STATEMENTS
Mr. Michael B. New
This statement is made on behalf of the AADCP Director, Dr. Plodprasob Suraswadi.
Concept of AADCP
This ASEAN-EEC Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (AADCP) was conceived by its donor, the Commission of the European Communities (CEC), to initiate twinning arrangements between ASEAN and European institutes with complementary skills and involvement in aquaculture research and training. Though the programme has CEC funding for five years, it is hoped that a long-term relationship between the institutes concerned will be fostered. Expertise in the various topics of the programme will be jointly developed, information exchanged and, perhaps most important of all, the results transferred to scientists and extension workers in the ASEAN Countries. Total donor funding for the AADCP is nearly ECU 6.8 million.
The ASEAN institutes involved in the AADCP are the Brackishwater Aquaculture Development Centre at Jepara, Indonesia, the Freshwater Fisheries Research Institute at Melaka, Malaysia, the National Freshwater FisheriesTechnology Research Centre at Munoz and the Brackishwater Aquaculture Demonstration and Training Centre at Pagbilao, Philippines, the Marine Aquaculture Section of the Primary Production Department at Changi Point, Singapore, and the National Aquaculture Genetics Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. It is relevant to note at this point that one of the ASEAN institutes involved in the AADCP is already one of the NACA National Centres: this is the Brackishwater Aquaculture Development Centre at Jepara, Indonesia.
Though not finally approved yet, it is likely that the European institutes which will be involved in the AADCP will include IFREMER and France-Aquaculture, operating from their European and Pacific bases, the Agricultural University of Wageningen, The Netherlands, and the Institute of Aquaculture of the University of Stirling, United Kingdom.
The AADCP is coordinated by the Department of Fisheries of the Royal Thai Government.
The work of the AADCP concerns five broad areas of aquaculture development. Though each will centre on activities in one of the participating ASEAN countries, the emphasis of the Programme will be on regional rather than on national application. The five topics are:
the development of improved methodology for the assessment of coastal zones for brackishwater aquaculture, including site surveys and ecological and socio-economics studies (Indonesia)
the development of improved methodology for the assessment of lakes and reservoirs for their fish production potential both through fisheries management and aquaculture (Malaysia)
the development and improvement of training and extension methodology for applied freshwater and brackishwater aquaculture (Philippines)
applied research and development of feeds and feeding technologies for marine fish and shrimp, with particular reference to small-scale feed production (Singapore)
applied research in fish and crustacean genetics (Thailand)
The work of the AADCP will be stimulated by the exchange of scientists between ASEAN and EEC. The skills and technologies jointly developed and the information generated will be disseminated through training courses, workshops, publications, and exchange visits of scientists within ASEAN.
Cooperation with Other Programmes
A major responsibility of the AADCP Coordination Office in Bangkok is the establishment and maintenance of links with other regional and national aquaculture programmes. Not only will cooperation and, where feasible, joint activities be encouraged but the Programme Coordination Office will ensure that the work programmes of the various AADCP components complement, rather than duplicate, those of other organizations. Discussions on this latter topic have already begun: for example to mesh the proposed activities of the AADCP genetics component with those of existing ICLARM and IDRC programmes in the region.
AADCP's intention to foster collaboration with other programmes has been demonstrated during our inception year through the participation of its coordinator in a number of their activities. This have included:
participation in the Seventh Session of the IPFC Working Party of Experts on Aquaculture
participation in an FAO/SEAFDEC/INFOFISH Regional Seminar on Fisheries Investment and Project Identification
membership of a review mission for the IDRC Network of Aquaculture Genetics in Asia, visiting the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Canada
presentation of the theme paper at a Workshop on Shrimp and Finfish Feed organized by the ASEAN/ UNDP/FAO Regional Small-Scale Coastal Fisheries Development Project and
participation in the third IPFC Fish Nutrition Workshop.
Finally, but most pertinent to our gathering today, two opportunities for collaboration with NACA presented themselves during the year. The first was when NACA generously published a technical manual on freshwater prawn farming which I wrote, as part of the NACA World Food Day 1988 Publication Series, and the second was when I was invited to be a coopted member of the NACA Working Group on the Strategy and Future Work Plan of the intergovernmental NACA. I know that the results of this will be discussed later during your meeting this week. Further opportunities for cooperation between AADCP and NACA will be actively sought as the AADCP becomes fully operational. I believe that my summary of our proposed activities will have already highlighted many obvious areas for potential cooperation between us.
Within one year, NACA will be an autonomous intergovernmental body and we at AADCP wish it every continued success and pledge our cooperation in achieving this in every way that we can. AADCP is very grateful to NACA for inviting its representative to this Third Provisional Governing Council Meeting. We hope to derive mutual benefit from cooperation with you in the future.
