Mekong WET

Building Resilience of Wetlands in the Lower Mekong Region through a Ramsar Regional Initiative Location: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Viet Nam Duration: 1 January, 2017 - 31 December, 2020 Project Background: Wetlands, such as marshes, rivers, mangroves, coral reefs, and other coastal and inland habitats, have many important functions. They regulate water flows, provide clean water, Read More…

Socio-economic study of fish harvesting and use at Pak Peung wetland…

This project is investigating whether construction of permanently-operating fishways provide quantifiable social, economic and environmental benefits to floodplain wetlands and communities. A baseline survey of fish harvesting and use by villagers was carried out in September 2011 using semi structured interviews with 60 households from 6 villages around the wetland. Another survey interviewed 23 Read More…

Development of fish passage technology to increase fisheries…

Location: Lao PDR Duration: 2010-2015 Project Background: This project sought to primarily develop the first criteria for fish passage developed for Lower Mekong species, as well as understand the extent of current irrigation development and quantify potential social and economic benefits. A series of field-based assessments was devised to specifically answer three research Read More…

Establishing Fish Conservation Zones for endangered Probarbus fishes…

Project Leads: FISHBIO, IUCN Country: Lao PDR The iconic Jullien’s Golden Carp, Probarbus jullieni,and Thicklipped Barb, Probarbus labeamajor are two of the largest freshwater fishes in Southeast Asia, and are both listed as endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Both Probarbus species are under serious long-term decline, likely due to fishers Read More…

Participatory Fisher Survey Pilot Study

Location: Sangthong District, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR Duration: October 2013-January 2014 Project Background: Small-scale artisanal fisheries provide a vital source of food and income for people living in the Mekong River basin. However, the dispersed and diverse nature of these fisheries, as well as the variable abundance and incredible biodiversity of Mekong fishes, present Read More…

Evaluating spillover from Fish Conservation Zones to village fishing…

Project Leads: WWF, FISHBIO Country: Lao PDR Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) are a community-based fishery management strategy that World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has implemented with government support in seven provinces of LAO PDR since 2006. FCZs function as year-round freshwater protected areas, and can be used to protect broodstock and spawning grounds for sustainable fisheries management and Read More…

Nam Kading Aquatic Resources and Sustainable Livelihoods

Project Lead: FISHBIO Country: Lao PDR As part of our program in international conservation and research, FISHBIO is working in central Lao PDR to assess the species diversity, biology, nutritional value, and economic value of fish in a major tributary of the Mekong River. Local villagers have collected much of the data for this project through a participatory approach. We initiated the project Read More…

Development of fish passage criteria for floodplain species of…

Location: Lao PDR Duration: 2008 - 2009 Project Description: This project completed a proof-of-concept study to demonstrate the benefits of fishway construction for floodplain fish species of central Laos. A project team comprising scientists from Australia, and Lao P.D.R (in collaboration with Thailand) completed a series of experiments investigating the potential to use vertical slot Read More…