Institutional innovations in fisheries co-management

The SFLP approach to co-management was based on embedding the need for fisheries management in a wider development context, recognising that collective-action institutions for resource management could also be used to mobilize finance and services in support of other aspects of peoples' lives besides resource management. The SFLP implemented two subregional pilot projects on fisheries co-management, one in inland waters (Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali and Ghana) and one in the marine coastal area (Congo, Gabon, Guinea and Mauritania). This chapter gives an account of the experience from these activities. It explains the SFLP approach to co-management, incorporating broader development functions and giving priority to an enabling legal framework and appropriate institutions, and shows how co-management can be effective and sustainable in the context of poverty. The chapter begins with a brief overview of the two Pilot Projects. This is followed by an analysis of the role of policy and legal frameworks related to fisheries co-management. The SFLP experience of building effective institutions and linkages for co-management is presented next, followed by discussions on participation and incentives in the poverty context. The chapter ends with a summary of lessons learned for the design of future co-management programmes.