6 inconsistent permit and registration systems, irregularities in financial management, and absence of consistent mechanisms to declare and manage core areas. The Government has no coordinated management plan for multiple use of the lake and the need to develop common policy objectives for managing the TSBR is acutely felt. There is hope that the TSBR Secretariat will facilitate coordination and fortify cooperation among national agencies, provincial authorities, and civil society. The secretariat’s authority is equal to that of a ministerial department. Its purposes are to: (i) serve as an information clearinghouse open to all; (ii) conduct a nationwide awareness and mobilization campaign for the protection and sustainable use of the Tonle Sap and its watershed; and (iii) effect cross-sectoral policy and strategy coordination. However, the secretariat is new and must be strengthened. 3.
Community Fisheries
17. Fish stock depletion and habitat destruction could be slowed, even reversed, if communities had a sense of ownership and could self-regulate better. 28 But community-level management systems and capacity are weak or nonexistent. Conflict resolution mechanisms cannot prevent violent interventions because communities and individuals have few incentives to act responsibly. Legal instruments such as the Fisheries Law and the Wildlife Protection Law have been drafted but await public consultation and approval by the National Assembly.29 Community fisheries have been created by prime ministerial decree, not because of stakeholder participation and empowerment. By the same token, DOF's Community Fisheries Development Office (CFDO) was established only recently and offers no standards and guidelines from which community fisheries could develop local approaches to natural resource management that accommodate ecosystem -wide considerations. The Government's endeavors to engage communities in natural resource management should shift further from a fish-production focus to a people focus, where the needs and aspirations of the communities are listened to and valued. 4.
Resource Tenure
18. The Land Law (prepared with ADB assistance) addresses outstanding issues on land policy by establishing basic access of rural people to private tenure over land. In the five project provinces, with large areas having natural resources used by communities, a system for defining the user rights of communities is also required. In instances, such rights will be both spatial and temporal: different communities will often share rights over forestry and fisheries. The World Bank has begun to implement a land-titling project; however, the Tonle Sap region is not one of its priorities. Conflict over fisheries is escalating; it will become worse if communities do not have documentation certifying the right of occupancy or use of natural resources. Conflict can be reduced by mapping, physical demarcation where relevant, and land use planning. 30 But the socialization of boundaries is complex and requires long-term commitment. 28
Generally, management of natural resources by strengthened communities leads to equitable distribution of benefits and sustainable use. Still, this assumes that overexploitation has not locked natural resources into terminal decline and made concern for food security paramount to the detriment of the environment. 29 The broad objectives of the Wildlife Protection Law are to provide a clear regulatory framework for management, use, and conservation of wildlife and habitat; establish the management authorities for wildlife issues and specify their duties and functions; define the prohibited and permitted activities and procedures regarding wildlife use; list the offenses, penalties and enforcement procedures; implement certain provisions of CITES; establish the lists of endangered and vulnerable wildlife species in Cambodia; and promote education and awareness of wildlife issues. If the law comes into effect and is enforced, the regulation framework for wildlife conservation will suffice for most species and areas of the TSBR. However, key biodiversity areas will require vigilance and a targeted enforcement program. They are the three core areas of the TSBR and additional areas that may need to be identified, given the migratory nature of some wildlife species. 30 Maps help local people to locate their own resources and management needs.
