These guidelines are based on research on Asian river systems funded by the Government of the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. They deal with five basic questions with regard to floodplain fishery resources. 1. Why manage? 2. What to manage? 3. Who should manage? 4. How to manage? 5. Steps to successful management. They also provide checklists of the potential roles of national, catchment-level and local-level stakeholders in the management process.