World Water Week: Fish friendly irrigation: Enhancing production, livelihoods and health
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Inland fisheries play a crucial role in food security and nutrition, particularly for low-income countries, contributing 12.1 million tonnes to the global fish catch in 2021. Effective integration of fisheries into irrigation systems can enhance aquatic biodiversity, improve livelihoods, and ensure sustainable resource management, with numerous nature-based solutions available for restoration and enhancement. Collaboration among stakeholders, alongside proactive policies, is essential for creating fish-friendly irrigation systems that provide multiple ecosystem services beyond crop production.
World Water Week: Fish friendly irrigation: Enhancing production, livelihoods and health
- 2. Inland fisheries are important for development and should not be overlooked Simon Funge-Smith Senior Fishery Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
- 3. Inland fisheries found in: rivers, streams, deltas, floodplains, swamps, flooded forests, peatlands, ponds, lakes, rice fields, man-made reservoirs
- 4. Mostly small-scale and diffuse Huge range of traditional gears
- 5. End of monsoon fisheries are hugely productive, target choke points in floodplains, irrigation system drainages and next to irrigation bottlenecks (regulators)
- 6. Ricefield fisheries Generate a wide range of aquatic biodiversity, used for food Highly accessible >230 species of fish, insects, molluscs, crustaceans, reptiles, amphibians… …and plants!
- 7. Global inland fisheries catch was 12.1 million tonnes in 2021 13 % of total global fish catch 21 % of global captured food fish (marine and freshwater) 7.5 % of total food fish
- 8. Inland fisheries are important in some countries and areas for food and nutrition 11.5 million tonnes equivalent to full dietary animal protein of >158 million people ~2% of total global population Providing nutritional quality where there are otherwise poor diets e.g. Low GDP countries with inland fisheries (micronutrients, vitamins)
- 9. 43% inland catch from Low Income Food Deficit Countries Some of the poorest countries in the world are the most dependent upon inland fish Blue= per capita freshwater fish catch >2kg/capita/year Low Income Food Deficit Countries (dark blue) Landlocked countries (medium blue) Non landlocked, non LIFDC (light blue)
- 10. You would be surprised at the level of engagement in inland fisheries 17-21 million people in capture with ~8 - 38 million in post-harvest 2.5 – 6% of the global agricultural workforce Full-time, but more usually part-time, typically rural, small-scale and often mixed with farming
- 11. Regulating water has wide ranging impacts on aquatic ecosystems and their biodiversity…and on their fish for food security J Some positive Extension of aquatic regimes Creation of wetlands and habitat Aquaculture opportunities L Mostly negative Obstruction of fish migration and water connectivity Changes to water flows and the loss of natural habitat
- 12. Irrigation systems design and operation optimized for efficient water delivery for agricultural crops ….fish were not a consideration, and the gains from irrigation, offset with losses from fisheries
- 13. L Disruption of connectivity Structures block fish movement in the wet season as they move through a floodplain or upriver to spawn
- 14. L Altering flows Changes in flow confuse fish Upsets migration cues Rapid fluctuations may leave them stranded L Physical damage Physical damage through turbines and regulators
- 15. J Creation of new habitats and extension of wetlands Reservoirs, wetlands in seepage and drainage areas
- 16. Irrigation systems and their reservoirs are complex dynamic ecosystems. J With the right management, fish production can be increased, benefiting nearby communities.
- 17. Options to restore fisheries when designing, upgrading or renovating irrigation systems Greening grey infrastructure and nature-based solutions Irrigation headworks: Existing Planned
- 18. Greening grey infrastructure Tailoring low head fishways for floodplain species Improved transparency of regulators
- 19. Promoting ‘nature-based’ solutions Constructed wetlands Community fish refuges Rice-fish integration Restoring riparian habitat Flood control
- 20. Enhancing fisheries in reservoirs and irrigation tanks Stock enhancement and culture based fisheries
- 21. Recommendations • Proactive policy for integration of fish into irrigation • Highlight its potential to enhance aquatic biodiversity and livelihoods (particularly nutrition) • Build technical capacity to support integration of fish into irrigation improvement • Lending portfolios for irrigation incorporate fisheries- integration
- 22. Thank you
- 23. A Case Study of Bang Rakam Low Land Model Fish Friendly Irrigation Systems in Thailand:
- 24. ICID is interested in integrating fish farming with irrigation.
