Environment and sustainability

Global population is forecast to reach around 9 billion by 2050. To feed the world, global agricultural output must increase by around 60% from present levels. This must be achieved against a background of increasing competition for natural resources such as water, feed ingredients and farming sites.

Maintaining environmental integrity while massively increasing food production will require farming systems to reduce their unit production environmental footprint. Many farming practices that are regarded as sustainable today will not be acceptable when scaled up. Sustainable intensification of aquaculture means doing more with less. The Sustainable Farming Systems Programme aims to help aquaculture become a more efficient user of natural resources, both in terms of farm productivity and environmental efficiency.

The programme develops better management practices for major aquaculture farming systems, and promotes aquaculture as a secondary or additional use of water resources. The programme focusses on practical interventions that can be directly achieved by small-scale farmers in a developing country context.

Key activities

Key activities of the programme are:

  • Development of better management practices for key aquaculture production systems.
  • Organising small-scale farmers into associations to facilitate cluster-based approaches to extension.
  • Development of culture-based fisheries as a secondary use of water bodies.
  • Development of strategic policy frameworks to guide governments and development agencies in promoting sustainable intensification of aquaculture.

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Aquaculture Asia Magazine, April-June 2021

In this issue:

Integrated taxonomy, conservation and sustainable development: Multiple facets of biodiversity; A note on 100th birth anniversary of the late Dr Hiralal Chaudhuri; Aquaculture field schools supporting mangroves for climate change adaptation of Indonesian milkfish-shrimp farmers; An insight to red tilapia breeding and culture: A farmer advisory; Aquaculture for livelihoods and food security in North-western India; NACA Newsletter.

Aquaculture field schools supporting mangroves for climate change adaptation of Indonesian milkfish-shrimp farmers

Over the last five decades, over 30 million people along Java’s north coast have experienced subsidence and subsequent soil erosion. In 2015, Building with Nature Indonesia (BwNI-Demak) started a coastal protection project in 10 communities of nine coastal villages of Demak regency. The protection measures introduced included the use of permeable structures (dams) that successfully capture sediment and support natural recovery of mangroves, and aquaculture field schools, to train small-scale farmers on good aquaculture practices such as low external inputs sustainable aquaculture, associated mangrove aquaculture and multi-trophic srhimp aquaculture.

Webinar: Culture-based fisheries for rural development

Join us on 31 May for a free webinar on Culture-based fisheries for rural development, with leading experts from the Asian region. Culture-based fisheries (CBF) are practices to enhance fish stocks in waters that don't have enough natural recruitment to sustain a fishery. CBF practices are usually applied in small water bodies such as village dams and irrigation reservoirs. Fish growth is driven by the natural productivity of the waters, foraging on natural food supplies. The simplicity and low capital requirements of CBF make it easy for farming communities to learn and adopt.

Aquaculture Asia Magazine, July-September 2020

In this issue:

Hatchery techniques for the seed production of short-necked clams (Paphia undulata) in Nha Trang, Vietnam; Lovesome chum of the aquarium are wreaking havoc in East Kolkata Wetlands, India; Concept of indigenous recirculatory aquaculture system executed in West Bengal, India and other places; Homestead modular hatchery technology of brackishwater catfish, Mystus gulio: A potential alternate livelihood option for small and marginal farmers of Sunderban; NACA Newsletter.

Lovesome chum of the aquarium are wreaking havoc in the East Kolkata Wetlands, India

Loricariid catfish species of the genus Pterygoplichthys, known in the aquarium trade as 'plecos' and 'algae eaters', have extensively invaded and proliferated in the East Kolkata Wetlands in West Bengal. Loricariids have capacity to alter the ecosystem and biodiversity of invasion sites, by physically altering the invaded habitats and by competing with native animals for food and space. The aquarium trade pathway is the most significant source of loricariid introductions globally. This article discusses the invasion of loricariid catfish in the East Kolkata Wetlands, and the environmental and economic impact on local fishers.

Aquaculture Asia Magazine, January-March 2020

In this issue:

Mahseer sanctuaries of Meghalaya: A conservation and recreational perspective; Impacts of climate change on aquaculture in Vietnam: A review of local knowledge; Simple means of water aeration adopted by progressive fish breeders in West Bengal, India; Breeding striped snakehead (Channa striata) using the concrete tank method in the Cangkringan Area, Special Region of Yogyakarta; NACA Newsletter.

NACA Newsletter, Vol. XXXIV No. 3, July-September 2019

In this issue:

First announcement: Global Conference on Aquaculture 2020, 26-30 October, Shanghai, China; Bangladesh delegation visits Thailand to study shrimp aquaculture; Expert Consultation on Development of Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines, Rome; Report of the Seventeenth Meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health; Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report, October-December 2018; Tuskfish 2 Alpha: Testers wanted.

Aquaculture Asia Magazine, January-March 2019

In this issue:

Current status of freshwater cage aquaculture in India; Fattening of mud crab Scylla serrata in estuarine region of south-eastern West Bengal; Aquaponics - sustainable farming method in the fight against hunger; aquatic invasive apple snails (Pomacea spp.) in Timore-Leste - current status, spread and management in rice fields; NACA Newsletter.

Aquaponics: Sustainable farming method in the fight against hunger

Aquaponics is a closed-loop system in which the waste water produced from a tank of fish is used as fertiliser to feed a bed of vegetation. In turn, the plant life filters the water through its roots and the cleaned water is returned to the fish tank for reuse. Aquaponics is a form of integrated food production system in which the wastes from one production compartment are used as inputs for others.

NACA Newsletter, Vol. XXXIV No. 1, January-March 2019

In this issue:

Joint FAO-NACA workshop reviews aquaculture farming system classification scheme; Join us for the Global Conference on Aquaculture 2020; Expert Consultation on Genetically Responsible Aquaculture; Strengthening governance in aquaculture; Pike perch and in-pond raceways; Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report, April-June 2018.