Signing ceremony of Mo O co-management group

On April 5th, 2013 the official signing of the 2nd co-management agreement for Soc Trang province took place in Mo O village, Tran De district. The ceremony was attended by Mr Le Thanh Tri, vice-chairman of the Provincial People´s Committee, representatives of the Project Management Unit of the Vietnamese-German technical cooperation project "Management of Natural Resources of Soc Trang Province" and other departments as well as representatives of Tran De, Vinh Chau and Cu Lao Dung district and neighbouring villages.

With the official signature of the Commune People´s Committee, the regulation of Mo O Co-Management Group is now a legally binding document and members of the Co-Management Group as well as people from outside have to follow the rules provided in the regulation. This regulation is the result of a process of intense work and in a series of meetings local authorities and local resource users, who joined the co-management group last year, negotiated an agreement for the future management of the mangrove forest of Mo O village.

Co-management in a natural resource context is a partnership arrangement in which a resource user group gets the right to use natural resources on state owned land (a defined area) and the responsibility to sustainably manage the resources (including protection). Resource users and local authorities jointly negotiate an agreement on who can do what where, when, how and how much in a particular area of resources which is then implemented and monitored primarily by the resource users themselves. Different zones were identified for the mangrove forest of Mo O village and specific rules for each zone were jointly developed, which among other things regulate the use of certain fishing tools and access. For co-management to be successful, it is essential that there is full political support from all levels (province through districts to commune) and that there is agreement from all stakeholders.

After the pilot in Au Tho B village, which started in 2009, this is the second official co-management site in Soc Trang province, with two more sites to follow this year. The aim is to provide local communities with benefits through legal and secured access to natural resources in protection forests and at the same time to ensure sustainable use of the resources and effective protection of the mangrove forests. The latter is extremely important for the coastal zone of Soc Trang Province because of the negative impacts of climate change.

Source: CZM