Assam Sustainable Wetland and Integrated Fisheries Transformation Project

Proposed

The Assam Sustainable Wetland and Integrated Fisheries Transformation (SWIFT) Project aims to enhance community-based management of floodplain wetlands (hereafter referred to as beels, as locally known in Assam) and improve the livelihoods of beel-dependent fisher households across at least 102 beels in the state of Assam. The project will increase income of beel fishermen by enabling price premiums for beel fisheries and diversified income opportunities, while promoting sustainable and inclusive natural resource management. This will be achieved through (i) strengthening regulatory framework for community-based beel management and building institutional capacity for beel health monitoring and governance; (ii) supporting fisheries cooperatives' businesses and their alternative income generating activities to reduce pressure on wetland resources; and (iii) implementing nature-based beel restoration and conservation solutions to enhance beel productivity and biodiversity. Output 1: Institutional capacity and regulatory framework for sustainable beel ecosystem and fisheries management strengthened. The output aims to strengthen the current government system on beel management, particularly the leasing system. It will support the following activities: (i) updating relevant beel management and fishery acts, regulations, and rules for community-based management, and preparing public awareness-raising materials; (ii) preparing rules or guidelines for community-based beel management system, considering various hydrology of wetlands, channels, agro-ecological situations, and with gender equality and women empowerment focus; (iii) providing necessary training program on the community-based beel management system; (iv) preparing a sustainable operational model as a project exit plan; (iv) capacity building and training of the Department of Fisheries (DoF) staff and other allied public institutions, including the state's wetland authority, in latest climate resilient fisheries stocking and conservation techniques, community-based beel management best practices, and use of digital technologies; (v) supporting research and development in beel management and fisheries, including carbon sequestration benefits from beel management, climate change impacts and adaptation measures, seed production and breeding, and ex-situ conservation of endangered species; (vi) strengthening beel community-based institutions; and (vii) operating beel management monitoring system through the development of project information system and beel fisheries knowledge platform, complementing the state wetland authority's wetland notification process.Output 2: Community-based fisheries business developed and beel community income diversified. The project ensures the sustainability of beel community-based institutions by enhancing their financial viability, strengthening women's and marginalized groups' participation in economic activities, and increasing job opportunities. The project will: (i) support the development or strengthening of fisheries cooperatives; (ii) provide capacity building training for these cooperatives, equipping them with entrepreneurial skills in organizational and financial management, as well as in business plan development, branding, marketing, and processing along the value chain; (ii) provide public sector support for the development of community-based fisheries value chain infrastructure, including fish landing sites and local aggregation points/centers; (iii) promote private sector led fisheries commercialization by creating matching grant facilities for hatchery, feed mill, primary processing and other value addition initiatives; and (iv) support other income-generating activities for women's self-help groups through strengthening or revitalizing self-help groups based on their needs assessment.Output 3: Beel conservation and restoration planned and managed. The project addresses habitat loss caused by the loss of connectivity with the adjacent rivers and decreasing water depth, and macrophyte growth that hinders fisheries productivity in beels. The beel conservation and restoration approaches will focus on: (i) beel demarcation; (ii) beel rejuvenation, such as de-weeding and desilting; and (iii) beel's water inflow and outflow control improvement, including desilting, constructing embankments, installing silt traps, building water retaining structures and peripheral bunds, and installing biofilters. Partnership with various national and international knowledge institutions is planned to incorporate nature-based solutions and global best practices.