A fresh look at inland fisheries and their role in food security and livelihoods

The role of inland fisheries in livelihoods, food security and sustainable development is often overshadowed by the higher profile interest in ocean issues. Whilst inland fisheries' catch and contribution to global nutrition, food security and the economy, are less than that of marine fisheries, global‐level comparisons of fish production obscure considerable livelihood impacts in certain countries and sub‐national areas. To highlight these contributions, this paper synthesizes recent data and innovative approaches for assessing such livelihood contributions and their importance in countries with limited access to ocean resources and aquaculture. Inland fisheries are crucial for many socially, economically and nutritionally vulnerable groups of people around the world, but the challenges in monitoring inland fisheries preclude a complete understanding of the magnitude of their contributions. This situation is rapidly improving with increasing recognition of inland fisheries in development discourses, which has also encouraged research to enhance knowledge on the importance of inland fisheries. We review this work, including collated information published in a recent Food and Agriculture Organization report, to provide an up to date characterization of the state of knowledge on the role of inland fisheries.     

Energy crops,livelihoods, and legal deforestation: A case study at Phu Wiang National Park,Thailand

Thailand aims to increase the use of renewable and alternative energy by 25% of total consumption under the Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP 2012–2021) by 2021, which include outputs from energy crops. This initiative is likely to put pressure on land resources, especially near parks and protected areas. Our study examined energy crop plantations, farmer responses to the AEDP, and community roles in forest protection in four villages adjacent to Phu Wiang National Park, Thailand in 2014. The majority of respondents (80%, n = 50) used their land for rice cultivation, but many villagers increased plantings of sugarcane (54%) and cassava (20%) because of high market demand for energy crops. Only a few examples of agricultural expansion into the national park were observed. Nevertheless, encroachment is likely to occur at this and other national parks as a result of government incentives to plant energy crops and the limited availability of agricultural land. Reliance on community-based management strategies may not be powerful enough for villagers to withstand the pressures of modernization, materialism, and other socioeconomic influences, possibly negating the effect of sustainability. Striking an equitable balance between government policies, community development, and forest protection will be a challenge for resource managers.     

云南腾冲傈僳族社区林地林木资源流转研究

集体林权制度改革为集体林地林木的合理流转奠定了产权基础,也加快了云南少数民族山区林地林木流转的步伐。然而改革后的少数民族山区由于缺乏相关的经验和能力,在林木资源流转中面临诸多问题。对腾冲傈僳族社区林地林木流转状况的研究得出,只有规范流转管理,形成健全的林地流转市场和合理的流转价格体系;完善流转的监督和管理组织并建立流转的激励机制等,才能引导当地的林地林木资源进行合理流转,才能使当地少数民族从森林经营中真正获益。     

The household economics of rubber intercropping during the immature period in Northeast Thailand

In order to alleviate poverty in Northeast Thailand, the Thai government has promoted rubber farming, which has expanded at the expense of annual crops. Because of a long immature period, planting rubber represents a loss of income for poor farmers in the very first years. This paper analyzed how rubber intercropping during the immature period helps farmers to compensate for this loss of income. Economic performances of the most widespread rubber farming systems were analyzed using information collected from a questionnaire addressed to 35 farmers in Buriram province. A sub-sample of 22 farmers was further interviewed to estimate the contribution of rubber intercropping in the formation of the total annual income during the immature period. The results showed that interest in rubber intercropping has grown, with cassava and rice as the main associated crops. With additional costs of about 14,169 ?/ha/year over monospecific rubber plantations, rubber-cassava intercropping systems generated a gross margin estimated at 11,340 ?/ha/year for a 3-year period. Compared to a monospecific rubber plantation, rubber-cassava intercropping systems reduced management costs by 59% over the 6-year period of rubber immaturity. The cash-income drawn from intercropping ranged from 0 to 26.8% of the household’s total annual income, which can be of considerable importance for low-income farmers.     

Impact of seawater intrusion control on the environment,land use and household incomes in a coastal area

Agricultural production in the coastal wetlands of Asia is often hindered by salinity intrusion caused by tidal fluctuation. This paper reports changes in environmental and socio-economic conditions that followed the phased construction and operation of sluices for controlling seawater intrusion from 1994 –2000 in a coastal area of the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam. Canal water salinity decreased rapidly upstream of sluices, allowing rice cropping intensification and increased rice production in the eastern part of the study area. However, the livelihoods of farmers in the western part were adversely affected due to cessation of supply of brackish water that was needed for brackish-water shrimp farming, while the acid sulphate soils present there posed problems for rice cultivation. The poor farmers and landless people suffered more because the fishery resource that they depended on declined sharply due to reduced salinity and increased acidity in the canal water. The findings confirmed that the environment and resource use in the coastal lands are very sensitive to external intervention. A clear understanding of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of salinity control measures in coastal areas can help planning to enhance farmers' incomes while minimizing negative environmental impacts. Land-use policy formulation, planning and management should adopt a more holistic approach, taking into account the interests of all resource users, especially the poor, instead of focusing on any particular sector.     

