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Briefing Paper
Twenty Years of Tholathi Island—Factors in the Success of the Fish Conservation Area
Yuka Kiguchi, Mekong Watch
Tholathi Village (Island) in Khong District of the southern Laotian province ofChampasak is along the part of the Mekong River known as Siphandon (meaning 4,000 islands),
which has an abundant fishery. Over the past 20 years, the villagers have been maintaining a fish
conservation area there. According to the island’s residents, by establishing the fish conservation
zone they have been able to maintain favorable fishing conditions in the village’s vicinity up to thepresent time. No continuous quantitative measurements have been conducted in the area applying
scientific methods to corroborate the villagers’ claims, but because the villagers have taken theinitiative over the long term to maintain the fish conservation area and because it has beenpossible for the fishing industry to continue, it is considered to have, in fact, been effective atpreserving the resources.i Here, using observations and interviews with local people, we examine
the reasons for the effectiveness of the conservation zone.

Fig. 1: The Siphandon region (composed from a Google Earth map).

Tholathi Village
Location: near the Cambodian border in Khong District, Champasak Province, Laos. The village(island) is said to have a history of more than 200 years.
Population (July 2014): 93 households, 576 people (of which 304 were female).
Occupations: farming, fishing, handicrafts (thep kao: wooden boxes for glutinous rice). Fifteen of
the households are self-sufficient in rice throughout the year, but the rest rely on income fromfishing or other sources to purchase rice. Recently, 30 to 40% of the villagers have left for Thailandtemporarily as migrant workers.
Nutrition: Glutinous rice is the staple food. Side dishes consist mainly of fish. Meat is consumed
about once or twice a month.
How the Conservation Area Came About

This conservation area was created in 1995. When fish conservation zones were being
established throughout the Siphandon region with the support of the Lao Community Fisheries
and Dolphin Protection Project (LCFDPP)ii the village agreed for a deep pool in the river to theeast of the island to become a conservation area. From the twelfth month to the seventh on thelunar calendar (approximately November June), corresponding to the dry season, fishing or theemplacement of fishing gear is prohibited in this area, and violators are fined. During the rainyseason, the water level rises and the rate of flow increases, making it impossible to fish in this pool,so in essence, the area is closed to fishing year round.
The current head of both villages, Mr. N, and the former head, Mr. P, say that 20 years ago,
an incident occurred in which residents from another area engaged in reckless fishing andtransporting of Pa Kwang (Bosemania microlepis), a kind of fish that lived there. It was about thetime when the village leaders began to be concerned about extirpation of the Pa Kwang that thegovernment informed them about a project being launched to establish conservation zones. The
leaders consulted with the villagers, and decided to create a conservation area, called Wan Saguan(“protected pool”), encompassing the pool and its surroundings to the east of the village, including
places where the Pa Kwang spawnediii and lived, and the government approved this. The project
involved execution of a ceremony called Buwat Wang (“Pool Priest”)iv. The villagers have theimpression that fish numbers began increasing about three years after the conservation area wasestablished. Moreover, several fish species that temporarily went missing, such as Pa Un(Probarbus spp.) have returned recently.
Participation by the village’s younger generation and children in the village’s seasonal
festivals and assisting the Buddhist priests, and the solidarity of the community could beascertained from interviews as well. The influence of the conservation area is becoming morepervasive among the villagers. The conservation area is within view of the village, so it is in a good
location for monitoring by the villagers (see Fig. 2).

Fig. 2: The Tholathi Island conservation area (composed from Google Earth map).

Geographical and Social Characteristics of the Conservation Area
The conservation area consists of a pool where large fish congregate, but there were otherreasons for the villagers to choose that place. Downstream from the village spreads a type ofinundated forest called pa khai, meaning “forest of khai shrubs.” The pa khai can be seen in Fig. 2,which shows a thin line of greenery extending along the island’s southeastern side. Some fish
species feed on the khai shrub’s flowers, and it has been confirmed as place where fish hide when it
is inundated.
According to the villagers, fish find that inundated forests like this make good habitat,
and they are also known to provide spawning grounds for some fish. The conservation area
includes pa khai, and there is a broad band of pa khai downstream from it.

