AIT joins hands with University of Rhode Island/CRC
AIT joins hands with University of Rhode Island/Coastal Resources Center (CRC) in providing a training course on Co-Management of Marine Parks Launches using a more participatory approach to marine conservation planning in Thailand
A week-long training program on co-management of marine protected areas was implemented in Ranong province from 18-25 September 2006 for newly appointed members of the Laem Som Marine Park Advisory Committee. This initiative of the Thailand Department of National Parks was jointly supported by USAID-Asia through the Post Tsunami Sustainable Livelihoods Program, and DANIDA, through the Joint Management of Protected Areas Program. The training was led by AIT and Coastal Resources Center of University of Rhode Island.
The purpose of the training workshop is to build the capacity of the newly appointed Park Advisory Committee (PAC) members to work cooperatively with the park staff on managing the park. This includes development of team building skills, defining and clarifying the role of the PAC, introduction to natural resource management tools and the local ecology, and defining priority park management issues that the PAC should address. Approximately two dozen participants, representing local park staff and stakeholder representatives, discussed key concepts of co-management and how this more participatory and transparent form of conservation governance can be carried out in Laem Som National Park. This is the first PAC appointed for a national park in Thailand and represents a pilot and pioneering effort by the Department of National Parks to develop more structured and formal institutional arrangements for stakeholder involvement in conservation planning. The end goal is better management of National Parks in Thailand and reduction of conflicts among resource users and between the Parks Department and the communities living in and around parks. Workshop participants discussed issues concerning impacts of the 2005 tsunami on the park, land tenure, fisheries management and ecotourism tourism development, and zoning strategies.
This workshop will be followed by a study tour to Bunaken National Marine Park in Indonesia where co-management arrangements are well developed. This includes establishment of a multi-stakeholder board that manages expenditures of a large share of user fees generated from visitor fees, collaborative enforcement initiatives between the dive tourism industry, local communities and the park staff, as well as educational programs for park residents and visitors. Development of co-management arrangements for Bunaken National Park were also supported by USAID, so this study tour provides opportunities for regional experience sharing and lesson drawing across countries in the region. Participants are formulating an action strategy of near term priorities for the PAC and how co-management can become an operational and effective conservation strategy for marine and terrestrial protected areas in Thailand.