The Fisheries and Aquaculture and Forestry Divisions at FAO join forces to implement a series of activities focused on inland small-scale fisheries

Sustainable inland fisheries rely on healthy aquatic ecosystems for the capacity to deliver the food, water, and habitat. These services cannot be ensured by the fisheries sector alone and managing them requires a multisectoral approach. The Fisheries and Aquaculture and Forestry Divisions are jointly implementing a series of activities under the umbrella “Resilient Rivers: Counting Fish from Forests” with funding from the FAO Director General’s Multidisciplinary Fund. Under this initiative, innovative technologies including satellite imagery, drone footage and GIS applications, but also more traditional approaches such as stakeholder surveys and water temperature loggers are used to gather information and build capacity for integrated forest and fisheries management across watersheds.

The package of activities is intended to improve local stakeholder’s ability to manage and monitor their watersheds, and support sustainable forest management, restoration planning, water security, and access to nutritious foods. Together with the partner organizations Worldfish, CIFOR and Fundación Humedales the scheme is being piloted in the Kafue River basin in Zambia and in the Atrato and Magdalena basins in Colombia, where available data are being compiled and information gaps identified. In Zambia additional data are being collected in the field to fill some of the gaps, while at the same time provide on-the-job training to local professionals. 

“Resilient Rivers: Counting Fish from Forests” is producing an E-learning which will introduce learners to the topic of integrated and sustainable watershed monitoring and management. The E-learning will be piloted at capacity building workshops Zambia and Colombia in November, where the elements of an integrated management plan for the river systems will be identified - including priority subbasins for restoration. 

For more information contact Ashley Steel or John Valbo Jorgensen