Poverty reduction and aquatic resources

The Millennium Development Goals call for a reduction in the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day to half the 1990 level by 2015. This means reducing from 28.3 percent of all people in low and middle income economies to 14.2 percent. The Goals also call for halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger between 1990 and 2015. If projected growth remains on track, global poverty rates will fall to 13 percent – less than half the 1990 level – and 360 million more people will avert extreme poverty. So while poverty would not be eradicated, that would bring us much closer to the day when we can say that all the world's people have at least the bare minimum to eat and clothe themselves. (Pdf contains 9 pages).

Assistance in poverty alleviation through improved aquatic resources management in Asia-Pacific: GVT/NACA-STREAM/FAO International Workshop on livelihoods approaches and analysis. Ranchi, Jharkhand, India, 2-6 Feb. 2004

This is the report of the “GVT/NACA-STREAM/FAO International Workshop on Livelihoods Approaches and Analysis” that was conducted in Ranchi, India from 2-6 February 2004. The purpose of the workshop was to develop and document mechanisms for training in livelihoods approaches and analysis, and to build national capacity to conduct livelihoods analysis. The workshop in Ranchi was a joint India-Nepal event, with colleagues coming to participate from Kathmandu and other areas of Nepal. The workshop in Ranchi was the second in a series, the first of which was held in Iloilo City, Philippines, in November 2003. Subsequent workshops will take place in other countries in the region, including Lao PDR, Myanmar and Yunnan, China. (Pdf contains 48 pages).

Assistance in poverty alleviation through improved aquatic resources management in Asia-Pacific: DLF/NACA-STREAM/FAO National Workshop on livelihoods approaches and analysis. Vientiane, Lao PDR, 8-12 Mar. 2004

This is the report of the “DLF/NACA-STREAM/FAO National Workshop on Livelihoods Approaches and Analysis” that was conducted in Vientiane, Lao PDR from 8-12 March 2004. The purpose of the workshop was to develop and document mechanisms for training in livelihoods approaches and analysis, and to build national capacity to conduct livelihoods analysis. The workshop in Vientiane was the first STREAM event in Lao PDR, with colleagues coming to participate from Vientiane and many provinces throughout the country. The workshop in Vientiane was the third in a series, the first of which was held in Iloilo City, Philippines, in November 2003 and the second in Ranchi, India, in February, 2004. Subsequent workshops will take place in other countries in the region, including Myanmar and Yunnan, China. (Pdf contains 59 pages).

Assistance in poverty alleviation through improved aquatic resources management in Asia-Pacific: Yunnan DOA/NACA-STREAM/FAO Workshop on livelihoods approaches and analysis. Mengzi, Yunnan, China, 6-10 Sep. 2004

This is the report of the “Yunnan DOA/NACA-STREAM/FAO Workshop on Livelihoods Approaches and Analysis” that was conducted in Mengzi, Yunnan from 6-10 September 2004. The purpose of the workshop was to develop and document mechanisms for training in livelihoods approaches and analysis, and to build national capacity to conduct livelihoods analysis. The workshop in Yunnan was the first STREAM event in China, with colleagues coming to participate from throughout the province. It was the fifth workshop in a series, the first of which was held in Iloilo City, Philippines, in November 2003, the second in Ranchi, India, in February 2004, third in Vientiane, Lao PDR, in March 2004 and the fourth in Yangon, Myanmar, in May 2004. (Pdf contains 44 pages).

Assistance in poverty alleviation through improved aquatic resources management in Asia-Pacific: BFAR/NACA-STREAM/FAO Workshop on livelihoods approaches and analysis. Iloilo City, Philippines, 24-28 Nov. 2003

This is the report of the “BFAR/NACA-STREAM/FAO Workshop on Livelihoods Approaches and Analysis” that was conducted in Iloilo City, Philippines from 24-28 November 2003. The main purpose of the workshop was to develop and document mechanisms for training in livelihoods approaches and analysis, and to build national capacity to conduct livelihoods analysis. The workshop in Iloilo was the first in a series which will take place in other countries in the region, including India (with Nepal), Lao PDR, Myanmar and Yunnan, China. (Pdf contains 53 pages).

Sustainable Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation (SAPA): Strategy and implementation

There is general agreement amongst Government and many donors that aquaculture and improved aquatic resources management can make a significant and direct impact on poverty reduction and hunger eradication in Vietnam. The key policy issue is to better support poor and vulnerable groups who depend on or could make use of aquatic resources through the use of the livelihoods perspective. To address this issue the Ministry of Fisheries of Vietnam (MOFI) has prepared this Sustainable Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation strategy - the SAPA strategy. (Pdf contains 54 pages).

