 |
News |
| |
SALA PHOUM
Stung Treng, Cambodia
March 2005
The Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity
Programme (MWBP) is planning to undertake
an ambitious, village-based research study
into the river's biological and adjacent
land-based resources at its demonstration
site in Stung Treng, Cambodia* (also a Ramsar
site). The
investigations and findings will depend primarily
on the villagers' own research efforts and
their existing knowledge.
The research
methodology for the study was developed in
Thailand, and is known there as Thai Baan, meaning
Thai Villagers. In
Cambodia it is given another name, Sala
Phoum, meaning Village School. With
funding from the Water and Nature Initiative
(WANI) of IUCN – The World Conservation
Union, a Thai Baan research group from the
Songkhram Basin, Thailand and SEARIN (NGO)
came to visit Stung Treng, from 7 to 9 March
2005. The purpose of the visit was to share
concepts, processes and experiences of Thai
Baan research in Thailand; develop an action
plan for application in Stung Treng; and
learn about community resource issues and
management, and the livelihoods of the people
living at the site.
Under the overall guidance
of experienced Thai
Baan researchers, villagers were slected
from five Ramsar settlements and organized
into research teams. Following extensive
training the teams will make regular assessments
of their chosen topics. The villagers
have already decided upon research topics
and they include: fish resources, the importance
of the Mekong's unique river bed forests,
local wild rice varieties and riverbank forests. The
objectives of the research topics will be
agreed and appropriate research techniques
devised.
The research into fisheries is likely
to be of special significance. Villagers
are increasingly alarmed by declining catches
and Sala Phoum promises to provide
valuable information (e.g. on fish spawning
sites, fish migrations, nursery sites) to
enable villagers to prepare management plans
for their local fisheries. These will
form an important part of community fishery
efforts by the villagers.
All research subjects
will provide significant data that the villagers
can use to document the existing situation
and future changes in the resources essential
for their day-to-day lives. This information will be of
great use to local government departments
in providing assistance to the villagers. It
can also be used to provide important data
for use in environmental impact assessments
into projects likely to affect any or all
of the village resources.
Sala Phoum is part of the Mekong
Wetlands Biodiversity Programme (MWBP) of
UNDP, IUCN and the Mekong River Commission
(MRC) and will be carried out under the technical
support and guidance of Thai Baan research. Also
heavily involved is the Culture Environment
and Preservation Association (CEPA) of Cambodia,
one of the MWBP's partner organizations.
CEPA is recruiting and training experienced
Cambodian research assistants to help the
villagers undertake, record and analyse their
findings. The research assistants will
live in the villages for the duration of
Sala Phoum – at least one
year in the first instance.
* MWBP has four
demonstration sites, they are based in: Stung
Treng, Cambodia; Attapeu Province, Lao PDR;
Songkharm Basin, Thailand; and Plain of Reeds,
Vietnam.
|
|
|
|
NEWS HOME
