Transforming aquatic agricultural systems towards gender equality: a five country review

Aquatic agricultural systems (AAS) are systems in which the annual production dynamics of freshwater and/or coastal ecosystems contribute significantly to total household income. Improving the livelihood security and wellbeing of the estimated 250 million poor people dependent on AAS in Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Zambia is the goal of the Worldfish Center-led Consortium Research Program (CRP), “Harnessing the development potential of aquatic agricultural systems for development.” One component expected to contribute to sustainably achieving this goal is enhancing the gender and wider social equity of the social, economic and political systems within which the AAS function. The CRP’s focus on social equity, and particularly gender equity, responds to the limited progress to date in enhancing the inclusiveness of development outcomes through interventions that offer improved availability of resources and technologies without addressing the wider social constraints that marginalized populations face in making use of them. The CRP aims to both offer improved availability and address the wider social constraints in order to determine whether a multi-level approach that engages with individuals, households and communities, as well as the wider social, economic and political contexts in which they function, is more successful in extending development’s benefits to women and other excluded groups. Designing the research in development initiatives to test this hypothesis requires a solid understanding of each CRP country’s social, cultural and economic contexts and of the variations across them. This paper provides an initial input into developing this knowledge, based on a review of literature on agriculture, aquaculture and gender relations within the five focal countries. Before delving into the findings of the literature review, the paper first justifies the expectation that successfully achieving lasting wellbeing improvements for poor women and men dependent on AAS rests in part on advances in gender equity, and in light of this justification, presents the AAS CRP’s conceptual framew

Impactos do desenvolvimento do potencial hidroelétrico sobre os ecossistemas aquáticos do Rio Tocantins.

A priorização da implantação de usinas hidrelétricas no Brasil deve-se, primordialmente, ao vasto potencial hidrelétrico existente no país e à competitividade econômica que esta fonte apresenta. PPara atender à crescente demanda, foram implantados ao longo dos anos, diversos empreendimentos hidrelétricos por todo o país. Apesar do inequívoco sucesso quanto ao objetivo central de tais empreendimentos - fornecer energia para o desenvolvimento econômico tais empreendimentos causam impactos com diferentes níveis de severidade aos sistemas físico-biótico, sócio-econômico e cultural das regiões em que as instalações são realizadas. O presente trabalho objetivou identificar problemas e impactos ambientais nos ecossistemas aquáticos do Rio Tocantins relacionados com o desenvolvimento do seu potencial hidroelétrico, de forma a contribuir com a compatibilização de geração de energia e conservação da biodiversidade e manutenção dos fluxos gênicos. O cenário considerado contemplou os empreendimentos em operação e aqueles em instalação, com estudos de viabilidade aprovados e licenças prévias obtidas. A metodologia de Análise de Cadeia Causal (ACC) foi utilizada para que a partir da identificação dos problemas e impactos ambientais prioritários, a relação dos mesmos com diferentes causas imediatas, setoriais e raízes pudesse ser estabelecida. A hierarquização dos impactos foi feita através de matriz de caracterização, tendo as comunidades íctias como principais indicadores. Os impactos considerados como mais relevantes foram: (i) queda na qualidade dos recursos hídricos, (ii) perda e alteração de habitats, (iii) mudanças na estabilidade dos ecossistemas, (iv) redução de recursos pesqueiros, (v) interferência com as comunidades de bentos e de microorganismos, (vi) alteração nas cadeias alimentares e (vii) interferência na dispersão de comunidades íctias e de mamíferos. O conhecimento sobre a biodiversidade existente e a identificação dos principais impactos existentes e em potencial nos ecossistemas aquáticos do Rio Tocantins, representam um passo importante para o desenvolvimento de opções políticas eficazes com vistas à minimização da degradação ambiental decorrente do setor hidroelétrico.

Resilient livelihoods and food security in coastal aquatic agricultural systems: Investing in transformational change

Aquatic agricultural systems (AAS) are diverse production and livelihood systems where families cultivate a range of crops, raise livestock, farm or catch fish, gather fruits and other tree crops, and harness natural resources such as timber, reeds, and wildlife. Aquatic agricultural systems occur along freshwater floodplains, coastal deltas, and inshore marine waters, and are characterized by dependence on seasonal changes in productivity, driven by seasonal variation in rainfall, river flow, and/or coastal and marine processes. Despite this natural productivity, the farming, fishing, and herding communities who live in these systems are among the poorest and most vulnerable in their countries and regions. This report provides an overview of the scale and scope of development challenges in coastal aquatic agricultural systems, their significance for poor and vulnerable communities, and the opportunities for partnership and investment that support efforts of these communities to secure resilient livelihoods in the face of multiple risks.

Species management in aquatic Habitats overview of sub projects and their management

This is the Species management in aquatic Habitats overview of sub projects and their management produced by the Environment Agency in 1998. This report was under the R&D Project, which it was initiated in 1995 to provide information on species of conservation value of particular relevance to the Environment Agency (then the National Rivers Authority, NRA), in relation to its activities affecting aquatic environments. Outputs comprise Species Action Plans (SAPs), practical management guidelines for Agency staff and third parties, and various research and survey outputs to improve the knowledge base on the status and ecological requirements of priority species. This R&D Technical Report provides an overview of the work undertaken, additionally identifying lessons to be learnt in the management of species-related research within the framework of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The process of species selection was initially based upon a wide ranging review of priority species of relevance to the then NRA, encompassing both highly threatened species and species that are relatively common but are at particular risk from Agency activities.