Proceedings of the scoping meeting on Sustainable Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation (SAPA), Hanoi, Vietnam, 23-25 May 2000

Vietnam has a large number of poor people whose livelihoods depend in various ways on aquatic resources. More than 20 million people living along the coastline are among the most vulnerable and poorest in Vietnam and similarly poor situations occur with more than 10 million population living in mid and highland areas throughout the country. The Government of Vietnam is giving high priority to the poverty alleviation and following several successful government and donor funded projects, it is recognized that aquaculture can and should play an increasingly important role in improving the livelihoods of poor people. (Pdf contains 216 pages).

Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security

The objectives of these Technical Guidelines are to provide a focus on small-scale fisheries and their current and potential role in contributing to poverty alleviation and food security by expanding on the guidance on small-scale fisheries offered by the Code. The Guidelines are complementary to existing Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries. Most small-scale fishers are in developing countries and many live in communities characterized by poverty and food insecurity. Small-scale fishing communities are faced with an array of serious problems, including overexploitation and depletion of resources, lack of alternative sources of employment, rapid population growth, migration of populations, displacement in coastal areas due to industrial development and tourism, pollution and environmental degradation and conflicts with large commercial fishing operations. However, small-scale fisheries are critical for food security and poverty alleviation in many countries. The first part of the Guidelines discusses the current contribution, role and importance of small-scale fisheries in poverty alleviation and food security. It examines the importance of small-scale fisheries for poverty alleviation at a national, local and household level. It also notes the nutritional qualities of fish and thus the particular role of fish in nutritional aspects of food security. The fact that about half of all fish caught for human consumption comes from small-scale fisheries underlines the importance of this subsector for the world fish supply. In many countries small-scale fisheries contribute to national food security both directly – where fish is a crucial part of the daily diet, and indirectly – by generating foreign exchange earnings that enable the purchase through trade of a range of food products. The second part of the Guidelines explores ways through which the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security could be enhanced. A vision for the future of small-scale fisheries is presented as a goal towards which the subsector should develop. Ensuring greater participation by small-scale fishers and their communities in the formulation of policies, the development of related legislation and regulations, and in management decision-making and implementation processes, is vital to the realization of this vision. The central role of effective fisheries management, the importance of considering cross sectoral uses of fisheries and related resources, the special role of women in fish marketing, processing and value addition, the significant scope for trade, the critical role that adequate financing may have in enabling transitions for effective fisheries management and the role of knowledge in making informed decisions are all discussed in these Guidelines. (PDF contains 97 pages)

Assessing the sustainability of brackish water aquaculture systems in the Philippines. Working Paper 4: Aquaculture and poverty - a case study of five coastal communities in the Philippines

After reviewing the rather thin literature on the subject, we investigate the relationship between aquaculture and poverty based on a case study of five coastal communities in the Philippines. The analysis relies on a data set collated through a questionnaire survey of 148 households randomly selected in these five communities. The methodological approach combines the qualitative analysis of how this relationship is perceived by the surveyed households and a quantitative analysis of the levels and determinants of poverty and inequality in these communities. There is overwhelming evidence that aquaculture benefits the poor in important ways and that it is perceived very positively by the poor and non-poor alike. In particular, the poor derive a relatively larger share of their income from aquaculture than the rich, and a lowering of the poverty line only reinforces this result. Further, a Gini decomposition exercise shows unambiguously that aquaculture represents an inequality-reducing source of income. We believe that the pro-poor character of brackish water aquaculture in the study areas is explained by the fact that the sector provides employment to a large number of unskilled workers in communities characterized by large surpluses of labour. Our results also suggest that the analysis of the relationship between aquaculture and poverty should not focus exclusively on the socio-economic status of the farm operator/owner, as has often been the case in the past. [PDF contains 51 pages]

Potential for poverty focused integration of aquaculture into irrigation systems in Batticaloa District

The visit highlighted the vital contribution of the inland fisheries sector to provision of basic food security within the uncleared area (farmers report very low consumption frequencies for all other fish or meat protein substitutes). A 30-mile system of Brackish water lagoons which demarcates the cleared and uncleared areas is the main source of retailed fish in the uncleared area. Second in importance is the inland tank fishery, where the bulk of production emanates from 17 major irrigation reservoirs. [PDF contains 29 pages]