The aim of the Policy Review Workshop, as with all project activities, was “contributing to ‘giving people a voice’ in policy-making processes that have an impact on their livelihoods”. The workshop objectives included: Through six case studies, stakeholder statements and a street-play, understand the experiences of rural aquaculture services provision from the perspectives of recipients and providers; review the process for transacting policy change and lessons learnt; and make recommendations for policy change based on project outcomes.

This report, at the request of NRSP, highlights “research learning and new thinking” arising from project R8100. It considers the project’s process from a strategic viewpoint, which is summarised in a conceptual matrix. The main features of the process’s overall strategy considered in more detail are a strategy for bringing through the voices of poor people – described as facilitated advocacy, with the role played by the project being one of “making it easier for people to speak for themselves”.

The meetings and this document discuss the lessons learnt by project R8100 and consider how the follow on project might take these forward. This document combines the minutes of the Delhi meetings and the Stakeholder meeting in Ranchi, and captures as stories the summary of project R8100 and the visit to Jabarrah. The objectives of R8334 are presented, with comments on these recorded, and the project flow chart and proposed revisions to it are included.

Three consecutive State-level Communications Strategy Workshops were held in the capitals of Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal states. The aim of the workshops, as with all project activities, was to “contribute to ‘giving people a voice’ in policy-making processes that have an impact on their livelihoods.” The specific objectives were to review and orient participants to the project’s four outputs and to draft a state-level communications strategy, including ideas for a monitoring and evaluation process.

The feasibility of integrated aquaculture in seasonal water bodies in rainfed farming areas of Eastern India was assessed in on-farm trials. Fry of Indian major carps: Catla, mrigal, rohu, common carp, and silver barb, and advanced fingerlings of Indian major carps were raised to marketable size. Key factors for the success of aquaculture in seasonal water bodies are access to credit, production enhancing inputs and water bodies that hold water for more than 120 days of the year.

Development approaches are constantly evolving, acting on and utilising lessons learnt from past experiences. As a result, “good governance” approaches are currently topical, an intrinsic component of which is how rural poor people can participate in policy-making processes. By reviewing lessons learnt, and considering these with examples from within and outside India, an indication can be given of the most appropriate ways to begin to affect policy, although a specific blueprint will not be suggested.

This Learning Workshop on Livelihoods Analysis was held in Long An Province, Vietnam from 19-20 November 2002. It was part of an ongoing series of activities that will inform the implementation of the Ministry of Fisheries Strategy on Sustainable Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation under the Vietnamese Government’s Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction (HEPR) Program. The recruitment in October of Nguyen Song Ha, STREAM Vietnam Communications Hub Manager, improved preparations within the Vietnamese national context.

A scoping Meeting on “Sustainable Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation” was held in Hanoi , 23-25 May 2000. The meeting was held to review the role of aquaculture development (freshwater, brackish water and marine environments) in poverty alleviation and hunger eradication in Vietnam, to identify strategies for the more effective application of aquaculture and aquatic resources management to poverty alleviation, to review a draft framework for a programme on sustainable aquaculture for poverty alleviation and to prepare an appropriate action plan.

This System Requirement Report describes national level requirements for data collection and sharing mechanisms for fisheries co-management in the Philippines. It also provides a broad picture of the following for the national fisheries management level in the Philippines.

This report presents an overview of the state of aquatic resources in the Philippines, its performance and importance in the Philippine economy, and explores the situation of poverty in the "aquatic resources sector." The report describes the policy environment that guides the action of key actors in the sector. A general analysis of some trends in relation to factors that keep the poor from participating and benefiting from aquatic resource management is also provided.