The Communication Used for the Community and the Inter-agencies Participation in the Integrated Management for Sustainable Conservation and Rehabilitation of the Coastal Resources: Case Studies of Malaysian and Thai Fishery Communities

Abstract

The study primarily attempted to 1) identify all the relevant Communication factors that were used and facilitated both within the Fishery Community themselves and also any relevant inter-agencies toward the conservation and rehabilitation of their natural coastal resources; also 2) identify all the Participatory Communication used among them; 3) synthesize the lesson for other similar Fishery Communities. Data were gathered by using questionnaires in the 2 small fishery Communities which were selected purposively as the successful fishery communities under the sustainable framework indicators which was used as the selection criteria. Eighty one samples of Merang from MY fishery community in Trengganu State, and ninety three samples of Bangkhunsai from TH fishery community in Phetchaburi province. The qualitative techniques by means of individual interview, situational observation, and documentary study were used as the tools for data collection. Results from those two fishery communities could be classified into 7 main categories; 1) According to demographic data, it was found that people in both communities have high school education in average. They earned their living on fishery and also lived in their communities for generations. Their average income per month was 5,000 baht; 2) It was also found that approximately 38.3 % of them were Fishery group membership. 3) Regarding their attitudes to wards the natural costal resources, it was found that they all wanted to develop their communities to be more modernized as well as maintain their career as the fisherman; 4) They had got media exposure through neighbor, coffee shop, TV, relatives, and Village chief, respectively. It was found that the Malaysian mainly exposed to media via coffee shop, and within their own Fishery Group while the TH media exposing via the general shop, Village chief, and markets; 5) for the communication strategies, it was found that both communities used informal talk, group discussion, network, and horizontal participation, respectively; 6) for the communication type in MY community were network and participation through top-down pattern via leader, and regulations, while TH community were Group's regulation, participation, network, and committee; 7) for media used, telephone especially mobile phone, and the round table talk or discussion were mostly used in MY community while the Community tower was mainly used in TH community. The results from the 2 communities revealed the main key factors led to the success story of these 2 fishery communities were Intra-personal communication which reflected their positive attitude, and commitment to their communities and also their natural coastal resources. This intra-personal communication also had positive relation to their communication strategies, communication type, and media used. The informal communication strategies were such as the informal talk, group discussion, network, and participation. The informal media used as their main tool for their interpersonal communication were which are telephone and roundtable talk. But for TH Community, the traditional local media the community tower, was still being used: The informal communication via the horizontal participatory network among their group's members, neighbors, and relatives under their own cultural context was the key communication strategy for their participatory activities to sustain, conserve, protect and rehabilitate successfully in their own natural coastal resources.