Papers Presented At The Fao Naca Consultation On Aquaculture For Sustainable Rural Development

This document contains the papers presented at the Consultation on Aquaculture for Sustainable Rural Development which was organized jointly by FAO and NACA and held in Chiang Rai, Thailand, from March 29-31,1999 in order to develop the detailed structure of a regional program on aquaculture for sustainable rural development and to propose a strategy for its implementation. The consultation took an overview of the relevant information emerging from the presentations of country reports; lessons learned by specific projects; experiences of regional and international organizations and donor agencies; and findings of expert reviews. More sharply focused examination of critical issues and discussions on specific components of the draft program concept were followed through parallel working group discussions. The outputs of the working groups were further discussed during the concluding plenary. Finally, a detailed Program Framework on Aquaculture for Sustainable Rural Livelihood Development was conceived through consensus to serve as guiding principles for the formation of the program.--Publisher's description.

This is the report of the consultation on Aquaculture for Sustainable Rural Development jointly organised by FAO and NACA in Chiang Rai, Thailand on 29-31 March 1999 to develop the detailed structure of a regional programme on aquaculture for sustainable rural development and propose a strategy for its implementation. The consultation took an overview of the relevant information emerging form presentations of country reports; lessons learned by specific projects; experiences of regional and international organizations and donor agencies; and findings of expert reviews. More sharply focused examination of critical issues, and discussions on specific components of the draft Programme concept were followed through parallel working group (WG) discussions.

Aquaculture the farming of fish and aquatic plants has become the world's fastest-growing food production sector, even as the amount of wild fish caught in our seas and freshwaters declines. From fish foods and pharmaceuticals to management of entire aquatic ecosystems, acquaculture is truly changing the face of the waters. Increased growth, however, brings increased risk, and aquaculture now lies at a crossroads. One direction points toward the giant strides in productivity, industry concentration, and product diversification. Another direction points toward the dangers of environmental degradation and the marginalization of small fish farmers. Yet another direction invites aquaculture to champion the poor and provide vital environmental services to stressed aquatic environments. 'Changing the Face of the Waters' offers a cutting-edge analysis of the critical challenges facing aquaculture, balancing aquaculture's role in economic growth with the need for sound management of natural resources. The book also provides guidance on sustainable aquaculture by evaluating alternative development pathways, placing particular emphasis on the application of lessons from Asia to Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Aimed at policy makers, planners, and scientists, this book provides a comprehensive frame of reference for orienting ideas and initiatives in this dynamic industry.

The objective of the Consultation was to provide FAO and its members with information and advice on the role of small-scale aquaculture in rural development. To this end, participants were asked to analyze and reflect on four keynote papers prepared by selected participants. In addition, four information papers were presented and discussed. This document presents a summary of discussions and principal conclusions reached, followed by abstracts and full versions of the overview and thematic papers plus the abstracts of the information papers.

This report is FAO's latest assessment of the long-term outlook for the world's food supplies, nutrition and agriculture. It presents the projections and the main messages. The projections cover supply and demand for the major agricultural commodities and sectors, including fisheries and forestry. This analysis forms the basis for a more detailed examination of other factors, such as nutrition and undernourishment, and the implications for international trade. The report also investigates the implications of future supply and demand for the natural resource base and discusses how technology can contribute to more sustainable development. One of the report's main findings is that, if no corrective action is taken, the target set by the World Food Summit in 1996 (that of halving the number of undernourished people by 2015) is not going to be met. Nothing short of a massive effort at improving the overall development performance will free the developing world of its most pressing food insecurity problems. The progress made towards this target depends on many factors, not least of which are political will and the mobilization of additional resources. Past experience underlines the crucial role of agriculture in the development process, particularly where the majority of the population still depends on this sector for employment and income.

The FAO Expert Workshop on Methods and Indicators for Evaluating the Contribution of Small-scale Aquaculture to Sustainable Rural Development held in Nha Trang, Viet Nam, from 24 to 28 November 2009, attempted to develop an indicator system to measure the contribution of SSA. The workshop used a number of processes and steps in the developing the indicator system, including: (i) understanding the subject of measurements; (ii) identifying an analytical framework and ratting criteria (iii) developing a list of SSA contributions; (iv) categorising the contributions; (v) devising and organising the indicators of contribution; and (vi) measuring the indicators. The major outcome was the development, through an iterative process, of an indicator system which can provide a good measure of the contribution of SSA based on agreed criteria (accuracy, measurability and efficiency) and the sustainable livelihood approach analytical framework which consists of five capital assets (human, financial, physical, social and natural) and can be used for various livelihoods options.