6.1 United Nations organizations in the region
6.2 Other organizations in the region
6.3 Economic communities in the region
6.4 Regional and global aquaculture development projects
The countries of the region are active in a number of organizations in which aquaculture is regarded as a sector, either individually or as a component of a larger sector such as fisheries or agriculture, and which receives support in some form. The principal regional organization is the United Nations in which all countries (with the exception of Chile) actively participate as member states.
Most of the countries are members and participate in the activities of the specialized organizations and agencies of the UN system. Those which have substantial records of providing technical and capital assistance to the sector world-wide are the UNDP, the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the World Bank in affiliation with the International Development Association and the International Finance Corporation.
UNDP has offices in Argentina, Guatemala, Guyana, Paraguay, and Venezuela; and both UNDP and FAO have offices in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Uruguay. Belize shares the FAO office with Mexico. FAO's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean is in Santiago, Chile.
Other UN organizations support the sector through projects directed at other objectives; for example, the United Nations Children's Fund has worked in Peru; Unesco has financed fellowships for training and short-term research; the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has been concerned with trade and export of aquaculture products and regulating tariffs between countries; and the World Health Organization (WHO) has supported research at agriculture centres with have relevance to fish culture. One agency, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean is there to collaborate with the regional governments in the investigation and analysis of economic problems, and provides guidance in the formulation of development plans, often in cooperation with other UN agencies.
The IDB has been the predominant organization providing capital assistance to the aquaculture sector in the region. The IDB is based in Washington DC, USA, and has 43 members from, and outside, the region. The IDB has been a prolific lender to the sector either directly or as a component of a larger programme. Almost US$ 20 million was loaned to the sector up to 1984, and considerably more since then, including, for example, US$ 4 million to Peru for production of shellfish.
Belize is the only member of the Commonwealth and is also one of three Caribbean states (with Guyana and Suriname) adhering to the Lome Convention of the European Community. Both organizations have been active in their support to aquaculture, although not specifically in the region.
Most countries of the region are members of the OAS, which is based in Washington DC, USA. The OAS has several specialized bodies which have relevance to the sector (Cooperation on Agriculture, Statistics, etc.) but little has been done so far.
Through FAO a number of regional commissions exist which are directly involved in fisheries. These are based at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. COPESCAL has 20 members (of which 17 are from the region as described) to promote, coordinate, and assist national and regional fishery and limnological surveys, and programmes of research and development, leading to the rational utilization of inland fishery resources. It specifically assists the development of aquaculture, and has formed a Working Party on Aquaculture which meets regularly to discuss regional cooperation and technical issues in the sector. The Regional Fisheries Advisory Commission for the Southwest Atlantic, with only Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay as members, is involved in both marine and inland resources; and the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission, which has 30 members from within (11) and outside the region, is active in conservation, development, and utilization of the living resources of the Western Central Atlantic, especially shrimps.
SELA, based in Caracas, Venezuela, allows regional consultation and cooperation in economic and social progress, chiefly through the creation of regional enterprises. Fish products and technology are specifically identified as activities, and SELA supports an aquaculture project through the Action Committee for Marine and Freshwater Production (CAPMAD), (see 6.4).
The region of Latin America as described by this survey includes countries of both Central America and South America, and extends over a wide area divisible into smaller geo-political sub-regions. The countries described by this survey are therefore members of a number of economic groups.
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela are members of the Andean Group. Chile, an original member, withdrew in 1977. The Group aims to accelerate the harmonious development of member states through economic and social integration, and has activities which establish sub-regional development programmes in agriculture (among other sectors), especially improving food technology. The headquarters of the Group is in Lima, Peru.
Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are members of CACM. CACM, which is based in Guatemala City, Guatemala, was established to liberalize interregional trade and establish free trade areas and customs union. Two of its nine departments are concerned with agriculture, and science and technology, but so far with nothing relevant to either fisheries or aquaculture.
Belize and Guyana are two of the 13 members of CARICOM, and Suriname is an observer. CARICOM, which is based in Georgetown, Guyana, was formed in 1973 to foster trade and promote economic integration and cooperation amongst its members. It has a number of activities in agriculture and fisheries, particularly training, and it has submitted plans for a regional aquaculture centre, with the help of FAO, to LOME III/EEC for funding (about US$ 2 million). Formal approval has not yet been given. CARICOM provides loans through the Caribbean Development Bank for investment in the sector through EEC financial assistance.
The Latin American Integration Association, based in Montevideo, Uruguay, has eleven members (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela), and was established in 1980 to replace the Latin American Free Trade Association. Its activities are intended to increase trade between members and promote regional integration, leading in the long-term to a Latin American Common Market.
OLDEPESCA was created by ten countries (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela, together with Cuba) and is located in Lima, Peru. One of its principal programmes is concerned with regional development of aquaculture, with each member funding national research and the secretariat funding the coordination and interchange of technical personnel and, where necessary, species. Some activities of OLDEPESCA have been supported financially both by UNDP and FAO.
The Government of Italy is providing financial support for regional aquaculture development among the Spanish and Portugese-speaking countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The project, called AQUILA, is executed by FAO. It is based in Brasilia, Brazil. The present phase terminates at the end of 1989. The principal components of the project are the networking of priority research topics, and technical training activities through short-term specialized courses, medium-term courses for government officers, and study tours. Information is the third component, both to support technical development in the sector and national planning.
CAPMAD, an aquaculture action committee for SELA, based in Caracas, Venezuela, has established, through its Project Five, a pilot scale research project in aquaculture. The project also supports training through the exchange of technical personnel, and the publication of an aquaculture review.
ALA, for all intents and purposes, is a regional project. It provides information for scientists and technologists in the sector and, in addition to publications listing members and projects, conducts a number of meetings at which topics of regional importance are reviewed. Its recent collaboration with AQUILA is further strengthening this sector.
The FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, from its headquarters in Santiago, Chile, has established an information network for technical cooperation in aquaculture throughout the region. Participants in the network include Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama (and Cuba). In addition to the circulation of a newsletter, the network publishes and distributes information on a variety of topics, including engineering, diseases, culture practices, etc., and assists in planning.
The Permanent Commission for the South Pacific is an organization established by Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru which has organized a number of activities for marine-related aquaculture, such as seminars and meetings, and also provides financial assistance for specific technical studies.
Finally, UNDP created the ADCP in support of global initiatives in aquaculture. Its activities, from FAO in Rome, Italy, have extended into Latin America (with the instigation of the regional aquaculture programme in Brazil, noted above), as well as Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean regions. Advisory and guideline publications deal with both administration of the sector, such as technical assistance, economic development, planning, engineering, and marketing, and in technology.
