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Balancing conservation of wetlands and sustainability of local livelihoods

The Stung Treng Ramsar Site in Cambodia is arguably the most important wetland complex for biodiversity in the Mekong River Basin. Placed onto the List of Wetlands of International Importance (also called ‘Ramsar Sites’) in 1999, this section of the Mekong is home to a unique riparian forest that provides key habitat and food sources for a wide range of mammals, birds and fish. Yet despite this richness of biodiversity, there is widespread poverty and endemic food insecurity in the area.

Developing fisheries livelihoods in the Congo River Basin

The Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape spans 74,000 km2 in the Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is one of 12 landscapes identified by USAID’s Central African Regional Programme for the Environment (CARPE) as ‘high priority for conservation’ in Central Africa. Bounded by the Lopori and Maringa rivers, this area is dominated by forests, one quarter of which is predominantly swamps and wetlands. The area is globally significant as it comprises a sizeable portion of the Congo Basin forest ecosystem and is home to many diverse and endangered animal species, as well as abundant avifauna and fish species.

Ridge to Reef Biodiversity Conservation

Despite the importance of the Philippines’ coastal zone to the country’s national economy, it has not been sustainably managed and faces key challenges arising from habitat deforestation, inter-tidal reclamation, mangrove destruction, river damming, coral removal, destructive fishing methods, over-fishing, the discharge of land-based pollutants and unregulated logging. Over the last 30 years, 70% of mangroves and 20% of sea grasses have been destroyed, while nearly 90% of coral reefs are under threat. All of these factors have led to reduced productivity, diminished livelihoods, increased poverty incidence and a reduction in health quality in the communities that depend on these coastal resources.
 

Community-Based Fisheries Management in Haor Basin Contributing to Poverty Eradication in Bangladesh

Sunamganj, a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, is characterized by beels, permanent water bodies that are located in the low-lying floodplains of the Haor Basin. To alleviate the poverty of 90,000 fisher people living around these rich ecosystems, the Sunamganj Community-Based Resources Management Project (SCBRMP) has a fisheries component that is helping them to gain better access to the beels and also improve their beel resource development and management skills.
 

Community-Based Fisheries Strategies to Help Vulnerable Island Communities

More than 70% of Solomon Islanders derive their livelihood from subsistence fishing and agriculture. However, the well-being of these people, one third of whom are under the age of 15, is under threat. Faced with one of the highest annual population growth rates in the world, habitat degradation, climate change, and an increasing demand for cash, small-scale fisheries in this South Pacific archipelago are finding it harder and harder to meet the increasing demand for fish.

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