CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Livingstone, Olivia Precious |
|---|---|
| Title | Documenting the Achievements and Challenges of Co-management in Practice: a Case Study of the Grand Cape Mount County Co-management Association (GCMCCMA) in Liberia |
| Summary | The environment is changing. This fact has created uncertainties surrounding the best management practice to address these changes and their impacts on natural and human systems. One of the most effective practices proposed is co-management, which involves sharing responsibilities between resource users and governing bodies. Using the case of the Grand Cape Mount County Co-Management Association (GCMCCMA) in Liberia, this research aims to understand what co-management is in practice and what is required for a co-management association (CMA) to transition to an adaptive co-management association (ACMA). The research documents the challenges, achievements, and lessons from the GCMCCMA as a contribution to the limited knowledge repository on co-management experiences. Finally, it provides reforms to transform the GCMCCMA into an ACMA. Lack of coorporation from the central government, finances, and leadership structure are some of the challenges of the GCMCCMA, while the achievements are uniting the fisher-groups through its establishment, conflict resolution, and leading search and rescue mission for fishers. Most of the challenges identified are linked to the establishment of the GCMCCMA. The project was established by the World Bank West African Regional Fisheries Project, which invested significant finances into establishing the CMA and hosting its activities. Now that the project has ended, the communities and the central government cannot sustain the CMA and its activities. The challenges are also linked to a lack of trust and collaboration between significant actors of the GCMCCMA. The research recommends that the CMA and its actors take intentional steps including hosting a reconciliatory meeting, widespread community awareness of the CMA process, and general elections to rejuvenate the CMA and work towards making the GCMCCMA “adaptive” by integrating the four significant elements of ACMA: collaboration, enabling environment, complex social learning, and power asymmetries. |
| Supervisor | Anthony, Brandon |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/livingstone_olivia.pdf |
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