Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) have been officially established throughout the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) as a community fisheries management strategy over the past 25 years. However, to-date there has not been a formally reported tally of the FCZs in the country. To address this gap, we aimed to produce a status update of existing FCZs in Lao PDR based on the results of two workshops with FCZ practitioners, as well as an effort by the Lao Department of Livestock and Fisheries (DLF) to produce an FCZ inventory.
This report synthesizes the results of two government workshops on FCZs held in 2017, along with input from the Lao Department of Livestock and Fisheries. The most up-to-date tally is 1,677 FCZs in Lao PDR, which includes 1,313 FCZs that are formally recognized by the government, and 364 unofficial FCZs that are managed solely by communities. This represents a minimum number of established FCZs, as additional unofficial FCZs likely exist but have not been reported. It is important to note that not all of these FCZs may currently be functional or active, and instead may exist in name only.