The aim of this workshop was to formulate an approach which would enable participants to start detailed work on a process monitoring system, building on current activities and using already existing skills in Cambodia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Objectives were to familiarise participants with recent developments in process monitoring and significant change, and to develop an action plan for each country and a set of guiding principles for a monitoring system to underpin work in all countries.

This is the report of the First Regional STREAM Regional Conference, held 19-21 June 2002 in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference was the first opportunity for participants in the STREAM Initiative, launched on 1 December 2001, to come together to discuss the programme. The conference discussed the main activities of STREAM, ways of working, communications strategies, feedback from participating countries and issues to follow up.

The “Rural Aquaculture Service Recipients and Implementers Workshop” was held from 9-10 May 2002 in Ranchi, Jharkand. It was among the first activities of the DFID NRSP Research Project R8100 entitled “Investigating Improved Policy on Aquaculture Service Provision to Poor People”. The workshop provided the first opportunity for feedback on the project design from people who live and work in tribal communities in the three states of Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal.

This study examines the development of the Community Fisheries Sub-Decree. From its promulgation in late 2000 through its draft form in June 2002, this sub-decree has gone through over 25 drafts. Initially, the writing process involved the public intimately: community meetings were conducted, NGOs contributed their knowledge and expertise, and then, with these consultations in mind, the newly-formed Community Fisheries Development Office (CFDO) in the Department of Fisheries (DoF) drafted the sub-decree.

This document is the Inception Report of the DFID NRSP Research Project R8100 (March 2002 – May 2003), managed by the NACA. The purpose of the project is to identify, test and promote mechanisms for the delivery of improved rural services critical to the development of rural livelihoods, with emphasis on services in support of aquaculture objectives, strengths and constraints of marginalised groups and their complex diverse livelihoods. An inception visit was made from 17-24 March 2002.