In Cambodia's Tonle Sap floodplains, where fisheries, farms and irrigation share the same water, WorldFish and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) have trained local officials and community groups to manage the Boeng Ream Community Fish Refuge (CFR) in Santuk District, Kampong Thom Province, WorldFish reported.
The community development planning training, organised in August 2026 with the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries under CGIAR's Scaling for Impact programme and Asian Mega Deltas initiative, responded to a 2025 needs assessment that found planning a priority gap. Its 23 participants, 9 of them women, came from the District Technical Working Group, district and commune authorities, village leadership, technical offices and community organisations.
Participants practised community needs assessment, stakeholder engagement, participatory planning, leadership, accountability, action planning and monitoring, applying them to the real task of carrying out the refuge's existing management plan. They also looked at how community priorities can be fed into Commune Development Plans and Commune Investment Programs.
"Around Boeng Ream CFR, fisheries, agriculture and water management are closely connected, so stronger skills in consultation, coordination and planning will help us work more effectively with the community and local authorities to protect fish resources and support local livelihoods," said Chan Hok, deputy chief of the Santuk District agriculture office.
The group agreed follow-up steps: continued consultation with villagers, closer coordination, building community priorities into local plans and better monitoring and reporting.
Photo: Anandajoti / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: WorldFish
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