1. This paper summarizes selected international cooperation experiences in the aquaculture sector and includes a series of considerations that may be useful for a valid approach to national and international aquaculture development programmes.
2. The indications and recommendations provided aim to establish certain basic principles and guidelines which should help to shape subsequent combined efforts to give aquaculture the decisive impetus it deserves, given its potential to help solve the socio-economic problems of Third World countries.
3. The strategy emerges as a logical continuation of the action developed by the FAO Regional Project in Latin America (AQUILA) and constitutes a premise for the implementation of the second phase. Appendix 1 provides a summary description of the application of this strategy during the first phase of the Project and assesses Project impact on the aquaculture sector.
4. Many of the circumstances that prevail in Latin America and that underly the paper's conclusions also apply to other regions of the world, for example, to African developing countries and parts of the Pacific with:
5. This paper may, therefore, also be of use to these regions. With this perspective in mind, the present proposal can be considered as an initial core which, integrated with similar experiences in other geographical areas will make possible the formulation of an intra-regional aquaculture development strategy. This strategy should basically serve to orient aquaculture development policies in countries and regions such as those described, as well as the action programmes of the international cooperation agencies.
6. The formulation of strategies for the development of food and agriculture production is one of FAO's functions as was recently reiterated during the Twenty-Fifth Session of the Conference of FAO (November, 1989). This is in fact nothing new with respect to the aquaculture. Most of FAO's actions in this sector during the past 15 years have been conducted within the framework of the Kyoto Strategy which was formulated in 1976 during the FAO Technical Conference on Aquaculture. This strategy was based on training, research and information programmes executed through a worldwide network of Regional Centres, and coordinated by the FAO/UNDP Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (ADCP).
7. Since 1986, however, a series of events have significantly changed the situation. The Regional Centres have either been modified institutionally or have disappeared and the Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme has reached its conclusion. Very little of the original strategy is still in operation, despite the valid contributions of the Programme towards aquaculture development during its period of operation.
8. At the same time, a number of countries have become increasingly interested in this sector as a result of the success of certain commercial aquaculture activities. There has been greater governmental focus, therefore, on aquaculture and greater overall demand for international technical cooperation. However, the response of the various development agencies has so far lacked clearly-established reference criteria that permit the adoption of lines of assistance that conform to the procedures and priorities of each agency.
9. Given this situation, it would seem appropriate to outline a reference framework for use by both the potential beneficiary countries and by the international cooperation agencies.
