Climate-related risks to cage aquaculture in the reservoirs of Northern Thailand

Extreme or unusual weather is suspected to be a factor in mass mortality events of fish cage aquaculture in reservoirs. The most important climate-related risk was drought or low water levels, which also contributes the largest financial impact. Other climate-related risks perceived as important included: over-turning of stratified cooler and anoxic bottom water layers; prolonged cloud cover; sharp changes in temperature; heat waves; and cold spells. Risks are primarily managed at the farm level with techniques such as aeration, and reducing feed during stressful periods. This is a one-page draft for a larger article

How local governments engage communities in climate change adaptation

This is a one page draft submission towards a larger article based on research and review of 47 case studies from the Asia Pacific region. It aims to understand how local governments engage their communities, and the capacities and contextual factors which influence these relationships. Collaboration between local governments and communities is potentially of great importance to the effectiveness and sustainability of local adaptation to climate change

Gender in development discourses of civil society organizations and Mekong hydropower dams

'Gender in development' discourses are used to justify interventions into, or opposition to, projects and policies; they may also influence perceptions, practices, or key decisions. Four discursive threads are globally prominent: livelihoods and poverty; natural resources and the environment; rights-based; and managerial. Civil society organisations (CSOs) have been vocal in raising awareness about the adverse impacts of large-scale hydropower developments on the environment, on local livelihoods, and on vulnerable groups including women. This discourse analysis first examines how CSOs engaging in hydropower processes in the Mekong Region frame and use gender in development discourses, and then evaluates the potential of these discourses to empower both women and men. Documents authored by CSOs are examined in detail for how gender is represented, as are media reports on CSO activities, interview transcripts, and images. The findings underline how CSOs depend on discursive legitimacy for influence. Their discursive strategies depend on three factors: the organizations’ goals with respect to development, gender, and the environment; whether the situation is pre- or post-construction; and, on their relationships with the state, project developers and dam-affected communities. The implications of these strategies for empowerment are often not straightforward; inadvertent and indirect effects, positive and negative, are common. The findings of this study are of practical value to CSOs wishing to be more reflexive in their work and more responsive to how it is talked about, as it shows the ways that language and images may enhance or inadvertently work against efforts to empower women

Learning about climate-related risks: decisions of Northern Thailand fish farmers in a role-playing simulation game

The findings of this study underline the importance of understanding decision-making behaviour around risks for climate risk management in fish farming. The study aimed to improve how farmers make investment decisions in their fish farms when faced with risks from floods. The simulation game provided novel situations of experimental, role-playing, and decision-making, revealing limitations in common assumptions about the ease of learning from previous experiences. Findings also suggest that decision-support systems for aquaculture should take into account how recent experiences, understanding of information, and other factors influence risk perceptions and decisions

Improving climate risk management as an adaptation strategy in inland aquaculture in Northern Thailand

This article assesses the robustness of alternative, longer-term, adaptation strategies for inland aquaculture under a set of qualitative future scenarios of climate, water and fish demand in northern Thailand. Strengthening climate risk management practices in inland aquaculture requires attention be given to short-term reactions, mid-term tactics, and long-term strategies at household, community, and national scales. The benefits of pursuing specific long-term strategies like investing in new technologies or infrastructure, establishing insurance or improving early warning systems, is shown to vary across scenarios. The implication is that adaptation pathways in the aquaculture sector must maintain significant flexibility

Impacts of floods and drought on fish cage culture in rivers

This article reviews evidence about the impacts from flooding and drought or low flows on fish cage culture in rivers in Thailand. Major floods damage cages, result in fish escapes and kill fish while low flow results in water depths too shallow for cages, increasing effective fish densities, which when combined with poor water circulation, leads to low dissolved low water quality. Floods and droughts are a significant source of financial losses. Farmers may be forced to oxygen concentrations and poor harvest carly sell fish at smaller-than-standard size and thus at a low price. Losses due to floods and droughts can be reduced by improving management of risks at farm and reach level

River-based cage aquaculture of tilapia in Northern Thailand : sustainability of rearing and business practices

Whereas most studies of cage culture have been carried out in ponds, lakes or reservoirs, cage-based aquaculture in rivers and other public water bodies raises issues of natural resource management that are closer to fisheries management than aquaculture in fish ponds on private land. This paper analyzes an emerging industry in the Upper Ping River in northern Thailand which helps serve the large and growing demand for farmed fish in Chiang Mai. Farmers appear to pay attention to environmental and market factors that pose risks to profitability of their operations, as good water quality means aquaculture can continue

Gender and the management of climate-related risks in northern Thailand

This paper draws on a set of studies to critically explore the influences of gender on climate risk management by fish farming households in northern Thailand. Research on the roles of women in community-level water management and gendered social norms, suggests that it is often more challenging for women to reduce risks to their farms than for men. This is a draft (one-pager) submission towards a longer article