Poor landless fishers in Bangladesh have benefited significantly from major reforms in the governance of inland water bodies. Inland fisheries are critically important for food security and livelihoods, but access to lakes by poor, landless fishers is problematic. Wealthy people tend to dominate annual leasing arrangements, leaving poorer members of the community to work as share catchers with minimal reward. Lack of secure access to both lakes and shores means that poor people have little incentive to invest in protecting the lakes. This leads to increasingly poor catches, which then have a negative effect on local livelihoods.

During the past 14 years, with the support of the IFAD-funded Oxbow Lakes Small-Scale Fishermen Project, the situation has improved significantly. Long-term lease arrangements for public lakes and shores have been introduced and fisher groups now have a more active role in resource management. As a further measure to protect poor people, membership of the groups is limited to those living below a set poverty line. These reforms have gradually encouraged the fishers to invest in the lakes, resulting in improved productivity and infrastructure, better fish stock levels, and higher incomes for fishers. Women in particular have benefited from reforms that give them full access to fish resources in ponds.

The case study demonstrates how reforms in leasing practices, combined with the legal establishment of fisher organizations and the empowerment of these groups to sustainably manage their resources, can lead to broad benefits for both poor communities and the government.

Source: IFAD