ABSTRACT
This chapter examines various forms of collective action in fisheries resource access and management that have emerged in recent years and links these with the wider context of ongoing reform processes. It considers experiences with community fisheries (CFs) charged with promoting sustainable management of local fisheries resources. The chapter examines two examples of more successful collective action, also within the fisheries sector. The first is of cross-scale action to expand local fishers' access rights, and the second documents stakeholder cooperation for managing local fish refuges in rice-field systems. An action research project initiated in 2009 by WorldFish, the Fisheries Administration (FiA), the Coalition of Cambodian Fishers (CCF) and the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) worked to support the capacity of groups around Tonle Sap Lake to advance sustainable livelihoods. Cambodia's institutions of decentralized democratic governance have introduced significant changes in decision-making over natural resources but still face daunting challenges.
