Poverty and Inequality in Seasonal Floodplain Areas of Bangladesh: The Role of Fish Income from Community Based Aquaculture

Over half of Bangladesh comprises of floodplains and most of the surrounding households depend on these floodplains for their livelihood. However, these floodplains remain unused during the monsoon season due to the lack of proper management systems. The WorldFish Center implemented an action research project through a Community Based Fish Culture (CBFC) system to assess the contribution of collective actions to aquaculture for sustainable use of floodplain resources and equitable distribution of benefits among the fisher communities. Using three years of panel data from the project as well as control sites, this study examines the impact of the Community Based Fish Culture system on income, employment, inequality and poverty. Both non-parametric (propensity score matching method) and parametric (random effect model) methods are used for impact assessment. Gini decomposition & FGT poverty method is used to estimate the effect of the CBFC system on fish income as well as total income inequality and poverty measurement respectively. Both (non-parametric and parametric) methods show that the CBFC system can significantly increase fish income without any negative impact on non-fish income and it also has a positive and significant impact on employment generation. Results reveal that fish income distributed equally after adopting this management system also has a positive impact on total household income distribution in the study area. Poverty analysis shows that the incidence (head count ratio) and depth (gap) of poverty are unambiguously lower for CBFC participant households rather than non-participants. Policy implications for sustainable management are discussed.Keywords: Fish and Aquaculture Sectors' Development, Fisheries Economics, Managing Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture sectors Part

Reimagining large-scale open-water fisheries governance through adaptive comanagement in hilsa shad sanctuaries

Almost a half million fishers in Bangladesh are predominantly reliant on the hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) fishery in the Meghna River and estuarine ecosystem. This paper adopts a broadened concept of social-ecological traps to frame the complex dynamics that emerge from social and ecological interactions in this highly natural resource-dependent social-ecological system (SES). We analyze how endogenous self-reinforcing processes in the system and poor initial conditions, particularly debt and lack of livelihood options outside fisheries, keep fishing households in poverty. We identify a policy decision in favor of incentive-based fisheries management as a critical juncture that influenced a trajectory of recovery in hilsa shad stocks in this complex adaptive system. Normative assessment of stakeholder perceptions indicates that fishers perceive a nominal improvement in well-being as a result of this policy. Compensation in return for compliance with a seasonal fishing ban in sanctuary areas does not, however, disrupt trap dynamics perpetuating the cycle of poverty, social exclusion, and political disempowerment in which fishing households are entrenched. Poverty and lack of alternative livelihood opportunities remain significant reasons for noncompliance with the ban as long as fishers do not have any meaningful representation in resource management and decision making. A secured tenure system through adaptive comanagement involving fishers in monitoring and enforcement of compliance with fishing bans, supported by sustainable finance for livelihood improvements outside of natural resource exploitation and predicated on responsive and accountable institutions for and by people who depend on the fishery, can form the foundation for local stewardship in a unique demonstration of contemporary large-scale open-water fisheries governance in this complex SES

Homestead pond polyculture can improve access to nutritious small fish

In Bangladesh, homestead pond aquaculture currently comprises a polyculture of large fish species but provides an ideal environment to integrate a range of small fish species. Small fish consumed whole, with bones, head and eyes, are rich in micronutrients and are an integral part of diets, particularly for the poor. Results from three large projects demonstrate that the small fish, mola (Amblypharyngodon mola) contributes significantly to the micronutrients produced from all fish, in homestead ponds, in one production cycle. Mola contributed 98%, 56% and 35% of the total vitamin A, iron and zinc produced, respectively, despite comprising only 15% of the total fish production by weight. If consumed within the household, mola could contribute half of the vitamin A and a quarter of the iron intake recommended for a family of four, annually. Homestead ponds are uniquely accessible to women who prepare the household food. Further dissemination of the carp-small fish technology provides opportunities to target women and men together for training on fish production and consumption, nutrition and gender equity. Women only training is also recommended to enable them to engage fully, without feeling dominated by men. Partnering with the fisheries and health sectors will encourage sustainable uptake of this promising technology. Clearly, dissemination could have significant health benefits; however, improved monitoring and evaluation, particularly of dietary diversity and diet quality are essential. Research priorities should also include the production techniques of other small indigenous fish species (SIS), besides mola, and the power dynamics between women and men in operating homestead ponds