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In 2003 the Fisheries Action Coalition Network (FACT), a Cambodian NGO coalition established in 2000 by a group of NGO members working on the fisheries and environmental issues around the Tonle Sap Lake, started to develop a database to document information relating to Tonle Sap funded by Oxfam America. The project developed a CD-based database which held reports and metadata on newspaper articles relating to Tonle Sap Diverse agencies and organiz ations, ranging from community organizations and NGOs to government agencies, bilateral donors and multilateral banks, are presently implementing projects that are defining the development direction of Tonle Sap Lake both now and for the future. Accessible, relevant, credible and timely data that informs policy development is critical for these organizations to pursue an effective and coordinated agenda. The Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT) works directly with many small-scale fishing communities and provincially-based NGOs around Tonle Sap Lake. Information of critical relevance to policy makers and decision makers are therefore available through these networks originating directly from the experiences of communities living around the Lake.
Experience has demonstrated that it can be difficult for communities around Tonle Sap Lake to transmit effectively their viewpoints to the appropriate decision makers. The Tonle Sap Community Database (TSCD) project aims to act as a conduit for information dissemination from communities to government agencies, local authorities, donors, and NGOs, achieved via this web site, as well as via other channels of communication. Vice versa, the project will facilitate disseminate of information to fisher communities on policies and decisions that will affect their livelihoods. The aim of the TSCD is to enable local authorities, government agencies, NGOs, and donors to be increasingly responsive and involved in fisheries and aquatic resource management, and livelihood issues and the concerns of small-scale fishers around Tonle Sap Lake.
A variety of sources contributed towards the information contained in this database:
- Document contributed by NGOs, international organizations, and government agencies ( see acknowledgements and disclaimer )
- Local NGOs that work directly with fishing communities around Tonle Sap Lake
- Fishers themselves via the Key Fishers Monitoring Network publications
- FACT publications and regular newsletters
- English and Khmer language newspapers published in Cambodia
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