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The Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific
(NACA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
are pleased to make widely available Aquaculture in the Third Millennium,
the Technical Proceedings of the Conference on Aquaculture in the Third
Millennium. It is the third major report from the Conference; the others
are the Bangkok Declaration and Strategy for Aquaculture Development Beyond
2000 that was published in April 2000 and the Report of the Conference,
published in December 2000. As with the previous two reports, these Technical
Proceedings are available on the Websites of NACA and FAO.
Together, the three reports present a potent source of knowledge of the past, present and future status of world aquaculture, in-depth discussion of experience and ideas on how to reach the desired goals for the future of aquaculture, and inspiration to achieve this potential. Preparing and organizing the Conference was an undertaking buoyed significantly by the enthusiasm and cooperation that marked everyones efforts and input on an international scale. The Conference was held in Bangkok between 20-25 February, 2000, and generously hosted by the Government of Thailand with major support from six organizations and agencies whose names and corporate logos appear on the back cover of this and the previous two publications. In addition to our official hosts and supporting agencies, many others, too numerous to mention individually, helped in countless heartwarming ways. We reiterate our deep appreciation for all the assistance given by each and every person, group and organization that enabled the Conference to be held successfully, and are grateful to everyone who took part. Your participation made it possible to achieve its immediate purpose of launching the pursuit of the long-term objectives outlined throughout these Technical Proceedings. Regardless of the length of time it may take to realize our goals for aquaculture in the third millennium, the journey starts with the first step. NACA and FAO have taken those initial steps. The day after the Conference, Asian government representatives to the Governing Council of NACA met to map the immediate and long-term Hassanai Kongkeo |
actions suggested in the Bangkok Declaration
and Strategy. Among the tasks achieved was the formulation of NACAs
Work Programme for 2001-2005, which incorporates salient recommendations
of the Declaration and Strategy. Likewise, FAO convened a meeting at its
regional headquarters in Asia-Pacific immediately after the Conference.
This included aquaculture experts from many parts of the world, who proposed
constitution of a sub-committee on aquaculture within the FAO Committee
on Fisheries (COFI), and outlined ways to implement the Conference recommendations,
particularly those with inter-regional implications.
These modest first steps are intended to pave the way for many more initiatives to be taken to get the objectives outlined in the Bangkok Strategy on the road and into the water. In the one-year period during which these Technical Proceedings were being edited, many more steps have been initiated. As with the implementation of the Millennium Conference, NACA and FAO, in cooperation with other concerned organizations, institutions and agencies, have started to forge ahead to assist aquaculture stakeholders, especially the governments and people who depend on aquaculture for their livelihoods, to achieve the social, economic and environmental sustainability goals embodied in the Bangkok Declaration and Strategy. Our optimism, that these goals are realistic and attainable, is firmly founded on the dedication and drive shown by all sectors involved: farmer cooperatives and agencies, regulators, policymakers and planners, scientists, workers of non-governmental organizations, and other aquatic resource users. This optimism is further reinforced by a new wave of international collaboration, which clearly reflects increased recognition that sustainable use of our aquatic resources can only be achieved through vigorous and combined efforts. These Technical Proceedings reflect this unity of effort. They also emphasize the openness of communication, singularity of purpose, and wisdom to adapt to dynamic aquatic systems and social conditions. It will be this flexibility, guided by principles founded on the common good, that will allow us to make optimal and sustained use of the aquatic environment, to which we are linked and on which we, and all who follow us, depend.
Ichiro Nomura
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Declaration and Strategy for Aquaculture Development Beyond 20001. The two keynote papers complemented each other. The first reviewed the progress made in development of aquaculture, and how this has been achieved over the 24 years since 1976, when the first conference on aquaculture was held in Kyoto; the second keynote reviewed the prospects for aquaculture development over the next 20 years, the potential for sustainable aquaculture development, and the mechanisms by which this potential can be achieved. Following the keynote papers, during the first day of the Conference, eight regional reviews of aquaculture development status, trends and issues were presented, along with those within China and a global overview which was largely, but not wholly, the synthesis of the regional reviews. The plenary lectures were delivered prior to the thematic sessions, their purpose being to provide the context and setting for issues to be described and analysed by the reviewers undertaking the thematic reviews. The platforms for discussion were divided into eight thematic sessions covering policy-related issues, such as legal frameworks, stakeholder involvement etc., and six sessions addressing technical issues, such as health, nutrition and genetics. The results of these discussions, specifically the conclusions and recommendations, were presented in plenary workshops and subjected to further deliberations. These conclusions and recommendations were further synthesized by a multi-national, multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary Technical Drafting Committee into a draft Bangkok Declaration and Strategy. The Draft was discussed and adopted at the final plenary session. After being subjected to a post-conference public review over a period of one month, it was refined and published. |
In addition to the Bangkok Declaration and Strategy, the recommendations of the thematic sessions were brought together in the Reportof the Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millennium2. The recommendations were developed by the members of the session panels and other specialists present at the conference, presented in plenary workshops, redrafted, and refined through post-conference consultation by correspondence among the panel members and interested participants. These provide a comprehensive set of recommendations on key issues to address for the future development of sustainable aquaculture. The three publications produced from this Conference are complementary. Together, they provide a useful reference for anyone with an interest or stake in aquaculture development. Moreover, they underline the need for direction towards higher production within the bounds of sustaining the aquatic resource base upon which aquaculture depends (habitat, water quality, stock resources). The Conference also emphasized the benefits from equitable distribution of the income and products generated by aquaculture. These have to support not only those who work directly for the sector, but also the rural communities and socio-economic dependants upon which aquaculture is developing. Sustainability is not only founded upon, but also best supported by, well-nourished and educated workforce communities. |
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1http://www.fao.org/fi/statist/fisoft/fishplus.asp
1 NACA/FAO. 2000. Aquaculture Development Beyond 2000: the Bangkok
Declaration and Strategy. Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millennium,
20-25 February 2000, Bangkok, Thailand. NACA, Bangkok and FAO, Rome. 27pp. http://www.fao.org/fi/default.asp,
www.eNACA.org
2 NACA/FAO. 2000. Report of the Conference on Aquaculture in the
Third Millennium. Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millennium, 20-25 February
2000, Bangkok, Thailand. NACA, Bangkok and FAO, Rome. 120pp.