The Contribution of Aquatic Ecosystems and Fisheries to Food Security and Livelihoods: A Research Agenda. Challenge Program on Water and Food Background Paper 3 (original) (raw)
Managing rivers for fisheries and livelihoods: how can we do it better?
Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research, 2005
The growing attention being given to improving water productivity at the catchment level has given rise to increased interest in the contribution of aquatic ecosystems and in particular fisheries to reducing rural poverty and improving food security. There is growing recognition that these natural resources have an important role to play in pro-poor water management in many of the world's river basins, but that capacity to optimize these benefits is constrained by a lack of appropriate technologies and tools to do so. The present paper provides an overview of the current state of understanding of these issues and identifies a number of challenges to be addressed, namely the need to: (i) build wider understanding of the value of river fisheries; (ii) understand the water requirements for sustaining river fisheries; and (iii) develop governance arrangements that bring fisheries to the decision-making table. It concludes by distilling from recent reviews of river fisheries valuatio...
Strengthening governance across scales in aquatic agricultural systems
2012
Aquatic agricultural systems in developing countries face increasing competition from multiple stakeholders operating from local to national and regional scales over rights to access and use natural resources-land, water, wetlands, and fisheries-essential to rural livelihoods. A key implication is the need to strengthen governance to enable equitable decision-making amidst such competition, building capacities for resilience and transformations that reduce poverty. This paper provides a simple framework to analyze the governance context for aquatic agricultural system development focused on three dimensions: stakeholder representation, distribution of power, and mechanisms of accountability. Case studies from Cambodia, Bangladesh, Malawi/Mozambique, and Solomon Islands illustrate the application of these concepts to fisheries and aquaculture livelihoods in the broader context of intersectoral and cross-scale governance interactions.
Ecosystems for water and food security
2011
UNEP i Quick Policy Guide Series Volume 2 Ecosystems for water and food security I n t e r n a t i o n a l Water Management I n s t i t u t e E c o s y s t E m s f o r W a t E r a n d f o o d s E c u r i t y ii CREDITS Scientific Editor: Eline Boelee (iWmi)
Food Security, 2017
The paper was prepared in two stages. First, an inventory of studies of AAS productivity interventions was compiled for each of the five target countries. This inventory was conducted by way of an online literature search (primarily with Web of Science and Google Scholar), using the search terms productivity, yield, household, homestead, food security, nutrition, income, agriculture, aquaculture, integration, natural resource management, food production, poverty, fish, crops, livestock, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Solomon Islands, Philippines, and Zambia. These searches returned approximately 450 studies which, based on their titles, appeared relevant. These 450 studies were further screened to discard studies that did not address any of the research questions. Approximately 75 studies remained, from which an inventory was formed (Annex 2). Case studies for in-depth analysis were selected from the inventory by tabulating the key findings from each study and generating a score based on the number of research questions that were addressed by the study (Annex 2). Studies which scored well were selected. In most instances, more than one article reported on the same intervention, so these were discussed together, as a single case study. Between two and five case studies (interventions) from each of the five target countries were reviewed; we discuss the process and results reported for each intervention. Program country context The AAS program initially focuses on Bangladesh, Cambodia, Zambia, the Philippines and Solomon Islands, where people are dependent on the productivity of a diverse range of aquatic agricultural systems comprising deltaic systems, inland floodplains, wetlands, mangroves, and marine ecosystems (Table 1). The particular characteristics of each country are described in more detail below. Key ecosystems underpinning aquatic agricultural systems Major productivity challenges Asian mega deltas Bangladesh Coastal deltas and mangrove habitats Inland lakes and rivers Floodplains and wetlands Irrigated, rain-fed, and seasonally flooded farming systems Salinity intrusion (seasonal) Seasonal flooding Cyclone and storm surges Cambodia Freshwater lakes and rivers Floodplains and recession zones Irrigated, rain-fed, and flooded farming systems Seasonal flooding cycles Disrupted hydrological flows due to construction of hydropower dams Coral Triangle Philippines Coral reefs Mangroves, seagrass beds, and other diverse coastal ecosystems Floodplains and wetlands Hilly upland coastal systems Rivers and lakes Irrigated, rain-fed, and flooded farming systems Deteriorating coastal resources Typhoons and flash floods Unpredictable dry spells Coastal salinity intrusion Solomon Islands Coral reefs Mangroves, seagrass beds, and other diverse coastal ecosystems Small rivers and a few small lakes Gardens Rain-fed lowland and estate crop land Sloping landscapes Deteriorating coastal resources Soil erosion African inland floodplains Zambia Floodplains and wetlands Rivers and lakes Rain-fed and flooded farming systems Seasonal flooding Natural resources degradation Table 1. An overview of agro-ecological aspects of aquatic agricultural systems in the five program countries. Source: Based on cropping and farming systems typologies in Cassman and Wood (2005) Asian mega deltas Bangladesh Key ecosystems and ecosystem services underpinning aquatic agricultural systems. In Bangladesh, aquatic agricultural systems are situated in inland floodplains, the coastal delta, and the coastline, which stretches 500 km (Jahan and Pemsl 2011; Annex 1). The alluvial floodplain soils are typically fertile, making land a key natural asset for production of