Integrating sustainable livelihood improvement into mangrove restoration and conservation in An Hoa lagoon

Objectives

The project aimed to conserve mangroves linking with sustainable livelihoods improvement in An Hoa lagoon through building capacity for local community, facilitation of allocating mangroves to community and piloting crab culture models in mangrove protection areas. 

Background

• Local people's awareness about the role of mangroves in protecting the environment and aquatic resources was very low. Therefore, they destroyed mangrove areas for shrimp aquaculture, over exploited resources, and fished using destructive methods.
• The local authority (CPC) was not paying sufficient attention to  mangrove protection and had not yet allocated mangrove areas to the community. The mangrove management mechanism was unclear and therefore mangrove areas continue to be destroyed.

The project was carried out in Tam Giang Commune where mangrove area remains large. In this area, local household incomes depended on fishery resources, thus mangroves were very important to their livelihoods.

Target beneficiaries

- 180 members of MCC and 10 households conduct pilot crab culture models as direct beneficiaries.

- More than 6,500 households living in three communes around the lagoon as indirect beneficiaries.

Outputs

1. Improved awareness of stakeholders (CPC and farmer) on mangrove roles.

2. Establishment of a pilot model of community based mangrove restoration and conservation linking with sustainable livelihood improvement.

3. Creation of a process for mangrove allocation by DPC to the community/village. 

Accomplishments and challenges

• Increase in awareness levels was not restricted only to MCC members but also for local authorities. Nui Thanh District People's Committee initiated the mobilization of other funding resources to replant mangroves inthe district. In November 2012, a large project to plant 60.94 ha of mangroves in Nui Thanh District, including 44.89 ha in Tam Giang Commune, was approved with a budget of around US$150,000. This reflected the positive impacts towards local government's commitment in development and protection of the mangrove area around An Hoa lagoon.

Challenges: 

• The pilot mangrove-based crab culture models were not successful as all juvenile crabs died one month after being released. The causes are as follows:

1. The CPC delayed allowing 10 households to establish crab culture models in the mangrove areas because they wanted to check that these areas were not under dispute among households. This contributed to the failure of the crab culture because the crab seeds were dispersed in April when the water temperature was too high for survival.

2. The juvenile crabs were too small and there was a lack of technical support from HUAF due to distant project management. The grantee relied too much on the experience and knowledge of the local community. The project should have had more consultations with aquaculture experts before operating a crab culture model.

3.  According to local households, the absence of a flood season during this year caused scarcity of natural juvenile crabs. Thus, they were ultimately bought from another province, reducing their average survival rate.

Contributions to cross-cutting themes

- Gender equality

- Communications

- Climate change

Lessons Learned

• Based on lessons drawn from the cab model's failure, it was necessary to conduct a detailed ex-ante situation analysis and receive consensus from all stakeholders (authorities, communities) before implementing the project.

• The grantee should have focused more on technical issues, taking seasonal factors into consideration and incorporate regular monitoring.

• Capacity of the grantees, such as the expertise required for project, should be carefully assessed before project implementation. 

• The NCB should provide grants to locally-based organizations for better monitoring and management.