A highlight of the 32nd Governing Council Meeting in Chiang Mai was the award of the Aziz-Ul Haq Rural Development Medal to NACA by the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP).

The award was presented by Dr Cherdsak Virapat, Director General of CIRDAP on behalf of the CIRDAP Governing Council, which had determined to confer the award at a Special Session of the Executive Committee on 25 May.

The award was granted to NACA “…for its remarkable contributions to rural development through sustainable aquaculture and aquatic resource management programs, policy dialogue and regional cooperation in Asia and the Pacific region and for unwavering support to the CIRDAP mission to promote regional sustainable aquaculture development and resilience to climate challenges.”

NACA’s support to CIRDAP’s mission has included collaborating on a joint statement on building Climate Resilience in Aquaculture and Agriculture Systems for the Shanghai Declaration Session on SDG 13 (Climate Action) at the Global Conference on Aquaculture Millennium +20, co-authoring a thematic article on Strengthening resilience of small-scale farmers and farming systems to climate change impacts through aquaculture: a regional perspective, and collaborating with CIRDAP to development of projects to address climate change action.

NACA would like to express our thanks and gratitude to CIRDAP and its staff for the enduring partnership between the two organisations.