Despite more than a century of colonial occupation, radical political and administrative change, and more recent motorization of fleets and gear introductions, there remains in Viet Nam a still functioning tradition of local stakeholder organizations (van chai) by which marine fishing communities historically regulated the fishery and ensured mutual assistance for their membership. Such systems remain strong in many coastal communities, especially in the Central and Southern regions, largely because their moral authority and leadership is deeply rooted in and legitimated by traditional religion, expressed in the community 'whale' shrine. In 1963, one such community organization, in Binh Thuan Province of the Central Region, comprehensively documented its traditional regulations to inform future generations. This paper analyzes that document, supplemented and complemented by information from seven other marine fisheries van chai in the Central and Southern regions.

Fisheries experts now recognize that resource conflicts can be diminished and resources better managed when fishers and other resource stakeholders are more involved in management, and access rights are distributed more effectively and equitably. There is an increasing commitment by governments in Southeast Asia to policies and programs of decentralization and community-based management and co-management. The planning and implementation of these management systems will require the development of new legal, administrative and institutional arrangements at both national and community levels to complement contemporary political, economic, social and cultural structures.

This article presents the traditional knowledge of an ethnic group of sea nomads generally known in Thailand as Chao Lay. The Moken once led a nomadic marine life. They have developed their traditional knowledge and belief system over several centuries. This practical knowledge has been obtained through interaction with local ecosystems and from observation and experimentation in everyday life. The Moken have intimate knowledge relating to the sea and the forest, and they have elaborated boat-building skills and other technologies that allow them to make their living from the sea, coastal areas, and islands. This traditional knowledge and attendant practices represent a form of natural resources management and conservation. It comprises: 1) knowledge and skills that depend upon simple technologies that have minimal impact on the natural environment and its resources; 2) a nomadic life with frequent displacements that allow the Moken to rotate their foraging grounds and prevent overuse and degradation of specific areas; 3) knowledge about numerous forest and marine species - their characteristics, behaviour, habitats and eco-niches - which enables the Moken to make use of a diversity of local ecosystems; 4) a hunter-gatherer livelihood focusing primarily upon subsistence, with little accumulation of material goods, and finally 5) a philosophy and belief system that holds that natural resources are not individually owned, but rather are to be shared by everyone without restrictions on access.

The thesis seeks to explain the feasibility of the tourism activities proposed by the Andaman Pilot Project (APP) for the Moken living in the Surin Island Marine National Park (SP). The Moken, who are a group of indigenous sea nomads who used to wander around the area in the past, has undergone enormous changes in their life – from sea wandering to permanent settlement in a protected area.

The case study investigation in the Moken village has examined the adaptability of the Moken whether they can cope with a range of changes that take place in the community as a result of tourism on the SP and the implementation of the tourism activities proposed by the APP. In addition, the study has also examined the feasibility of the tourism activities whether they can establish the Moken a sustainable livelihood. This examination has focused on one hand on the institutional constraints that may obstruct the implementation of the tourism activities and on the sustainability of the project on the other.

The Indonesian Government argues that the sea bridges the many islands and different peoples of Indonesia. Politically, this might be appropriate as a means of encouraging people to think that wherever and whoever there are, they are united as Indonesians. However, when this ideology is used for maritime resource management, it creates problems. One issue derives from the fact that people do not think that the Indonesian sea is ‘free for all’ Indonesians. This paper argues that people, however vaguely, talk about ‘we’ and ‘they’ in defining who has the right to a particular fishing ground and who should be excluded. By analyzing conflicts that have taken part in different places in Indonesia, it demonstrates that ethnicity and regionalism have been used as the defining factor of ‘We’ and ‘They.’ In particular contexts, ethnicity and regionalism define whether fishermen can access marine resources. Thus, at the practical level the sea does not unite Indonesians, and it is in fact, ethnicity and regionalism that divides the Indonesian seas.

The marine resource management discourses limits its concern for property rights to their role as instruments of resource management. Through the analysis of a conflict over communal marine tenure at Dullah Laut village in Maluku, Eastern Indonesia, this paper highlights the socio-political and economic values of communal marine tenure. It argues that communal marine tenure in Dullah Laut village is not considered merely as an instrument for controlling marine territory and resources but also as a form of 'political capital'.

The effects of economic development on the exploitation of renewable resources are investigated in settings where property rights are ill-defined or not enforced.This paper explores potential conservation implications from labor and product market developments, such as enhanced transportation infrastructure. A model is developed that predicts individual fish catch per unit effort based on characteristics of individual fishermen and the development status of their villages. The econometric model is estimated using data from across sectional household survey of artisanal coral reeffishermen in Minahasa,Indonesia, taking account of fishermen heterogeneity.Variation across different villages and across fishermen within the villages is used to explore the effects of development.

This paper is to explain a case of change of property right regime of coral reef management: from an open access to state property and then to local governance, a case study of Gili Indah West Lombok, Indonesia. It demonstrates the reasons of the change, the ineffectiveness of state property regime, and the emergence of local governance where conflicts are assumed as the triggering factors. The study found out that conflict of interest between two main stakeholders: tourism business operators (TBOs) and fishermen drove the change process. The conflicts initially emerged after Balai Konservasi Sumberdaya Alam (BKSDA) as the executor of the state property regimes was unable to protect the coral reef ecosystems from destructive fishing practice. It has also failed in halting Muroami application that has triggered lasting conflicts between TBOs and fishermen. The failure of the state property regime has led TBOs to take over the protection tasks through constructing local governance. So far, the local governance has been successful in protecting the coral reef resources and forced the users to use the coral reefs in a sustainable manner.

This paper examines the social and economic characteristics of 21 coastal communities in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, and explores the characteristics of the communities that employ exclusive marine tenure to answer the following questions: Which socioeconomic factors are related to the presence of CMT regimes? How might socioeconomic factors influence the ability of communities to employ or maintain CMT regimes? Distance to market, immigration, dependence on fishing, and conflicts were found to be related to the presence of highly exclusive marine tenure systems. Exploring these relationships will help conservation practitioners better understand how future social changes may influence the foundation of conservation and development projects.

The legal environment within which community-based fisheries management (CBFM) will function should be examined to determine whether it supports or will need necessary enhancement to support the implementation of CBFM. The question as to whether CBFM is legally sustainable must be asked with regard to the whole legal framework of the State – from fundamental laws, such as the constitution, to subsidiary legislation. Amendments to existing legislation or new legislation may be necessary to implement CBFM. There is no blueprint for a CBFM legal framework what number of rights with respect to fish resources should be accorded and what should be the level of participation by the local community. It is important, however, to ensure that the constitutionality of all these aspects is ascertained, and to ensure that enabling legislation for CBFM consider the following issues: security, exclusivity and permanence of rights vested; flexibility of its provisions so as to allow states to exercise choices that reflect their unique needs, conditions and aspirations for CBFM; and the way CBFM harmonizes with the overall fisheries management legal framework. Attaining the right balance in the CBFM legal framework, however, is difficult and depends largely on local circumstances.