The FAO/NACA Expert Consultation on "Focusing Aquaculture and Small-scale Aquatic Resource Management on Poverty Alleviation" held in Bangkok, February 12-14, 2002. With the collaboration of NACA, this expert consultation was supported by FAO as a contribution to the regional communications role of the FAO/NACA/DFID/VSO initiative "Support to Regional Aquatic Resource Management" (STREAM).
There has been a growing awareness within the aquatic resource sector of the need to address poverty more specifically and more strategically. The Expert Consultation was organised in order to provide field-level professionals in Asia with a unique opportunity to come together to share experience on working in the field of poverty alleviation and aquaculture, and to prepare a platform for future networking. The 22 participants in the consultation came from a range of field backgrounds (see Appendix 1) in 8 regional countries who are currently working with NGOs, donors, government departments and regional organizations (MRC, NACA) and regional offices of international organizations (FAO, IUCN, ICLARM).
The consultation was organised to share experience and produce recommendations under the broad thematic headings of:
1. Understandings of poverty and poor people's livelihoods, and models for poverty alleviation
2. How to effectively target poor people, and contribute to sustainable livelihoods
3. How to identify and overcome the constraints to poor people's entry into aquaculture
4. From theory to action - recommendations and guidelines for implementation
All participants prepared brief presentations on a range of themes, as well as brief papers. Sections of many of these papers have been included in this report (and are referenced in the bibliography). The full papers will be published in Aquaculture Asia, and made available via the eNACA and STREAM websites (www.enaca.org & www.streaminitiative.org). The conclusions of the expert consultation are targeted at field managers involved in poverty alleviation and aquatic resources management, policy-makers, and donors.
