2023, through training in Japan organized by Japanese experts, MIRAH managers, local authority representatives, Ivorian fishers’ associations, Malian fishers’ associations, buyers’ associations (women) and smoked fish processors’ associations (women) also understood the co-management of Biwa Lake resources in Japan. They also deepened their understanding of the co-management of Biwa Lake resources in Japan. At the same time, they discussed the specific actions needed in order to promote co-management in Kossou Lake. Organisational development of resources management. Establishing local regulations for resources management. Capacity building for organisations involved in resources management. Formulation of support measures for resources management. (i) Organisational development of resources management Existing organisations have not been legally recognized to promote the co-management of fisheries resources. The objective is therefore to bring together representatives of existing organisations to discuss and create a framework within which formal and legitimate decisions can be taken on the necessary resource management measures. (ii) Establishing rules for managing local resources. Once the legal framework has been established, specific rules will be defined, which are necessary to reinforce the co-management of resources. (iii) Renforcer la capacité des organisations de cogestion des ressources. As Kossou Lake is vast and the number of administrative agents and surveillance resources are limited, the involvement of local stakeholder organisations in surveillance activities is essential. Consequently, the capacity of stakeholder organisations needs to be strengthened so that they can apply and enforce regulations themselves. (iv) Developing support measures for resources management. The application of regulations on resources management can restrict the economic activities of local actors. In such case, it is difficult to obtain their cooperation. It is therefore necessary to consider measures aimed at securing alternative sources of income to support resources management. Concrete measures could include, for example, the installation of cold storage units with solar energy generators to enhance the means of maintaining fish freshness, reducing post-harvest losses and increasing unit selling prices.
Lessons Learned	For those about to start co-managing fisheries resources, this case study is instructive. This is also a useful example of co-management with the involvement of migrant (foreign) fishers. Kossu Lake is divided into five administrative divisions (Sassandra-Marahoué region, Woroba region, Bandama region, Lak region and Yamoussoukro autonomous region). But the effort to establish co-management is targeted solely at the Sassandra-Marahoué region, as it is in its initial stages. For the future, therefore, it will be necessary to consider how to extend the same initiative to the entire lake.
Guideline chapter relevant to this case study	Chapter 2 : Establishing and strengthening the resource management implementation system 2.1 Establishing and strengthening resource management organisations
Situation to which this case study could refer	This case study can serve as a reference to examine how to promote resource management in water bodies that straddle different administrative zones.