aquatic and agricultural crops. The extensive mangrove system fringing the coastal zone facilitates nutrient retention, waste assimilation, and habitat provision, while freshwater ecosystems provide resources for rice and crop cultivation and habitat for freshwater fisheries (Annex 1). In the 1960s and 1970s, an extensive polder (large circular embankment) system was developed in the southwestern coastal zone, under the Coastal Embankment Project (Islam 2006). The embankments were designed to offer crops protection against floods and saline water intrusion (Islam 2006). Anecdotal evidence suggests that yields initially increased inside these human-made systems; however, the natural ecosystems were permanently modified. Ecosystem services such as river flushing were disrupted, resulting in drainage congestion and extensive sedimentation (Islam 2006). Today, entrainment of saline water into the polder system for land-based shrimp production contributes an additional complication, with freshwater resources difficult to attain at crucial times during the production cycle, particularly when rice seedlings are ready to be transplanted (Molden 2007). However, the diversity of ecological systems both inside and outside polders offers an opportunity to improve productivity by optimizing knowledge and management, integrating synergistic crops, and introducing improved strains of rice, crops, and fish (Belton et al. 2011). 6 Current population and poverty rate. The population of Bangladesh is 151 million people, 100 million of whom live in rural areas, with many dependent on aquatic agricultural systems (The World Bank 2012c). The national incidence of poverty in 2010 was 32%, with rural areas experiencing higher incidences of poverty than their urban counterparts (The World Bank 2012c). While substantial development progress has been made in recent years, many rural households remain in poverty. The Barisal and Khulna Divisions are among the poorest in the country and have been selected as the initial geographic focus for the AAS program (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2010). In these areas, many factors contribute to poverty, including large family sizes, low education levels, female-headed households with limited access to inputs and markets, and dependence on low-paying daily wage work (The World Bank 2008). Many households are reliant on remittances to alleviate poverty (The World Bank 2008). Household demographics and assets. Landholdings of 0.2-4.0 ha are common in rural Bangladesh, and 65% of households own or rent <0.2 ha of land, classifying them as functionally landless (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2010; Belton et al. 2011). These small landholdings have implications for poverty and food security, because livelihoods are largely reliant on agricultural production in rural areas. In 2005, 57% of landless people were below the poverty line, compared to 24% and 13% for small and medium-to-large landholders, respectively (The World Bank 2008). There is a positive correlation between per capita consumption and land size ownership in rural areas, so development projects in Bangladesh have a strong focus on the functionally landless and small landholders (The World Bank 2008). Livelihood and food security strategies. Households in rural Bangladesh utilize diverse livelihood strategies, comprising a combination of subsistence agriculture, aquaculture, commercial activities and off-farm income-generating activities and reliance on remittances (Annex 1). Goods produced through agriculture and fisheries include fish, brackish water shrimp (locally known as bagda), freshwater prawn (locally known as golda), vegetables (bitter gourd, ridge gourd, onion, chili, bringal, cucumber, wax gourd), fruit (tomato, mango, coconut, jackfruit, lychee), vegetable oils (sesame, sunflower, mustard), fiber (jute), grains (maize, rice), livestock (chickens, ducks, goats, cattle), and timber trees. Fisheries play a major role for both income generation and food security. They are worth 10% of the combined export earnings and gross domestic product, and contribute 63% of the animal-source protein of the country (Hussain 2010). In 2010, inland capture fisheries produced 1.7 million metric tons, and a further 1.3 million metric tons were produced through aquaculture, ranking Bangladesh among the top ten aquaculture producers in the world (FAO 2012a). Reports indicate that aquaculture production is higher than the official statistics suggest, with 399,000 metric tons produced through low-input homestead pond production, 390,000 metric tons from commercial, semi-intensive carp culture, 395,000 metric tons from intensive systems, and 98,000 metric tons from shrimp and prawn production (Belton et al. 2011). Homestead pond culture is an integral component of the livelihood and food security strategy for 4.27 million households (Belton et al. 2011). The per capita supply of fishery products from aquaculture and capture fisheries is 18.9 kg in Bangladesh (FAO 2012a). Cambodia Key ecosystems and ecosystem services underpinning aquatic agricultural systems. The Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake catchments create a vast open-water system in Cambodia's lowlands. In the wet season (July-February), the floodwaters occupy around 60% of the territory, with Tonle Sap Lake covering between 2,700 and 12,000 km 2 , depending on the season. During this period, inundated rice fields become open access fishing grounds. However, increasing fisher competition, upstream hydropower development, and climate variability are affecting these natural resources and driving the expansion of agriculture and aquaculture. The productivity of the Mekong and Tonle Sap floodplain also supports intensive rice cropping (CGIAR 2012a), and beyond the Tonle Sap floodplain is a mixed-crop residential zone that sustains rain-fed lowland rice and cash crops, fish culture, livestock production, and firewood collection (Hap et al. 2006). Three regions in Cambodia where increases in AAS productivity are considered to have potential for improving the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable households are the Tonle Sap floodplain, the lowland floodplains, and the Mekong floodplain (CGIAR 2012a). These three regions are initial areas of focus for the AAS program.
