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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Working Paper
    Management, Co-Management, or No Management?
    (2003) Jul-Larsen, Eyolf; Kolding, Jeppe; Overå, Ragnhild; Raakjær-Nielsen, Jesper; Van Zwieten, Paul A.M.
    "This report synthesizes the findings of ten case studies published in FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 426/2. The case studies have been conducted in five medium sized lakes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The synthesis focuses on three features relevant for the management of freshwater fisheries in the South Africa Development Community (SADC) region: How has fishing effort developed in these lakes over the last 50 years?; What causes the changes in fishing effort?; How do fishing effort and environmental factors compare in their effects on the regeneration of fish stocks? Fisheries in the SADC freshwaters are found to function as an economic buffer and as a safety valve for thousands of people moving in and out of the fisheries according to the opportunities in the national economies. At the same time the stocks tend to be less threatened than many tend to believe. Classical management theory’s emphasis on limiting numbers of fishermen and co-management strategies such as exclusive economic zoning may represent a danger to the stability of this situation, even where management may be required to maintain biodiversity. There may be a need also to monitor and establish measures to control investment-driven growth in effort."
  • Conference Paper
    Fisheries Management and Enforcement in a Danish Perspective
    (1995) Raakjær-Nielsen, Jesper; Joker, Lars
    "The paper describes the fisheries management and enforcement system in Denmark. Denmark is a member of the European Union (EU) and therefore subjected to EU policies. The paper examines the organization of the Danish enforcement institutions and portrays how the inspection is carried out in practice. The paper describes the different sanctions in the event of infringements and finally the paper summarizes the main problems of the present enforcement regime."
  • Conference Paper
    Fisheries Co-Management: An Alternative Strategy in Fisheries -- Cases from Denmark
    (1995) Raakjær-Nielsen, Jesper; Vedsmand, Tomas
    "Sustainable and efficient use of fisheries resources is closely linked to the legitimacy of fisheries management schemes. Legitimacy depends on the content of the rules and the participation of user-groups in the decision-making process. The paper analyzes the organization of the fisheries management system, in particular the influence of user-participation in decision-making. Theories of common property resources and institutions are adapted to fisheries and a framework for the analysis of co-management institutions is developed. Two Danish case studies of user-participation are examined to analyze how co-management arrangements are functioning and how they impact on efficiency, equity and sustainability of fisheries resources exploitation."
  • Conference Paper
    Co-Management in Small-Scale Fisheries: A Synthesis of Southern and West African Experiences
    (1998) Sverdrup-Jensen, Sten; Raakjær-Nielsen, Jesper
    "This presentation summarizes the findings from eight African countries where case studies of co-management arrangements in artisanal fisheries have been undertaken during the period 1996-97. The countries concerned are Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In most of the cases co- management represents a new approach to fisheries management. In some cases, it has only been applied within the last 3-5 years and in a few it is merely being considered as an option. The comparison of cases at this early stage gives an indication as to what appears to be the critical issues in the planning and implementation of fisheries co- management arrangements in the African context. "The incentives of fishers and other stakeholders to cooperate among themselves and with government in the management of those fisheries in which they are involved are of two types. On the one hand the level of cooperation is determined by a number of key factors relating to the local politico-historical, bio-physical, economic and socio- cultural environment of the fishing communities and the fisheries. On the other, the incentives for cooperation are determined by the character of the decision-making arrangements in place for setting collective choice rules and, in particular, the operational rules for the fishery and thus the legitimacy of the arrangement in the eyes of the fishers.... "The cases studied differ significantly as regards the political history of the countries and the character of their artisanal fisheries. Nevertheless, in all cases the co-management approach is intended to replace conventional, centralized management systems which have proved inefficient. The differing bio-physical environments seen in the cases represent three different types of ecological systems: lake/reservoir, lagoon/estuary and open coast. In most of the cases only a few fish species are target species and these are often subject to heavy fishing pressure or are already overfished. In most cases the fishers and their families are totally dependent on the fishery for their livelihood as with few exceptions, they have no alternative sources of income.... "The different types of co-management arrangements seen in these case studies are classified in accordance with the typology presented by Sen and Raakjaer Nielsen (1996). An analysis of the classification clearly indicates that, with few exceptions, co-management in the African context is government based. "African experiences of co-management differ from other regions. In Africa it is used mainly as a mechanism for conflict resolution rather than for achieving sustainability of resources. Often, in Africa, fisheries management strategy is carried out in isolation, rather than as part of an all-encompassing resource management and development framework. "The outcome of the co-management arrangements in terms of natural resource stewardship, management system resilience, equity and efficiency is discussed and some very tentative conclusions are drawn that may be relevant to co-management arrangement design and implementation elsewhere. Areas for further research are also identified."
