A rapid appraisal approach to evaluation of community-level fisheries management systems: framework and field application at selected coastal fishing villages in the Philippines and Indonesia

Abstract

Among the recent attempts to use Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) techniques traditionally employed in agriculture and other terrestrial resource systems is in the evaluation of the coastal and marine fisheries environments. One of these approaches is called Rapid Appraisal of Fisheries Management Systems (RAFMS), which was developed at the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM). The RAFMS is a diagnostic tool designed to quickly document and evaluate the operating fisheries management systems, both formally and informally, at the community level. As a critical first step in diagnosing the existing types of community-level fisheries management systems, the RAFMS shall provide general information on their essential features, operations, and impacts. Given limited funds, time, and research personnel, it is not always possible to conduct in-depth studies of community based fisheries resource management systems at a specific site or across a country. While the RAFMS is no substitute for more detailed studies, it can provide cost-effective information, and a research or policy direction for further study. This paper first describes the framework of the RAFMS. It then provides examples of output from RAFMS generated through field applications in the fishing villages of Ulugan Bay and Binunsalian Bay at Palawan Island, the Philippines, and Nolloth Village at Saparua Island, Indonesia. The RAFMS was found useful in generating information for outside experts, local researchers, and residents of the fishing communities. The outputs from the field applications in the Philippines and Indonesia are now being used for various planning, project development, and research purposes.