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fisheriesandaquatic
environmentsinGIAHS
Anne McDonald
Sophia University
Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies
28 April 2014 Rome, FAO Headquarters

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For the people, By the people
GIAHS numbers speak: global overview small-scale
fishers
approximately 90% of the world’s fishers are small-
scale fishers
collectively they harvest close to 50% of the global
fish catch designated for human consumption
‘their importance to food security, poverty
alleviation and poverty prevention is becoming
increasingly appreciated….the lack of institutional
capacity and the failure to include the sector in
national and regional development policies hamper
their potential contribution’ (FAO, 2012)

3.
fisheriesandaquaticenvironments
indesignatedGIAHSsiteexamples

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China: rice-fish agriculture
According to The State of the World Fisheries and Acquaculture 2012:
China is the main producer of rice-fish culture.With an area of about 1.3
million ha of rice fields producing 1.2 million tonnes of fish and other
aquatic animals in 2010
Fish production from rice fields has increased thirteen fold since the
1990s and is one of the most important aquaculture systems,making it a
significant contribution to rural livelihoods and food security
Almost 14 million people (26 percent of the world total) are engaged as
fishers and fish farmers in China
Global outlook: approximately 16.6 million (about 30 percent of all
people employed in the fisheries sector) were engaged in fish farming in
2010.

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Noto’s Satoyama Satoumi
Japan
fisheries and marine related activities:
1) Female ama divers of Wajima, Noto: gender
and cultural identity as elements of resource
management
1) Artisanal salt makers of Suzu, Noto: land-sea
resource use and management
1) Fisher festivals throughout the satoumi
communities of the peninsula: re-affirming
cultural heritage

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addingon/developingfisheries
connectionswithGIAHSpotentialsites
Listed on the GIAHS official website as potential GIAHS sites.
Official designation forthcoming.

7.
+Catamaran Fishing
Tamil Nadu, India
Boats are an important element of fishing
technology. Artisanal boat building are
ingenuous examples of low-tech, low-cost,low-
impact in fisheries.Technology often defines
the activities of a fishing community; moreover
those technologies that are utilized will often
shape the dynamics and organization of a
fishing community’s interconnected cultural
practices.
Recommend inclusion of the 5,000 women
who free-dive to collect seaweed in the Gulf of
Mannar,Tamil Nadu. Like the catamaran,these
women employ low-impact low-cost
technologies that have been transmitted over
generations and is the primary source of
livelihood for many a household .Their
livelihood is under threat as the waters they
have traditionally harvested in now lie in the
borders of an MPA which since 2000 bans
resource extraction from national parks.

8.
+Building GIAHS:
future potential GIAHS sites with
strong fisheries connections
These are intended solely as a beginning point on discussions of
how to further build fisheries and aquatic environments in GIAHS.

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Ahupua`a,traditionalwatershed
management,Hawai’i,USA
Connecting land and sea, Ahupua`a is the
foundation of the guiding principles for
watershed management in Hawai’i. Built on
native Hawaiian knowledge,principals and
practices promoting collaborative community-
based resource management connecting land
to sea, Ahupua`a is an example of a dynamic
holistic approach to resource management.

10.
+Building GIAHS:
focusing on community empowerment in exploring
new site potentials
As their small-scale famer counterparts in GIAHS, marginalized,
impoverished small-scale fisher communities who are often among the
most vulnerable of global citizens would benefit from inclusion in
GIAHS.
The following are merely examples intended as a starting point for
discussions on what kind of fisheries and aquatic environment to
consider from the global community for inclusion in GIAHS.

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Alo-Ewe beach seine fishers,
Gulf of Guinea, Ghana
Fishing as a way of life has continued for
centuries along the Western cast of Africa.
Known as the nomadic fishers whose artisanal
fisher heritage and identity is closely linked to
following the migration of fish along the
coastal waters of the West Africa, they are also
known as artisanal boat builders and
guardians of knowledge of fish migration
patterns.
Both the livelihoods of these nomadic
fishers/boat builders and the marine
resources they rely on are under threat. GIAHS
designation could potentially contribute to
working with these local fishers and policy
makers in the region to develop sustainable
approaches to resource management that are
environmentally sounds but also historically,
culturally and socially relevant.

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Subsistencefarmers+Commercial
small-scalefishers
MarshallPoint,PearlLagoon,Nicaragua
At Rio+20, FAO sent a clear message to the
global community about its commitment to
ensuring sustainable futures for farming and
fishing communities. GIAHS is critical, if not
the potential key, to facilitating and achieving
the objectives set out by FAO at Rio+20.
Community empowerment by recognizing
marine tenure and re-aligning traditional
community-based resource management
approaches with the development of MPAs
could contribute to socio-economic and
environmental sustainability for these
marginalized subsistence farmer coastal
communities.