Evolution of the Minangkabau's shifting cultivation in the West Sumatra highland OF Indonesia and its strategic implications for dynamic farming systems

This paper explores the evolution of the shifting cultivation of the Minangkabau , the biggest matrilineal society in Indonesia, and examines factors underlying the instability and vulnerability of farmers' livelihoods and the degradation of their resource base using an extended factor analysis technique, in order to understand how development strategies might be modified towards a more dynamic farming system. The study distinguished three main phases of the farming system's changes and found that these changes highly corresponded with the emerging market and institutional incentives. Furthermore, the factor analysis generated a six‐factor model suggesting strategic interventions to foster the improvement of farmers' livelihoods and environment in future. In addition, consistent with the results of these factors analysis, we argue that, provided land tenure is conducive, there are substantial possibilities for policies and interventions that focus first on agricultural diversification and then on organization building, to assist in dealing with farmers' vulnerability and environmental degradation in the uplands. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

北京近郊城中村失地农民可持续生计研究

运用问卷调查与访谈相结合的方法,对北京近郊城中村失地农民生计的基本情况进行了解。为北京近郊城中村失地农民生计提出建议以及新的解决方法,促进北京近郊城中村失地农民的生计可持续,为构建社会主义和谐社会提供决策依据。     

Forest-based betel leaf and betel nut People in Bangladesh： approach Lawachara National Park （LNP） farming of the Khasia indigenous to biodiversity conservation in

An exploratory survey was conducted among the Khasia living in Lawachara National Parkt （LNP） to investigate their depend- ency on the protected area （PA） for livelihoods, betel leaf hill farming, traditional forest conservation and perceptions of the PA, Field data were collected by interviewing 48 household heads from two villages （punjis） located inside the LNP and visiting their farms.： The economy of the Khasia was forest-based. They were largely dependent on betel leaf hill farming in LNP and nearly 71% of their mean annual income was de- rived from this irrespective of farmer category. On average, about 14% of the incomes of the poorer farmers came from forest produce followed by 10% and 6% for medium and rich farmers respectively. Hills and forests were the foundations of their lives and livelihoods, and LNP was the life-blood of Khasia survival. As a sustainable production system, this farming practice plays a vital role in conserving biodiversity in LNP and might be replicated elsewhere.     

Lessons for farmer-oriented research: Experiences from a West African soil fertility management project

Donors, scientists and farmers all benefit when research and development projects have high impact. However, potential benefits are sometimes not realized. Our objective in this study is to determine why resource-poor farmers in Togo (declined to) adopt recommended practices that were promoted through a multi-organizational project on soil fertility management. We examine the processes and outcomes related to the adoption process. The project was undertaken in three villages in the Central Region of Togo in West Africa. The development and research processes that took place during the implementation of the project were critically analyzed using a conceptual framework that may be useful for improving the impact of future participatory projects. At the macro level, opportunities for innovation were not deliberately explored with participating farmers and other village members; consequently “pre-analytical choices” made during the planning phase resulted in practices that resource-poor farmers were, for a variety of reasons, unable or unwilling to adopt. From the outset, donors and scientists focused on soil fertility management, but failed to take into account the wider economic context within which soil fertility management took place. This was a major obstacle to the subsequent adoption of recommended management strategies. Scientists and donor partners measured the success of the Project in terms of crop productivity, but farmers’ choices were influenced by a complex mix of socio-economic, political and technical factors. We also illustrate the importance of selecting appropriate categories of farmers for a particular experiment. We conclude that for participatory research and development projects to be successful, it is not enough to develop technologies that “work” in a technical sense. In order to be scaled up and widely implemented, such technologies must also meet a variety of needs of resource-poor farmers and be acceptable from a socio-cultural point of view. Suzanne Nederlof holds a PhD in Communication and Innovation Studies from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. After finishing her MSc. degree in Development Sociology at the same university she worked at a research project in Burkina Faso and at the International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC) in Togo. Subsequently, she was based at the FAO regional office for Africa in Ghana, assigned to the Convergence of Sciences Program. She conducted the fieldwork for this article during that period. She completed her PhD research on agricultural research with a scholarship from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. She is currently employed as an advisor in rural innovation at the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Constant Dangbégnon worked for several years (1990–1998) on Inter-University Cooperation (Benin, the Netherlands and Israel) in the area of indigenous knowledge and the soft side of natural resource management. This work constituted the basis of his PhD from Wageningen University in The Netherlands. He joined IFDC – Africa Division in Lomé (Togo) in June 1999 as a socio-economic extension specialist in the Input Accessibility Program (IAP).     

Post‐displacement community resilience: Considering the contribution of indigenous skills and cultural capital among ethnic minority Vietnamese

Despite an improving regulatory framework and policies governing compensation and resettlement, the majority of the millions displaced worldwide each year by hydropower dam construction continue to experience marginalisation and impoverishment, suggesting that external financial support must be supplemented by strengthened community‐based resilience. In order to understand more about the innate resources of displaced rural communities, we applied a community resilience approach to two resettled Co‐tu ethnic minority villages in an upland area in central Vietnam to identify their community capitals and their application in improving livelihoods and living conditions. We found that weak human and financial capital constrained the ability of the resettled residents to adopt new livelihoods or migrate to seek employment. Reduced forest and river access also problematised responses to a lack of agricultural land. However, traditionally strong village affinity and social networks were retained. In addition, indigenous skills such as housing construction, honed by a highly mobile traditional lifestyle, allowed residents to construct culturally significant structures like community houses and modify or augment received housing stock. These elements of social and cultural capital eased the process of post‐resettlement adaptation. We conclude that governments should reassess current resettlement policies that prioritise financial compensation and should incorporate awareness of the adaptive resilience and limitations fostered by indigenous knowledge and practices in resettlement action plans.