Towards sustainable lake ecosystem-based management-lessons learned from interdisciplinary research of cage aquaculture management in Lake Maninjau (original) (raw)
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Environmental Governance in Indonesia, 2023
Understanding appropriate governance arrangements for managing cage aquaculture systems in tropical lakes is essential, yet it is still overlooked by current studies. Here we discuss the lessons obtained from our interdisciplinary research (environmental–social science, ecology, and ecological economics) evaluating cage aquaculture management scenarios with the aim of facilitating sustainable cage aquaculture management in Lake Maninjau, Indonesia. The lessons we present are based on our analysis of why current management fails to achieve its goals of reduced cage aquaculture and improved water quality in the lake, despite the pres- ence of formal regulations for reaching these goals. The importance of understand- ing the social, ecological, and economic dimensions in designing management actions is highlighted. We discuss how our research framework embraces method- ological and epistemological differences between natural and social scientists to improve research integration and how it supports an adaptive research approach to studying (interventions in) complex ecosystems. We compare the relative advan- tages of our framework with well-established interdisciplinary conceptual and research frameworks revealing that it fulflls pertinent knowledge gaps through detailing the process of discipline integration, embracing epistemological plural- ism, and explicitly including the quantifcation of ecosystem-services trade-offs, uncertainties, and risks in the decision-making process. Finally, we use the lessons from applying our framework to propose a more integrated management action plan in the lake. We expect that the lessons in this research can be widely applied to other cage aquaculture management case studies and contribute to the development of inland water ecosystem management in Indonesia and other Global South Countries.
Ecosystems & People, 2021
The environmental condition of Lake Maninjau, a complex tropical system in Indonesia, has been suffering from the proliferation of tilapia cage culture practices. The area around the lake is inhabited by the Minangese ethnic group, which has strong customary laws and clan system. Applying the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework and based on face-to-face semi-structured interviews, this paper aims to understand the challenges for the development of environmentally sustainable cage culture farming. Our institutional analysis reveals that the main challenges are low levels of trust between communities and officials, and conflicting formal and informal institutions which have prevented the emergence of strong rules-in-use. This is a particularly interesting theoretical contribution to the literature on the management of common pool resources (CPR), as our case study is an example of private property farming in a common pool resource (the lake), a dynamic which remains understudied in the CPR literature. We provide suggestions for local stakeholders as well as regional and national government related to the importance of seeking local legitimacy of the working rules to govern cage culture. The lessons learned from this case study might be useful for the governance of aquaculture in other lakes in Indonesia and countries of the Global South.
Mental models of aquaculture governance in Indonesia
Sustainability Science, 2024
Aquaculture stakeholders have mental models, which are the internal cognitive representations of how they understand and prioritize the different features of their aquaculture systems. Individuals and stakeholder groups are likely to have different mental models, with implications for making cooperative governance work and guiding the rapidly emerging sector’s sus- tainable development. We apply a participatory approach called fuzzy cognitive mapping to capture and compare the mental models of community-based coastal pond aquaculture stakeholders in Indonesia, including farmers, government managers, and researchers who need to work together to govern a rapidly expanding aquaculture sector which faces critical sustain- ability challenges. To conceptually structure our comparison, we use Elinor Ostrom’s social–ecological systems framework. Our results highlight important differences between stakeholder group mental models which represent potential conflicts of interest and barriers for collaborative governance. Fish farmer models emphasize resource system challenges relating to pro- duction instability and risk, while government managers emphasize increasing production intensity to meet sectoral growth targets. Researchers, in contrast, tend to focus on pond waste treatment and water quality management. Governance attributes were consistently perceived as less frequent and less influential compared to other social–ecological dimensions, reflecting perceptions of weak governance in the sector. We identify a critical need for programs aimed at strengthening community- level institutional arrangements for governing shared aquaculture resources, increasing technical knowledge capacity, and managing financial risk. By merging all stakeholder models into a single “community” model, we identify key consensus action situations across the three groups as potential focal points for aquaculture development which may serve as a starting point for actors to work together to identify context-appropriate institutional solutions to these sustainability challenges.
