MODELS FOR COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Mr. J.F. MUIR & Mr. J.A. YOUNG

INTRODUCTION

The development of aquaculture is a complex process if the full potential of the sector's benefits are to be realised. Whilst free market forces may encourage commercial activities to develop, it is recognised that there may be severe constraints on the extent of development resulting from, for example, the nature of the opportunities available and capital obtainable. Moreover from, for example, the nature of the opportunities available and capital obtainable. Moreover the development process necessarily involves consideration of a range of wider issues, not all of which may be ideally addressed solely through the private sector. For example, the various social aspects of aquaculture developments may warrant external intervention, wider development objectives may be established as part of the regional planning process, there may be issues pertaining to equity etc. Co-operative development may have an important role to play in the satisfaction of these diverse goals. All these factors would suggest that the process of development requires a variety of disciplinary perspectives.;

DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT

Table 1 shows the capital requirements for maintaining existing capacity and for supporting additional production. These figures are conservative, and should be seen against an estimated total product value for the sector of $22.5 billion in 1988 (New, 1991), and an average annual level of official development assistance of $167 million, of which 83% represents production related development, 7.1% research, 0.6% feasibility studies, and 4.4% training and extension (Insull and Orezesko, 1991). These figures do not include investments in larger scale water supply infrastructure, or the needs for aquaculture-based intervention in maintaining inland or coastal fisheries. As an example, external investment in Pakistan in water resources development amounted to some $36m in 1991 (UNDP, 1993); the budge for he controversial Narmada Dam project in India amounts to some $3 billion, with World Bank funding of some $450 million.

Table 1 Projected new and replacement investment in inland aquaculture to yr 2000

Source/notes: based on data and assumptions of previous table, excluding molluscs, aquatic plants; table for illustrative purposes only; replacement and development costs for demonstration based on author's estimates on typical maintenance/replacement costs in existing systems, and new capital costs for current developments.

THE CHALLENGES OF REGIONAL AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT

There is clearly a challenge for aquaculture development; in global terms and at the regional level. Although development interest in the MEDRAP area has tended to focus on the more commercial ly visible aspects of the marine aquaculture sector, and the role of larger-scale aquaculture enterprises, the inland sector also has many areas of challenge, and the smaller scale producer may also have a justifiable role. However there are many problems of smaller-scale development. The lack of small-scale capital, the cost of implementation, the difficulty of cost and benefit targets being defined and the problems of social identification are but a few of the issues concerned.

At the regional level, the effective use of scare specialised resources suggests the benefits of co-operation; there many also be important aspects of health and quality control, trade relationships and market development, as well as skill and social aspects. At the policy level, promotional and control attitudes to aquaculture development are often contradictory, but both demanded of a society, very difficult of resolve the balance not just (in fact rarely perhaps) a matter for scientific assessment; many different levels and issues may be involved..

-  economic and sector development

-  regional development

-  strategic strength, self-sufficiency

-  complementarity, specific advantage

-  resource allocation

-  locational choices

-  environmental factors

-  popular demand

-  influential individuals and/or groups

-  international approval/competitiveness

Processes very with political systems, extent of consultation, involvement, feedback from specific groups, advisors, technical specialists, bureaucratic planners, relative strength of specific groups etc.

Within this overall range, the development and management of aquaculture, the allocation of resources, and the limitation of negative environmental consequence, may occupy quite a large number of policy issues. It is interesting to note that popular interest in aquaculture, the general concept of aquaculture being perhaps the ‘last new ground’ for primary development, and the relative absence of resource allocation mechanisms, has given aquaculture a higher prominence in policy development than its current size might appear to justify. Policy in aquaculture terms is generally positive, but is increasingly subjects to question; arguably part of the process of;

-  not knowing what it is but seems positive, cautiously supportive but no knowledge of policy issues;

-  enthused by apparent success and positive characteristics, wish to be involved, seen to be supporting, policy issues still shallow, all supportive;

-  concerned by possible over-reaction and increasing hints of abuse, some distancing, policy issues may deepen and widen;

-  enthused by the idea of controlling, seen to be responsible and caring, previous policy an embarrassment?….

The major change for many European countries has been the evolution of strategic policy approaches at the EC level, rather than the national level, and thus issues tend to be dealt with across a broad front, with the aim of equalising, harmonising approaches and effects within catch member state. However such policy is both guided by perceived national needs and priorities, and is usually modified (officially or otherwise) to provide for nationally appropriate directions. This has highlighted some interesting differences in national attitudes…. In the EC, for example policy decisions concerning development of aquaculture are expressed within the fishery sector with planning guidelines such as the MAGP - Multi-Annual Guidance Programme, in which particular priorities are set out for production approaches, balancing supply, rationalising in efficient production, encouraging specific forms of aquaculture activity. This then provides the guidance for eg EC and national investment support, regional development planning, priority programmes, etc. The approach is essentially multi-tracked, in that at the same time environmental and social policy is being formulated and expressed as plans, and these may either support or qualify the development and/or rationalisation approaches proposed for the fishery sector.

