On December 25^th, 2024, in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD), in collaboration with the National Department of Fisheries Surveillance and the Khanh Hoa Sub-Department of Fisheries, organized the activity “Training and guidance for co-management in aquatic resources protection implementation” for the coastal areas of Central Vietnam. This activity was conducted towards the aim of enhancing awareness, knowledge, and capacity for stakeholders and communities in Khanh Hoa province and other coastal areas of Central Vietnam regarding co-management in aquatic resources protection, while also providing technical support for developing co-management proposals in accordance with local needs.

Photo: Mr. Phan Ngoc Tan – Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Sub-department of Fisheries, delivering the opening speech.

The training session was attended by 36 delegates from various organizations and units, including the National Department of Fisheries Surveillance, the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD), the Khanh Hoa Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Khanh Hoa Sub-Department of Fisheries, the Van Ninh District People’s Committee, the Nha Trang Bay Management Board, the Ninh Phuoc Commune’s community, and representatives from neighboring provinces such as Binh Thuan and Binh Dinh. Notably, the training also included the participation of the community co-management organization of Van Hung commune (Van Ninh District, Khanh Hoa Province) – a local community group directly involved in aquatic resources protection activities in the area under the co-management model.

Photo: Ms. Nguyen Thuy Duong, representative of the National Department of Fisheries Surveillance, providing information and knowledge on the legal basis and results of co-management implementation in aquatic resources protection in Vietnam

     During the training sessions, the participants were provided with information, knowledge, and guidance on the implementation of co-management in aquatic resources protection, with the following topics: (i) Overview of legal regulations and related provisions on co-management in aquatic resources protection, (ii) Technical guidelines for implementing co-management in aquatic resources protection, (iii) Guidance on developing provincial-level co-management plans. In addition, various experiences and lessons learned from co-management practices in aquatic resources protection in coastal areas of Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, and Binh Dinh were shared and discussed among the participants.

     Speaking at the training session, Mr. Phan Ngoc Tan, Deputy Director of the Khanh Hoa Sub-Department of Fisheries, emphasized the critical role of implementing co-management in aquatic resources protection, contributing to monitoring and patrolling efforts to minimize local overexploitation activities and to preserve and develop aquatic resources for sustainable development.

Photo: Ms. Nguyen Thu Trang – Project Coordinator of MCD

Ms Nguyen Thu Trang, Project Coordinator of MCD stated that “MCD is honored to collaborate with the Khanh Hoa Sub-Department of Fisheries to organize this training session. MCD hopes that the training will help improving knowledge and skills in co-management for local communities, thus contributing to enhance the effectiveness of co-management models in the coastal areas of Central Vietnam.”

During the training workshop, the participants shared various practical experiences, including successes and challenges from different localities, regarding the implementation of co-management in aquatic resources protection. These experiences ranged from artificial reefs deployment to community-based tourism development ideas, highlighting the critical role of local communities in resource management and in collaboration with authorities to protect natural resources and develop sustainable livelihoods locally.

Photo: Mr Huynh Quang Huy – Director of Binh Thuan Fisheries Sub-Department– sharing experiences about deploying the co-management and artificial reefs

Through group discussions, with the guidance from MCD officers and experts, all participants  practiced and discussed to develop plans for strengthening and improving the effectiveness of, as well as updating the strategies for protecting and exploiting aquatic resources.  They also developed the operational regulations for the co-management organization of Van Hung commune and the co-management implementation plan for Khanh Hoa province.

Photo: Group discussion

This training activity is a part of the cooperation plan in 2024-2025 period between MCD, National Department of Fisheries Surveillance and Khanh Hoa provincial Sub-department of Fisheries on “Technical support for promoting co-management and marine conservation practices in Vietnam and engaging in relevant regional collaboration”, which is a technical service contracted by Wild Earth Allies (WEA) to MCD.