Seas and Coasts
Thailand’s seas are deteriorating year by year because of overfishing and climate change, while small-scale fishers bear the greatest impact. We support coastal communities to manage marine resources themselves through Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA), alongside an economy that supports conservation.
Translated from Thai · reviewed by the CF team
The sea can truly recover when the people who live with it every day have the power to make decisions and benefit from caring for it themselves.
A sea under growing strain
Climate change, marine pollution and overfishing have caused Thailand’s marine resources to deteriorate continuously, with the greatest impact on small-scale fishing communities. Over the past ten years, the average catch per small-scale fishing boat has fallen sharply, from around 13 tonnes per boat in 2015 to just 3-5 tonnes per boat in 2021, undermining both ecological sustainability and livelihood security. In addition to ecological pressures, small-scale fishers face structural economic constraints, including limited access to markets and weak bargaining power over prices. These constraints push them to catch more fish to survive, adding further pressure to already fragile marine ecosystems.
Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA)
A “Locally Managed Marine Area” (LMMA) is an area of sea or coastline where local communities play the leading role in managing and protecting resources, often working with government agencies or support organisations through participatory decision-making. Community members set and enforce their own rules, such as no-take zones, seasonal fishing closures or restrictions on fishing gear, drawing on both local wisdom and scientific data. This approach emphasises community ownership and stewardship rather than relying solely on centralised control. It is widely recognised as an effective mechanism for community-based marine conservation and sustainable coastal development.
From conservation to an economy that supports it
Marine conservation can be sustainable only when it is linked to the livelihood security of people who live with the sea. We therefore support communities to develop economic activities that reduce pressure on resources, alongside financial mechanisms that channel income from those activities back into conservation. This means marine restoration is not a burden that communities must bear alone, but part of a system that can sustain itself over the long term.
Small-scale fishing communities along Thailand’s coastline, particularly on the Andaman coast and in the lower Gulf of Thailand, which depend on marine resources as their main source of livelihood. The work began in four southern coastal provinces: Satun, Songkhla, Phatthalung and Nakhon Si Thammarat, covering both open sea areas and the Songkhla Lake ecosystem.
- 01 Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA)—Support communities to map resources by hand, define conservation area boundaries, establish management committees and set shared rules for resource use. At the same time, promote the development of standard criteria accepted by government agencies and applicable for nationwide expansion.
- 02 A resource-based economy that supports conservation—Work together to design community enterprises that reduce pressure on resources, such as fish processing, ecotourism and fishing gear cooperatives, and establish mechanisms for part of the profits to flow back into community conservation funds.
Sea Guardians
A project is how we act on an Issue. Every progress update from the field is on the project’s own page.
Progress that matters for the whole Issue
Not every update: the ones we think change the overall picture for this Issue
How can we
help you?
Choose the question that fits your role. Answers are summarised from our own records of the work, and you can talk to the CF team from any card.
What change does this work create, and how do you know it is effective?
In the first year, LMMA committees were established in 15 communities, covering 24,987.25 rai, and 6 MOUs were signed, but the monitoring data are still too limited to confirm ecosystem recovery.
This work aims to enable small-scale fishing communities to play a role in managing marine resources themselves, while linking conservation with livelihood security, using LMMA and collecting monitoring data to inform decisions. This Issue In Sea Guardians’ first year, 15 communities established LMMA management committees covering 24,987.25 rai and signed 6 MOUs covering 58 agencies. UpdatePublication of the first-year Sea Guardians Impact Report 2024-2025 The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources adopted the 19 LMMA assessment criteria as a basis for developing national standards. UpdateDepartment of Marine and Coastal Resources adopts 19 LMMA assessment criteria for development into a national standard
- Sea Guardians We monitored the species, quantity and weight of aquatic animals, with communities collecting data before and after implementation. UpdateSetting up a community-based fisheries data monitoring system and collecting baseline data before management begins However, the first-year data covered only 2 data-collection periods, and the follow-up period was too short to confirm ecosystem recovery with statistical significance. ProjectSea Guardians The lesson is to develop consistent data-collection methods and monitor across multiple seasons for several consecutive years before drawing conclusions about trends in ecological outcomes. UpdateFirst-year lessons: Uneven understanding of LMMA and overlapping government mandates are the biggest challenges
How was this work carried out, and what lessons can be applied going forward?
We use LMMA, with communities defining boundaries and rules and monitoring data themselves, alongside collaboration with the state and community enterprises. The lesson is to adapt the approach to the context and develop long-term data collection.
