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KOFAP - Korea FAO Sustainable and Innovative Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme

Tools for the Guidebook for evaluating fisheries co-management effectiveness

Task 1.5: Carry out a stakeholder analysis

Stakeholders in the fisheries co-management system are identified to ensure that they are informed about the evaluation and participate in it. The identification of stakeholders is undertaken using a stakeholder analysis. A stakeholder is an individual, a group or an organization that influences, or is otherwise interested, involved or affected by a particular fisheries co-management system. This can include, for example, fishers, women fish buyers, youth, government fisheries managers, boat owners, co-management organizations and others. The stakeholder analysis can identify economic, social and political power structures that may impact the evaluation.

What is a stakeholder analysis?

Stakeholder analysis is a tool for identifying the needs and concerns of different stakeholders. The purpose of a stakeholder analysis in co-management is to identify who the key stakeholders are, and then determine how their interests should be addressed in the co-management system and plan. These different stakeholders all have their own demands and interests, and determining how those different interests will be balanced is a key part of stakeholder analysis. Stakeholder analysis can be a useful tool for: gaining understanding and building consensus; communicating the benefits of a proposed project; and building strong, inclusive campaigns that involve the public.

Source: FAO. 2008. Stakeholder analysis. Food security information for action. Practical guides. Rome.

Suggestions
  • Stakeholders may be part of the participatory evaluation process, so care has to be taken not to bias the analyses.
  • Power relationships may be revealed and need to be managed, especially if there are pronounced differences in the power of different stakeholder groups.
  • Tools to acknowledge and include indigenous people’s culture, local elites, women, the poor and vulnerable, etc. also apply to this task.
Resources

  1. Biskupek, A. (2016). The research of stakeholder power impact on project implementation. Trends Economics and Management, 10(27), 9–19.
  2. Brown, G., Strickland-Munro, J., Kobryn, H. & Moore, S. A. (2016). Stakeholder analysis for marine conservation planning using public participation GIS. Applied Geography, 67, 77–93.
  3. Brugha, R. & Varvasovszky, Z. (2000). Stakeholder analysis: a review. Health Policy and Planning, 15(3), 239–247.
  4. FAO & UNDP (2020). Toolkit for value chain analysis and market development integrating climate resilience and gender responsiveness – Integrating agriculture in National Adaptation Plans (NAP-Ag) Programme. Bangkok: FAO.
  5. Grimble, R. & Chan, M. K. (1995). Stakeholder analysis for natural resource management in developing countries. Natural Resources Forum, 19(2), 113–124.
  6. International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (1998). Participatory methods in community-based coastal resource management. Three volumes. Silang, Cavite, The Philippines: International Institute of Rural Reconstruction.
  7. Prell, C., Hubacek, K. & Reed, M. (2009). Stakeholder analysis and social network analysis in natural resource management. Society and Natural Resources, 22(6), 501–518.
  8. Rockloff, S. F. & Lockie, S. (2004). Participatory tools for coastal zone management: Use of stakeholder analysis and social mapping in Australia. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 10(1), 81–92.
  9. SEAFDEC (Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre) (2020). Practical guide for gender analysis in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in Southeast Asia. Bangkok, Thailand: SEAFDEC. 64 pp.
  10. Smith, H. (2022). A methodological guide for mapping women's small-scale fishery organizations to assess their capacities and needs – A handbook in support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication. Rome: FAO.
  11. Vogler, D., Macey, S. & Sigouin, A. (2017). Stakeholder analysis in environmental and conservation planning. Lessons in Conservation, 7(7), 5–16.