Untitled - Neccdep.com

TRINCOMALEE BAY SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA Page | 52
appropriate, should play a key role in the process and the community should be included in
the decision making process. DFAD has also suggested that the introduction of seaweed
farming is important as a potential new income source for the fishing communities.
226. The lack of an ice plant at Muthur is a key issue which prevents the storage of fish
and requires that the daily catch is sold to traders at low prices before they spoil.
227. Fishers associations are in operation in Kinniya, Muthur, China bay and Town DS
divisions but leadership and management skills are very weak. Fishers associations in
Kinniya and Muthur have formed two unions to enhance the management process but
leadership and management skills of office bearers still need to be strengthened.
6. Poor institutional mechanism
228. The present institutional mechanism for management of the SAM Plan area is the
District SAM CCC headed by the District Secretary and is supported by NECCDEP. The
Natural Resources Planner of NECCDEP acts as the convener of the DSAM CCC. There are
two significant constraints to effective operations of the DSAM CCC. The first is the lack of
community participation and representation as required by the CCD. The second is the lack
of representation by key state agencies. Some state agencies are represented by junior
officers who cannot provide active participation in the decision making process. Hence it is
necessary to build up more effective DSAM CCC by including local heads of relevant state
agencies, all relevant Divisional Secretaries and community representatives from all DS
Divisions.
229. The lack of coordination amongst state agencies is a major constraint to the effective
protection of natural resources. If state agencies coordinate and work as a team, then they
can reduce the negative impact of limited human, financial and other resources. Divisional
Secretary- Thampalagamam, Officers of DFAD and Forest Department raised this as an
important issue. Hence the Trincomalee DSAM CCC should play a coordinating and
monitoring role in delivery of the SAM Plan.
7. Destruction of natural habitats – forests, mangroves
230. This destruction largely reflects weak law enforcement processes and encroachment
because of lack of a clear demarcation of set back boundaries. In addition the communities
are unaware that they have a vested interest in preventing encroachment. Bringing
communities into the management process should ensure community understanding of the
adverse consequence of the destruction of natural habitats and consequent active
participation in the management process. The result of such participation should be to make
illegal activities socially unacceptable.
231. In the field visits, it was note noted that security officers do not have the resources to
control the illegal cutting of mangroves / forests and the transport of poles and fuel wood. It
should be possible to control such activities by raising awareness concerning these issues,
providing alternatives and getting key stakeholders to realise that it is in their interests to
prevent such illegal activities and to use the alternatives. Figure V.1 illustrates two causes for
mangrove loss in Kinniya.