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Programs

NGO Coalition Program

This program focuses on strengthening a coalition and network of NGOs around Tonle Sap, Coastal, and Mekong provinces through promoting a collective working culture among NGOs.It will also help for advocacy to improve small fishers rights of access to and control over fishery resources through our NGOs coalition’s research finding,
and supports the formation of the community fisher networks into the Assembly of the Cambodian Fishers. Furthermore, this program also monitors projects funded by ADB around Tonle Sap Lake (Monitoring Asian Development Bank projects around Tonle Sap Lake). Since 1998, the ADB has commenced its investment plan for Tonle Sap development including physical infrastructure construction. Local communities and NGOs are concerned about the potential negative impacts to the environment and their livelihoods from some ADB projects. Project NGO coalition Building: Strengthening a coalition and network of NGOs in fisheries and natural resources through promoting collective working culture among NGOs for advocacy to improve the rights of access of small fishers and supports the formulation of the fishers network into the Assembly of Cambodian Fishers. Project Tonle Sap Watch (Research): Monitoring Asian Development Bank Projects around Tonle Sap Lake This program monitors projects funded by ADB around Tonle Sap Lake. Since 1998, the ADB has commenced a major investment plan for the Tonle Sap Basin’s development under the banner “the Tonle Sap Initiative”. The scale of the ADB plans for the Tonle Sap Basin means that many communities and organizations will have to engage with the ADB. Local communities and NGOs are concerned about the potential negative impacts of some projects to the environment and their livelihoods by these ADB financed projects. The Objective of the Project Tonle Sap Watch (Research): Raising awareness among the public and local community living in the Tonle Sap Lake about the ADB projects in the Tonle Sap Lake through providing relevant information from ADB to community and NGOs, and from NGOs and communities to ADB. To liaise with international NGO campaign network on the ADB for monitoring the impacts of the ADB project on environment, fisheries and local communities in the Tonle Sap Lake.

Tonlesap Program

Building up Assembly of the Cambodian Fishers around Tonle Sap: Cambodian fisheries and fishing communities have suffered through many years of over-exploitation, accelerating environmental degradation and escalating conflicts between stakeholders. This has in part resulted from a lack of fisher organizations, little political space, and weak civil society.

To maximize benefit from the fisheries reform in 2000, this program aims at building the network of fishermen and developing the capacities of the key fishers in order to build a strong grassroots institution or “Assembly of the Cambodian Fishers” that will work towards sustainable fisheries management and represent themselves at a national policy level. Given this ways, we hope fully that the

fishermen will completely release their debts from traders/money lenders. FACT believes that the fishers should speak for themselves, through their own body or organization and is working towards establishing a community based organization (CBO) named the Cambodian Coalition of Fishers (CCF). The capacity and membership of this organization is presently being built through regular meetings and trainings. CCF has developed by-laws and an organizational structure, and is registered with the Ministry of Interior. CCF will separate from FACT in 2006, with FACT adopting the role of technical advisor. Project Building Coalition of Cambodian Fishers: The representative organizations of the fishers acquire the necessary capacities to represent their members, to defend their rights and to participate in the decision-making processes. Project promote governance in the fishing communities in Tonle Sap: The representative organizations of the fishers have ability in working closely with Commune Council in order to protect natural resources in their local area.

Coastal Program

Build up fishers and NGOs network, and finding any funding support for Coastal Team: Following significant changes in fisheries management,in particular the 2000 fisheries reform, coastal fishing communities do not fully understand the reforms policy as they lack access to information and lack the capacity to take advantage of the reforms.
In general, local people still do not take full control of their fishing grounds to support their livelihoods. Powerful people, armed forces and commercial trawlers are therefore always taking advantage of this situation.Therefore, this program aims to establish a network of NGOs in the coastal provinces that will improve small fishers rights of access to and control over fishery resources, and will support the formation of a coastal fishers network along the coastline. This project organizes fisher and NGO networks in the coastal provinces in order to resolve fisheries conflicts, and address the issue of inequity of access and sharing benefits from the marine resource that underlies these conflicts. The project achieves this by enabling a dialogue mainly through arranging meetings, raising awareness and providing trainings, and conducting research that is used for advocacy. Project Building Fishers network and NGOs coalition: To establish a network of NGOs in coastal provinces who works on fisheries and natural resources through promoting dialogues between NGOs and government agencies aiming to improve the rights of access of small fishers and supports the formulation of the coastal fisher network. Project CSPPM objective: Reduced vulnerability and improved livelihood of rural poor depending on natural resource through enhancing the capacity of communities, Civil Society Organizations ((CSOs), and increase their ability and voice to link with local government for increasing the responsive of commune council to real demands of the citizen. Support CSOs’ to adaptation and application of Community Based Natural Resources Management and livelihood. Support potential and emerging opportunities for market-based development of farmer’s products and for value-add chain.

Mekong Program

Building Community Based Organization (CBO), Mekong Fishers: This new programme has been recently operating since the beginning of 2009.

This programme focuses on building up the fishers and NGOs network in the Mekong region by providing them the capacity building related to the national resources management and rightsfor improve their livelihood in fisheries sector.

There is an increased development projects in the Mekong Region, particularly in Cambodia and therefore, there is an increased concern about the impacts of these projects, particularly hydropower dams on fisheries and livelihoods of fishermen in

the Mekong as well as in the Tonle Sap. This project organizes fisher and NGO networks in the Mekong provinces in order to resolve fisheries conflicts, and address the issue of inequity of access and sharing benefits from the Mekong resource that underlies these conflicts. Project Building Mekong Fishers’ network and NGO coalition in Mekong: To establish a network of fishermen and NGOs working on fisheries in order for them to link to other fisher network in Tonle Sap and coastal network.