Sea Guardians brings community-based area management, collaboration with government agencies and academic partners, the community economy, and scientific data together in a single cycle. ProjectSea Guardians
- Sea Guardians When establishing an LMMA, we support communities to map resources, define boundaries, set up committees, and jointly establish rules for resource use. ProjectSea Guardians Collaboration with government agencies and academic partners uses MOUs to define roles and connect community rules with support from agencies. ProjectSea Guardians On the economic side, TSWA and ChangeFusion listen to community needs and develop business models based on local resources, with part of the profits allocated to support conservation work. UpdateLaunching the community economy pillar: TSWA and ChangeFusion provide seed funding to 7 communities to develop resource-based businesses Monitoring starts with baseline data on species and the weight of aquatic animals, then collects data again for comparison. UpdateSetting up a community-based fisheries data monitoring system and collecting baseline data before management begins
Lessons from the first year include inconsistent understanding of LMMA and enforcement of its rules, some overlap in government agencies’ roles and responsibilities, and the need for community enterprises to develop their marketing and financial capabilities. UpdateFirst-year lessons: Uneven understanding of LMMA and overlapping government mandates are the biggest challenges In addition, just 1 year of monitoring data is not enough to establish reliable trends, so plans include collecting data across multiple seasons and developing a field manual. UpdateFirst-year lessons: Uneven understanding of LMMA and overlapping government mandates are the biggest challenges UpdatePlanning for year 2: expanding from 15 to 30 communities, focusing on unresolved issues from the first year
What kinds of areas is this approach suitable for, and what is needed to get started in our area?
This approach is suited to coastal fishing communities that are ready to organise and depend on marine resources. It starts with mapping, setting boundaries and rules, forming a committee, and collecting baseline data.
This approach focuses on working with small-scale fishing communities that depend on marine resources for their livelihoods, starting in the southern Andaman coast, the lower Gulf of Thailand, and the Songkhla Lake ecosystem. This Issue Sea Guardians’ pilot areas are in Satun, Songkhla, Phatthalung, and Nakhon Si Thammarat, covering both open sea and Songkhla Lake. The selection takes into account communities’ readiness to organise and ecological diversity. UpdateBeginning work with the first 15 communities in 4 southern coastal provinces
- Sea Guardians The starting point in each area is for communities to map resources, define LMMA boundaries, form a committee, and establish shared rules for resource use. ProjectSea Guardians There should be a system for monitoring data that communities can collect, such as species and the weight of aquatic animals, to inform management. UpdateSetting up a community-based fisheries data monitoring system and collecting baseline data before management begins The work also involves government agencies and academic partners through MOUs to define shared roles and strengthen community rules by linking them with local plans and support. ProjectSea Guardians To link conservation with livelihoods, communities can jointly design enterprises that reduce pressure on resources and include a mechanism to return part of the profits to conservation work. This Issue
What methods or tools can we start using right away?
You can start by mapping resources together, setting boundaries and rules, establishing a committee, organising patrol teams, and periodically collecting fisheries data.
A tool communities can use right away is hand-drawn resource mapping to define the boundaries of the area they manage and discuss rules for sharing the use of resources. ProjectSea Guardians They can then establish a management committee and set measures suited to the area, such as no-take zones, seasonal fishing closures, or restrictions on types of fishing gear. This Issue
- Sea Guardians Communities can set up volunteer patrol teams and record fisheries data themselves. ProjectSea Guardians An example of the project’s data collection system is to record species, quantities and weights of aquatic animals, and select key species for long-term monitoring. UpdateSetting up a community-based fisheries data monitoring system and collecting baseline data before management begins The Khon Khlan case shows how volunteer patrols can be strengthened through training, alongside a more concrete monitoring system. UpdateBan Boe: Khon Khlan upgrades its traditional small-scale fishing boundary to an officially recognised LMMA In areas where the management boundaries involve several communities, they can map the area and agree on ways to coordinate while retaining each community’s own management system.
How does this work connect to systemic issues, and what kind of collaboration is needed?
This work links the degradation of natural resources with fishers’ income and bargaining power, so it requires collaboration on law, science, funding and markets.
Marine resources are being degraded by climate change, pollution and overfishing. At the same time, small-scale fishers face constraints in accessing markets and having bargaining power, which may increase pressure to catch more aquatic animals. This Issue The first-year lessons from Sea Guardians also found overlapping mandates among government agencies, a need for community enterprises to develop their markets and governance, and short-term monitoring data. UpdateFirst-year lessons: Uneven understanding of LMMA and overlapping government mandates are the biggest challenges
- Sea Guardians We see collaboration as part of addressing the problem at a systemic level, not simply as a way to provide funding. This requires linking community area management with government recognition and plans. ProjectSea Guardians This work seeks government agencies to jointly design a mechanism for recognising community-managed areas; organisations and academics in marine science to help develop data-monitoring systems; funding partners interested in economic mechanisms that link income with conservation; and private-sector partners or market channels that can help community products and services reach consumers. This Issue Lessons about overlapping mandates led to a plan to establish area-level LMMA working groups with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and the Department of Fisheries. UpdatePlanning for year 2: expanding from 15 to 30 communities, focusing on unresolved issues from the first year
Expanding Locally Managed Marine Areas to cover more of Thailand’s coastline requires a wider range of partners, not just funding.
- Government agencies ready to co-design mechanisms to give community-managed areas clear legal status and enable them to be scaled up nationwide
- Marine science organisations and academics to work together on developing ecological monitoring systems that communities can use in practice
- Funding partners interested in supporting resource-based economic mechanisms that link community income with long-term conservation
- Private sector partners and market channels to help coastal community products and services reach a wider range of consumers