An Internship report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master Science in Development and Sustainability, School of Enviroment, Resources and Development

Internship Report (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2023

Thailand{u2019}s marine ecosystem is being affected by Abandoned, Lost, or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG), causing resource degradation to affect the economy, mainly the tourism industry generates vast income for Thailand. Nowadays, the Thai government{u2019}s actions against ALDFG are still lax and inattentive, affecting the loss of marine resources increases yearly. Therefore, advocating for a policy to manage ALDFG systematically is urgently needed, and the EJF is now underway on this mission through the Net Free Seas project. The three-year effort in project implementation has had fruitful outcomes. However, improvements are still required to make the method of policy advocacy more effective to accelerate the policy in managing ALDFG in Thailand. In order to find appropriate strategies, it is necessary to understand the current organization{u2019}s efforts, including their challenges and opportunities in advocating for the ALDFG policy in Thailand. A qualitative research method was conducted in this study: First, observing the ALDFG policy advocacy methods during a six-month working at the EJF Thailand and second, interviewing nine staff members to identify their challenges and opportunities in advocating policy to analyze the strategies for improving the better EJF approach to the ALDFG policy in Thailand. The finding showed that the EJF is now advocating the ALDFG policy to the high-level people and the public by demonstrating the first-time evidence from the Net Free Seas project implementation through various methods, including 1) Closed-door Meetings, 2) Guest Speakers, 3) Community Visit, 4) Seminars, 5) showcases & Exhibitions, 6) Workshops, 7) Training & Recovering and using Facebook Fan Page as a primary organization{u2019}s communication channel. Moreover, it was found that EJF{u2019}s work in advocating the ALDFG policy in Thailand faces many challenges involving government agencies and systems, while opportunities often involve other stakeholders. Therefore, Cross-Marketing between the Net Free Seas campaign and the IUU campaign and Cross-Promotional between the Net Free Seas campaign and Partners were recommended to strengthen the EJF{u2019}s policy advocacy approach.