Managing aquaculture in multi-use freshwater bodies: the case of Jatiluhur reservoir
Environmental Research Letters, 2021
The pressure on scarce freshwater resources from intensifying human activity is rising across the globe. This study presents the case of Jatiluhur—Indonesia’s largest reservoir, where unregulated aquaculture expansion has contributed to environmental degradation and associated conflicts with other water-users. Aiming to identify a strategy to improve the sustainability of cage aquaculture within Jatiluhur reservoir and other freshwater bodies facing similar challenges, this study consisted of an initial analysis of time bound satellite images of the reservoir and a systematic survey of 112 aquaculture farms. The results revealed that, with more than 45 000 production units in 2020, more than half of which are placed outside government-approved aquaculture zones, the carrying capacity of the reservoir is exceeded. An analysis of the farm-level production practices, pertinent to environmental regulation, indicated the existence of three main production strategies, with significant dif...
Fisheries Management and Ecology, 2005
The interactions between cage culture and wild fishery activities in three Indonesian reservoirs, Saguling, Cirata and Jatiluhur, of the greater Ciratum watershed, West Java, were evaluated using historical data and interviews with cage culture operators. In all three reservoirs, cage culture of common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., and later of common carp and Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.), were encouraged as an alternative livelihood for persons displaced by the impoundment. Currently, a two-net culture system, locally known as Ôlapis duaÕ, in which in the inner cage (7 · 7 · 3 m) is used for common carp culture and the outer cage (7 · 7 · 5/7 m) is stocked with Nile tilapia, is practised. On average each cage is stocked with approximately 100 kg fingerlings each of common carp and Nile tilapia. The numbers of cages and production of cultured fish has increased in the reservoirs, but total and per cage production began to decline from about 1995 in Saguling from 2200 kg cage )1 in 1989 to <500 kg cage )1 in 2002, and in Cirata from a peak of approximately 2300 kg cage )1 in 1995 to approximately 400 kg cage )1 in 2002. In Jatiluhur, which has a considerably lower cage density, total fish production and production per cage has increased since 2000, and currently is approximately 4000 kg cage )1 , close to production in the early years of cage culture activities. The cage culture operations also resulted in substantial nutrient loading, estimated at 3.2, 15.2 and 3.1 t of nitrogen and 134, 636 and 128 kg of phosphorous per year in the maximum years of production for Saguling, Cirata and Jatiluhur reservoirs, respectively. In later years, when cage culture production was high, fish kills occurred in the cages, and in Jatiluhur reservoir coincided with a dramatic decline in wild fishery catches. An attempt is made to determine the maximum number of cages for each Correspondence: Fisheries Management and Ecology, 2005, 12, 315-330 Ó 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 315 of the reservoirs that will bring long-term sustainability of cage culture operations and the wild fisheries in the three reservoirs. K E Y W O R D S : cage culture, fish kills, Indonesia, nutrient loading, reservoirs, wild fisheries.
Operationalizing the social-ecological systems framework in pond aquaculture
This study develops and applies an interdisciplinary and mixed method approach to operationalize the social-ecological systems (SES) framework in the context of aquaculture, the fastest growing food production sector worldwide. We apply this methodology to conduct a case study of community based pond aquaculture on the island of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. This diagnostic approach demonstrates how sustainability challenges are interrelated at multiple levels through an analysis applying common-pool resource (CPR) and collective action theories. At the community level, qualitative data show how pond aquaculture systems can have CPR dilemmas, requiring communities to work together to solve them. We show how a provision dilemma manifests from the need to maintain common canal infrastructure to distribute water to private ponds. Asymmetric incentives to contribute exist because there are up and downstream users in the pond network, similar to some irrigation systems. Second, at the level of individual ponds, we developed indicators for the Resource System, Resource Unit, Governance and Actor tiers of the SES 486 Stefan Partelow et al. framework. Indicator data for each pond was measured and transformed into normalized quantitative scores to examine the relationships between social and ecological outcomes within and between ponds. We combine the results of our multi-level analysis to discuss the broader social-ecological relationships which link collective action challenges in managing common canal infrastructure with pond level outcomes and current government policies for advancing community development. We emphasize the need for increased knowledge and training on effective aquaculture practice as an underlying driver of current system conditions. This study raises many methodological challenges associated with designing empirically based SES research and building SES theory. We discuss challenges with integrating diverse data types, indicator selection and making normative assumptions about sustainability. Acknowledgements: This research was funded by the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT). We are grateful to all the interviewees, local residents and assistants who gave their time and hospitality that allowed us to conduct this research.