Agricultural Research, 2014
The important contributions made by fisheries and aquaculture, in meeting the world food and nutritional demands need to be comprehended and their sustainable management is imperative for food security and nutrition. According to the FAO report (FAO 2012), fisheries and aquaculture contributed around 16 % of animal protein intake and support to the livelihood of 10-12 % of the world population. Employment in the fisheries and aquaculture primary sector has continued to grow faster than employment in agriculture, so that by 2010 it represented 4.2 % of the 1.3 billion people economically active in the broad agricultural sectors worldwide, compared with 2.7 % in 1990. Aquaculture is the fastest growing form of food production in the world with tremendous annual growth rates of 8.8 % per year, having expanded by almost 12 times in the last three decades (1980-2010), providing now more than 40 % of the fish consumed worldwide, allowing to keep pace with the growing demand while capture fisheries are stagnating. However, the rapid development of aquaculture has come with associated environmental costs such as habitat degradation, disease and pollution. The inland capture fisheries sectors are threatened by habitat degradation, pollution, invasive species, landscape fragmentation, disruption of river flows by dams and overexploitation of upstream water resources. Most of the stocks of the top ten species, which account in total for about 30 % of world marine capture fisheries production are fully exploited and, therefore, have no potential for increases in production. Integrated aquatic resource management with multiple objectives to meet economic, social and biological goals adapting ecosystem approach is vital for the sustainable development, equity and efficiency. As a concept, a stabilised aquatic resource system aims to ensure that resource exploitation contributes to sustainability, inclusive social development and economic growth, while seeking to counter the notion that sustainability and growth are mutually exclusive.
Governance of Aquatic Agricultural Systems: Analyzing Representation, Power, and Accountability
Ecology and Society, 2013
Aquatic agricultural systems in developing countries face increasing competition from multiple stakeholders over rights to access and use natural resources, land, water, wetlands, and fisheries, essential to rural livelihoods. A key implication is the need to strengthen governance to enable equitable decision making amidst competition that spans sectors and scales, building capacities for resilience, and for transformations in institutions that perpetuate poverty. In this paper we provide a simple framework to analyze the governance context for aquatic agricultural system development focused on three dimensions: stakeholder representation, distribution of power, and mechanisms of accountability. Case studies from Cambodia, Bangladesh, Malawi/Mozambique, and Solomon Islands illustrate the application of these concepts to fisheries and aquaculture livelihoods in the broader context of intersectoral and cross-scale governance interactions. Comparing these cases, we demonstrate how assessing governance dimensions yields practical insights into opportunities for transforming the institutions that constrain resilience in local livelihoods.
Agricultural Water Management, 2006
Faced with growing pressure upon freshwater resources, increased water productivity in agriculture is essential. Efforts to do so however need to consider the wider role of water in sustaining food production. This paper considers the importance of water management in sustaining fish production in tropical river basins, and the potential for enhancing food production and income to farmers by integrating fish production into some farming systems. Specific examples from selected river systems and irrigated farming systems in Africa and Asia are provided. These highlight the benefits of integrating the water requirements for fish into water allocation decisions. In some cases these benefits can be realised without any reduction in the water available for other purposes, while in others a trade-off needs to be considered. The nature of these trade-offs needs to be better understood for better decision making in water management.