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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.