- 34. Participatory water management Meeting of all sectors in 4 districts มติ ที่ประชุมฯ 1 2 3
- 35. 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 Using Stop log in front of gates Using Stop log in front of gates Using old gates for additional control Using old gates for additional control Using big bags Using big bags Using hydraulic jacks Using hydraulic jacks Storing water for dry season rice Participatory Water Management Water management in 2020 Closing of Bang Kaew barrage
- 36. Local leaders-farmers-fishery dept.-RID. join to release fish in the project Participatory Water Management
- 40. Guidelines on Integrating Fisheries in Irrigation Systems Stockholm World Water Week 2021 24 August 2021, 07:00-08:30 CEST Sophie Nguyen Khoa
- 41. A shift in thinking • Viewing irrigation as multifunctional agroecosystems delivering a range of services, beyond crop production • Extending the scope and boundaries of the system, beyond the scheme and its command area • Engaging with a wider range of stakeholders (water users and managers of the system) • Understanding the distribution of costs and benefits: who is gaining or losing what? where in the system? how and how much? Governance Supporting Functions Conventional Irrigation Systems Fish-friendly Irrigation Systems Integration of fisheries Buidling capacity of local institutions Access rights for fishers Conflict resolution mechanisms Early engagement of stakeholders across sectors Adequate supply of irrigation water (quantity, quality, timing) Building capacity of farmers & fishers Reseach on WCI planning and design Polycentric Governance Coordinated Policies & Institutions Fish-Friendly Irrigation (FFI) provides a range of Nature-based Solutions (NBS)
- 42. A stepped process for systemic change Participatory, integrated and adaptive approach Iterative or recursive steps as relevant Stakeholders engaged throughout the process Interdisciplinary team including social and governance specialists Selected tools and methods of varying degree of complexity to support implementation
- 43. • Photo credit: International Rivers Understanding the context The irrigation system • Objectives of new scheme, rehabilitation, modernization • Key features The biophysical and ecological context The socio-economic and livelihood context The governance context • Local institutional arrangements • National legislation of the relevant sectors • Coordination between institutions, local partnerships and co-management Engaging with stakeholders • Identification, mapping, analysis • Mechanisms for engagement • Addressing potential or existing conflicts Photo Credit: International Rivers
- 44. Assessing Impacts and Opportunities Risk assessment for prioritisation - What can go wrong to create (-) impacts? - How likely is this happen? - What are the consequences? - How to reduce the likelihood or risk? Assessing the priority consequences - Biophysical: habitats, fisheries ecology and yields - Fisheries production and livelihoods - Governance of water resources, fisheries and the environment (formal and informal) Assets for which access is modified by in a context of resulting in strategies composed of activities with outcomes in terms of Natural e.g. land, water, fish stocks, forest Physical infrastructure, tools and buildings Human skills, knowledge and health Financial income flows, savings, credit Social kinship networks, associations, trust, access to wider institutions Social relations - Gender - Wealth rank - Class - Age - Ethnicity Institutions - Customary - Land & water tenure - Markets Organizations - Associations - NGOs - Local admin. - State agencies Trends - Population - Migration - Tech. change - Prices - Macro policy - National & global market Shocks - Climatic - Market - Disease - Conflict Livelihood strategies - Fishing - Cultivation - Livestock - Other hunting and gathering - Rural manufacture - Rural trade - Services - Farm labour - Non-farm labour - Migration - Remittances - Other transfers Livelihood security - Income level - Income stability - Seasonality - Vulnerability Environmental sustainability - Soil & land quality - Water - Fish stocks - Forests - Biodiversity Resource endowment Institutional and policy environment, and vulnerability context Household choices and resource allocation Outcomes
- 45. Screening and Scoping Screening the potential measures 1) Minimizing loss or degradation of aquatic habitats 2) Maintaining ecological connectivity 3) Compensating for or offsetting losses with alternative fishing options 4) Developing new aquatic habitats Mitigation • Maintaining aquatic habitats • Maintaining connectivity between waterbodies and habitats Enhancement or improvement • Fisheries in newly created habitats • Increasing fisheries production • Developing the supply chain Source: Gregory et al., 2018 Upstream of a dam Downstream of a dam
- 46. Evaluating the Tradeoffs • Identifying the water requirements for agriculture and fisheries (when, where, how much, of which quality) • Tradeoff Analysis, MCA • Selection of best options Committing to Implementation Monitoring and Adapting Agriculture requirements Capture Fisheries requirements Reservoir management Reservoirs supply water esp. during the dry season Water drawdown changes fisheries productivity Fish migrations in the early onset of monsoon season require flowing waters Dam operation Alter water availability Fish friendly flows (as part of env. flows) downstream of the dam Fish passes, fishways Alter water availability Migration of fish across infrastructure (upstream-downstream or laterally) requires fish passes/fishways Gate operation Storing water requires closing the gates Opening to maintain habitats and connectivity Water distribution Diversion from some agriculture fields and crops Water for fish in critical habitats or connectivity points Flood control Opening a gate to drain water and prevent flooding Fish migration requires opening of the gate Rice paddy Reduction of water consumption (or increase of water productivity) for rice production Fish cannot survive in rice paddies that are dried out, unless refuge areas are provided within the paddy. Draining Draining and drying of the system are required before harvest to dry off the field crop. Minimum water levels in channels are needed to provide water for fish, unless refuge areas are constructed.
- 47. Irrigation increasingly expected to deliver multiple benefits: Not only for food production and return on investment But also, for: - Food and nutrition security - Social inclusion and improved rural livelihoods - Integrity of the landscape, environmental preservation Plan, design, build, operate and manage irrigation as multi-use systems Supporting tools and guidelines such as the Guide published by FAO, IWMI and WorldFish (2020) Development and improvement through lessons from implementation Concluding Remarks Thank you! https://digitalarchive.worldfishcenter.org