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Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture

Synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation and mitigation options












Barange, M., Bahri, T., Beveridge, M.C.M., Cochrane, K.L., Funge-Smith, S. & Poulain, F., eds. 2018. Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture: synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation and mitigation options. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 627. Rome, FAO. 628 pp.


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    Review of Tropical Reservoirs and Their Fisheries - The cases of Lake Nasser, Lake Volta and Indo-Gangetic Basin Reservoirs. 2011
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    Freshwaters contribute 15 percent of the world’s reported fish catch, or about 10.1 million tonnes in 2006, most of which comes from tropical systems. The true contribution of tropical inland fisheries is likely to be higher, as less than half of the inland capture production is actually reported. While reservoir fisheries are already an essential component of this production, the potential of most of them may even exceed their current catch levels. Opportunities exist to increase prod uctivity, provided that environmentally and socially sustainable management systems can be adopted. To realize this untapped potential, it is necessary to improve understanding of the processes influencing reservoir productivity in such a way as to involve both biological principles and stakeholder participation, as each reservoir has different properties and different research and management institutions. Seen in isolation, catch and productivity data of individual reservoirs may be difficult to interpret. The present technical paper attempts to address this issue by reviewing the knowledge accumulated in reservoirs in some very different tropical river basins: the Indus and Ganges/Brahmaputra Basin in India, the Nile River Basin in Eastern Africa and the Volta River Basin in West Africa. In particular, it focuses on many of the reservoirs of northern India and Pakistan in the Indus and Ganges systems, Lake Nasser in the Nile River and Lake Volta in the Volta R iver. Information collated from grey and published literature on the three basins is synthesized and standardized with reference to wider knowledge and up-to-date information on tropical reservoir fisheries. A considerable quantity of data and information were collected on many aspects of the systems of the three reservoirs, including hydrological, biophysical and limnological features, primary production, and fish and fisheries data. This information was condensed and synthesized wi th the aim of providing a baseline against which the ecological changes that have taken place since impoundment can be described and analysed. Efforts are made to explain changes in fish catch in relation to climatic variations, ecological succession and fishing effort. The review shows that biological data and information are generally available. However, as is also common elsewhere, all three cases suffer from the general tendency to isolate and compartmentalize research into separ ate disciplines. Usually, there is very limited cross-disciplinary flow of information or recognition of how results of various disciplines can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the behaviour of fish populations, human communities and ecosystems and the productive activities that depend on them. This uniform tendency severely hampered the identification of relevant management actions. A more pragmatic and holistic understanding of reservoir ecosystems is needed in order to guide the choice of indicators and the development of monitoring systems that can inform management of changes in reservoir productivity and, hence, the potential catch. The next step would be to devise a hierarchy of indicators describing the different ecological and economic processes influencing fisheries catches and to organize monitoring systems around those indicators. Only by combining information across sectoral disciplines will it be possible to reach a better unders tanding of the processes that drive fish stocks, fisheries and reservoir productivity.
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    Climate-Smart Agriculture in Borno state of Nigeria 2019
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    The climate smart agriculture (CSA) concept reflects an ambition to improve the integration of agriculture development and climate responsiveness. It aims to achieve food security and broader development goals under a changing climate and increasing food demand. CSA initiatives sustainably increase productivity, enhance resilience, and reduce/remove greenhouse gases (GHGs), and require planning to address trade-offs and synergies between three pillars: productivity, adaptation and mitigation. The priorities of different countries and stakeholders are reflected to achieve more efficient, effective, and equitable food systems that address challenges in environment, social, and economic dimensions across productive landscapes. The country profile provides a snapshot of a developing baseline created to initiate discussion, both within countries and globally, about entry points for investing in CSA at scale. The economy of Borno State is largely agrarian, with livestock husbandry, crop production and fishing on the Lake Chad dominating the economic activities of the population. Agriculture is mainly subsistent, with over 70% of her population depending on it directly or indirectly for their livelihoods. It provides the bulk of employment, income, food, and clothing for the rapidly growing population as well as supplying raw materials for agro-based industries. In Borno State, agriculture contributes up to 65% of the State’s Gross Domestic Product. Major cash crops are cotton, sesame and groundnuts while food crops include maize, yam, cassava, sorghum, cowpea, sorghum, millet, sweet potato and rice. Cattle and other livestock also have enormous value chain growth opportunities. With the recent insecurity that worst hit Borno state, food production (crop/animal and fishing) contribute to only 5.9 % of the food needs of the state. Virtually, 94% of food consumed in Borno are imported either in form of credit or gift from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), world food program (WFP), and civil societies among others. Declining soil fertility, climate change, low farm input lets, limited investment and poor infrastructure continue to hamper agricultural productivity and developments in the agricultural sector. The Borno state and indeed Nigeria has made efforts to enhance the resilience of the agriculture sector to climate change. The ongoing development of the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP), the development of a National Policy on Climate Change and Response Strategy (NPCCRS) and the numerous plans, strategies and policy enabling environment are thought to set the State on the path towards sustainable development under the realities of a changing and varying climate. Some CSA practices (e.g. intercropping/multiple cropping, agroforestry, conservation agriculture etc.) are quite widespread and their proliferation has been facilitated by ease of adoption, and multiple benefits such as food, income diversification and improved resilience. Although there are a wide range of organizations conducting CSA-related work, most have focused largely on food security, environmental management and adaptation. There is the need to also integrate mitigation into the State’s climate-smart agriculture development efforts. In addition, off-farm services related to CSA need to be enhanced, including weather-smart and market-smart services. Funding for CSA is limited in the State and Nigeria in general, however there are opportunities to access and utilize international climate finance from sources such as the Green Climate Fund and Global Environment Facility and through readiness and capacity building programmes. At the national level, the National Agricultural Resilience in Nigeria, an arm of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development which targets reforestation, agriculture and livestock, is a useful mechanism for directing climate finance to CSA-related activities. Others are the fund set aside for the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan for Climate Change in Nigeria (NASPA-CCN) which can benefit CSA-related activities the Borno State.
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    FAO's work on climate change - Fisheries and aquaculture 2019
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    The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) works towards ending hunger and poverty while using precious natural resources sustainably. The fisheries and aquaculture sector makes substantial contributions to food security, livelihoods and global trade. Global production of fish and other aquatic animals continued to grow and reached 172.6 million tonnes in 2017, and about 59.7 million people were engaged in the primary sector of capture fisheries and aquaculture. Fishery net exports generate significantly more revenue for developing countries than other agricultural commodities such as rice, coffee and tea. Millions of people are struggling to maintain reasonable livelihoods through the fisheries and aquaculture sector. These are the people who are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Climate change adds to the many threats and obstacles that already confront them in their day-to-day lives. Particular attention must be given to the most vulnerable if the sector is to continue to contribute to meeting global goals of poverty reduction and food security. This publication presents FAO’s work on climate change and fisheries and aquaculture. It includes examples of FAO’s support to countries so that they are better able to adapt to the impact of climate change in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. It also brings together FAO’s most up-to-date knowledge on climate change, including a portfolio of adaptation tools and measures used to support countries’ climate commitments and action plans.

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