  • Journal Article
    Fisheries Co-Management Institutions in Southern Africa: A Hierarchical Analysis of Perceptions of Effectiveness
    (2010) Wilson, Douglas C.; Ahmed, Mahfuzuddin; Delaney, Alyne; Donda, Steven J.; Kapasa, C.K.; Malasha, Isaac; Muyangali, K.; Njaya, Friday; Olesen, T.; Poiosse, E.; Raakjær-Nielsen, Jesper
    "A random sample attitude survey concluded a ten-year research effort on fisheries co-management that was carried out in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. The survey responses were analysed using a two-level hierarchical model that allowed conclusions about village-level institutions to be based on individual-level survey responses. The present paper describes the surveys background,methodology, and conclusions. Three of these conclusions are very clear from the survey results. The first is that co-management that is more responsive to the community is more effective. The second is that co-management institutions made up mainly of fishers are more effective than ones that incorporate a broad range of stakeholders. The third is that local conservation efforts being seen as making a positive contribution to village life is unrelated to their being seen as rule enforcement mechanisms."
  • Journal Article
    Transforming Ownership and Governance: Lessons from Capital Intensive Pelagic Fisheries in South Africa and Zimbabwe
    (2010) Nyikahadzoi, Kefasi; Hara, Mafaniso; Raakjær-Nielsen, Jesper
    "This article is on the political economy of transformation and governance reform in industrial fisheries in Southern African states undergoing political and socio-economic transformation. Specifically, it focuses on the experiences of transformation and reform of governance in the pelagic fisheries of South Africa and Zimbabwe. A democratic South Africa and independent Zimbabwe each inherited a dual socio-economic system characterised by racially based inequitable distribution of political and economic powers, and productive assets in favour of the white minority. This study provides a comparative analysis of the driving forces for transformation and governance reform in the two countries. The study demonstrates that reliance on market mechanisms as the main driving force for change in both countries has merely reinforced the existing ownership patterns and power relations, with a limited number of strategically positioned black elites benefiting. Neither the state nor the market place has been able to secure equitable distribution and the creation of an inclusive governance system. Instead disputes are often still settled in courts. This paper concludes that the solution could be found in innovative approaches to transformation and governance that genuinely include the players without undermining the economic viability of the industry rather than the use of conventional top-down state and free market interventions."
  • Conference Paper
    Fisheries Co-Management; A Worldwide, Collaborative Research Project
    (1995) Pomeroy, Robert S.; Sverdrup-Jensen, Sten; Raakjær-Nielsen, Jesper
    "There is a need for rapid and substantial evolution of existing fisheries management systems in developing countries to support sustainable resource use. It is unlikely that local communities can accomplish this change on their own. But neither can the national government accomplish it entirely through bureaucratic instruments. There must evolve a more dynamic partnership using the capacities and interests of the local community, complemented by the ability of the national government to provide enabling legislation and institutions and other assistance. This partnership can be called co-management, where the national government and the community share authority for fisheries management. "ICLARM, with funding from DANIDA, has embarked on a fiveyear worldwide research project on fisheries co-management. The research project will address issues of co-management at both the national and community levels. The research framework provides for a structural approach to examining and documenting the origin, current status, operation and performance of fisheries management systems. Institutional analysis, which examines how institutional arrangements, the set of rights and rules by which a community organizes activities and which affect use behavior and incentives, will provide the basic research framework for studying fisheries management institutions. "In the paper, we will provide details on the overall project objectives and scope, the research framework, project structures, and activities to date. It is hoped that presentation of the project framework at this meeting will provide feedback for improvement."