Aquaculture Research, 2017
Mapping of lacustrine aquaculture and socioeconomic assessment of cage farmers operations can be employed as decision support tools in an integrated fashion for fisheries management. We simultaneously mapped and reported the location of cages and characterized socioeconomic and indicators of cage farming in Lake Victoria, Kenya. Structured questionnaires and interviews from cage farmers generated socioeconomic data and management information. Vital water quality parameters were analyzed in selected sampling sites. Cage culture was found to be a maledominated activity with the majority of owners aged <45 years (n = 23; 59%). Siaya County had the highest cage establishments (n = 20) and number (n = 1,343). Proximity to Dominion Farm, pioneers of cage culture, as well as decreased presence of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) coverage may have contributed to high cage numbers in Siaya County. The only species cultured was Oreochromis niloticus. Most cage establishments (n = 30; 76%) were located within 200 m from the shoreline. Total operational costs for a cycle (8 months) amounted to USD 465,250 worth a total production value of USD 8,827,000, farmers often realizing a markup of >100%, indicative of its robust viability within "The Blue Economy" concept. With the increasing number of cages in the lake, there is the need for policy and regulations to guide its investment, both to protect local economies through improved business practices and to ensure sustainability for the lake ecosystem due to the likelihood of exacerbation in water quality deterioration in cage culture sites.
Ambio, 2024
The intensive utilization of tropical inland water bodies for multiple and sometimes competing activities underlines the necessity for their integrated and holistic co-management. This paper presents our synthesis on lake and reservoir fisheries in South and Southeast Asia as social-ecological systems, based on a synopsis of our research findings from a previous EUfunded research programme in Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines (FISHSTRAT project). The paper attempts to merge our results with recent developments in research, policy and practice. We explore the effects of the main external and internal control mechanisms of the trophic state and pinpoint to the high production potential of traditionally unexploited small indigenous fish species. The limitations of conventional centralized management systems highlight the importance of introducing transdisciplinary approaches which integrate limnology, fish ecology and fisheries with the interests of other resource using stakeholders and decision makers in order to develop locally appropriate co-management strategies for sustainable aquatic resource use.
Impact of Cage Aquaculture on Water Quality Condition in Lake Maninjau, West Sumatera Indonesia
2015
Water quality characteristic of Lake Maninjau related to the deterioration condition has been intensively reported, nevertheless research on water quality as an impact of cage aquaculture level has never been done. The aim of this research was to identify influence of cage density to water quality condition. The study was conducted at 11 stations in Lake Maninjau, by measuring 11water quality parameters at a depth of 4.5m and sediment organic content on locations that have soft substrate. Measurement periods were on June 2013, September 2013, December 2013, and March2014. Activity of cage aquaculture was distributed in all over the lake shore lines, with the highest density at 1226 units km-1. Water quality measurement indicated similar condition based on spatial patterns (degree of similarity >85%) with tendency that the increase number of cages influence several parameters including increase concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen, and ammonium; and decrea...
Managing aquaculture for sustainability in tropical Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe
Ecological Economics, 1996
In Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, small-scale pond farming and experimental cage-culture of Tilapia fishes have been running for some years and there are now plans for large-scale aquaculture. As a basis for deciding on how aquaculture could be developed to improve the chances for sustainable resource use and long-term maximised fish production in the lake, we compare the potential ecological life-support demand of two alternative aquaculture methods. First, the economic and ecological resource demand, expressed in industrial and solar energy units, respectively, were estimated for semi-intensive pond farming and intensive cage farming. Next, the ecosystem areas appropriated by the two farms for production of feed, oxygen, and phosphorus assimilation were estimated. Our estimates indicate that intensive cage farming would require about 17 800 MJ solar energy (Gross Primary Production) to produce l kg of fish. The industrial energy input would be more than 1.5-times higher (about 85 MJ/kg) compared to semi-intensive pond farming (about 50 MJ/kg). Intensive cage farming must be supported by ecosystem areas that are all substantially larger than the area of the farm itself. The ecosystem area for feed production is the largest (21 000 m 2 m-Z), but the areas required for oxygen production (160 m e m -2) and nutrient assimilation (115 m 2 m 2) are of special importance since they must be located close to the farm, For semi-intensive pond farming, oxygen production and nutrient assimilation could probably be provided within the pond system, and no external life support from Lake Kariba would be needed. At least from an ecological point of view, semi-intensive pond farming is more sustainable than intensive cage farming because it needs a smaller input of external resources to survive. However, a moderate level of intensive cage fanning should not be ruled out in Lake Kariba. Aquaculture has potential to become successful in Lake Kariba, but only if it is developed within a linked economic, social, and ecological framework.