Fig. 3: Khai shrubs.
It is also said that the island’s name, Tholathi, derives from the name of a legendary hero,Tholapee. Once upon a time, it is said, the water buffalo king lived in this area. Because it had
been foretold that he would be killed by his son, he had any male calf that was born killed. Once,one of the buffaloes, fearing that her calf would be killed, gave birth while hiding in a cave so thatthe king could not see it. She bore a male calf named Tholapee who, after many trials, grew up tooverthrow the king. It is believed that the cave in the story exists in the conservation area’s deeppool. Also, spirits are believed to reside in the forest adjacent to the pool, called “Mahesak,” whichis considered sacred. The people were originally awed by the forest, and did not fish very much inthe vicinity of the conservation area.
Reasons for the Conservation Area’s Success
There are three reasons for thinking the conservation area can be maintained andconserve resources sustainably. The first is its environmental situation, with a spawning areaand safe places for growing fry in and around the conservation area, which gives it an effective
protective function. Many conservation areas on the lower reaches of the Mekong River have been
established at deep pools, where their effectiveness is anticipated in reducing fishing pressure on
the fish that gather in deep pools during the dry season. In the case of Tholathi Island, theconservation also includes spawning grounds of many fish, including the Pa Kwang. Furthermore,
the inundated forest called pa khai downstream from the conservation area is also seen as
important to the environment and the fish’s habitation.
The second reason is that the animistic beliefs and folklore of the villagers limit theirfishing activities. Because of this, the people fear divine consequences for infractions, and stronger
criticism of violators has been observed in the village than would normally be seen towards people
simply breaking conservation area rules.
The third reason is that it was established as an official conservation area withrecognition from the national government, so the means to restrict violations by people fromoutside the village are available. Animistic beliefs and folklore provide control over the behavior ofthe villagers living there, but in many cases, visitors from outside have no consideration for this.
By establishing the place as an official conservation area, it provided the village the ability toeffectively restrict access from outsiders.
These three factors are surmised to have a synergistic effect, increasing thesuccessfulness of conservation. The success of the Tholathi Island conservation area is thought toarise from the combination of environmental factors and social factors. To achieve sustainable
management of fish conservation areas in the Mekong Basin, not only is natural scientificknowledge important; the religious beliefs and tales shared within each community need to be put
to good use.

References
Baird, I. G. 2001. Towards sustainable co-management of Mekong River inland aquatic resources,including fisheries, in Southern Lao PDR. Pages 89–111 in G. Daconto (eds.),
Siphandone wetlands. CESVI Cooperation and Development, Bergamo, Italy.
Baird, I. G., B. Phylavanh, B. Vongsenesouk, and K. Xaiyamanivong. 2001. The ecology andconservation of the smallscale croaker Boesemania microlepis (Bleeker 1858-59) in the mainstreamMekong River, Southern Laos. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 49:161–176.

One village near Tholathi that also has the same kind of conservation area has suffered fromdecreasing fish, causing many villagers abandon the fishery.
ii More details on the Siphandon region can be found in Baird (2001) among the references.
iii The Pa Kwang produce sounds during their breeding season, so they are known as a “vocalizing fish.”
There are places in the pool where the Pa Kwang sing during March through May of the lunar calendar,
indicating that this is a spawning site.
iv Buddhist ceremonies are conducted for trees or places to recognize their consecration as “priests” in a
religious procedure originating in Thailand as part of conservation activities. In Thailand, Laos andCambodia, where there are many Buddhists, harming a priest is regarded as a serious religious offense,so there is psychological resistance among would-be despoilers to cutting down consecrated trees ordestroying holy sites, and social criticism of such behavior is apt to be higher. Also, holding these
ceremonies provides a way of promoting knowledge of the sites and objects of conservation to people inthe surrounding area.
i