PLANNING ISSUES

There are strategic and specific planning issues, these aim to express policy in specific approaches, involve various mechanisms for public involvement in defining choice, exercise resources allocations of different forms, provide controls; also feedback mechanism for effects and/or unforeseen development to be used to adjust plans or to return to policy/legislation level. Some of the objectives of planning in aquaculture would to be:

-  specific resources allocation

-  minimise/resolve conflict

-  ensure efficiency, economic benefit

-  meet environmental/amenity criteria

-  control/restric unsuitable development

-  aim for sustainability

-  satisfy locational/land-use goals

There are various approaches/types of planning, most of which combine or overlap to provide the planning outputs we require:

-  physical; in which physical resources are identified, inventoried, assessed in quality and suitability amended, allocated to specific goals, activities;

-  economic; in which economic activities, their efficiencies, their effects are identified policy issues raised, effects of physical and financial resources allocation considered;

-  social; concerning social structures, distributions, indices, attitudes, desired changes, relationship with economic conditions;

-  resources use; a subset of physical planning, but concentrating specifically on specific resources, particularly critical natural resources such as water, energy, land;

-  sector; planning approaches covering economic, social, physical and other dimensions of a particular economic or productive sector such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industrial production, etc.

-  environmental; planning approaches covering the allocation of resources, their transformation, the social and economic issues from an environmental perspective;

The recent rapid growth of aquaculture has been accompanied by a high failure rate as a result of poor planning, lack of expertise and experienced management, and often too little government assistance and regulation. The means for rational and continuous resource exploitation in aquaculture lie far behind many other areas such as forestry and agriculture. The lack of reliable information and procedures for policy making and planning has been identified as a major constraint for aquaculture development and is a priority in many parts of the world, especially in the developing countries. Natural resources may be mismanaged, initially because of the lack of understanding of the environment and its dynamics. Once these processes began to be understood, the shortage of suitable techniques for assessment and management of large data sets became the main problem, imposing severe restrictions on planning and development. The increasing variety and complexity of natural resource data that are collected, and the growing need for the assessment of changes through time, have stressed the necessity for systems that permit the storage, management and analysis of data in an easy, reliable and rapid manner.

GIS - geographical information systems are among the approaches currently being developed to improve planning in aquaculture; particularly at the physical planning level, though environmental and social aspects may also be incorporated. The most crucial input however is to clarify how aquaculture systems work. What are the priorities for resource needs, and how do they interact with other activities.

THE ROLE OF CO-OPERATION

The role of co-operation in development; the reasons; the distinctions between:

-  co-operation at the local level, eg producer organisations, village/production co-operatives; the advantages of capital formation, sharing tasks, equipment, focus for training, extension

-  co-operation at the national level - eg aquaculture production associations, generic promotion, marketing, development of production standards

-  co-operation at the regional level; joint activities in R and D, planning comparative assessment, trade, regulation (eg of disease transmission) agreed standards, trading blocs;

GETTING CO-OPERATION TO WORK

The importance on the identification of common goals - or at least some areas where the advantages of co-operative development outweigh any individualistic considerations. There is little point in promoting such initiatives if there are not any real motivations in participation, and perceived gain.

The importance of defining and agreeing on objectives; the usefulness of logicial framework methods, eg MBO, with specified structure, agreed timeframes, and a realistic understanding of he relationships between inputs and outputs.

The importance of defining and effective management structure; one in which participants can place trust, with clarity of action and purpose, good communications, good response to changing circumstances.

The importance of process approaches, as opposed to ‘blueprint’ systems; ie structures which are designed and expected to change, evolve, with changing external circumstances, as well as internally derived demands.

The areas of co-operative development; institutional, technical, economic, marketing; need to be defined; these can be linked together, or there may be advantages in developing separately

SOCIAL, LEGAL AND OTHER ISSUES

The use of water for aquaculture is often regulated either specifically or as part of the right for fishing or agricultural purposes (Van Houtte el al 1989); there have been until recently been few constraints in practice. However, where is scarce is scarce conflicts can arise; thus in Israel, where water is priced, it is in many cases more profitable to use water for crop irrigation than aquaculture. Fish ponds have been destroyed or deepened to form irrigation or dual purpose fish culture/irrigation reservoirs and fish culture restricted to only part of the year (Hepher 1985, Sarig 1989a, 1989b). In many areas in the developed world, aquaculture development, specifically river abstraction for pond farming and the use of lake and coastal area cage sites, is being constrained by real or perceived effects on other users. In many traditional societies, water rights are carefully and often sparingly controlled, and access to these for non-traditional activities may be very difficult.

The changing nature of aquaculture may also affect its impacts and acceptability. Until late 1960's, Taiwan's aquaculture was based heavily on traditional Chinese integrated polyculture in fresh and brackish water. Due to industrial development, consumer buying power increased, moving demand from traditional low-cost products such as carp and milkfish to more intensively produced quality species like eel, grouper, and shirmp. Aquaculture was based on small family units, 1–3ha; shortage and very high cost of land have meant that most systems have intensified, requiring constant management - uneconomic if families were not involved and labour had to be hired. In 1981 aquaculture took 11% of Taiwan's total water consumption, some 21 × 106 m3, mostly from shallow (about 8m deep) borelioles, giving unpolluted and temperature stable water (25–26C). In the last 5 years uncontrolled development for intensive shrimp farming stretched this resources, and over-pumping has led to land subsidence, sometimes exceeding 2 metres. Pollution problems and disease have also affected the industry and contributed to the collapse of production from 80,000 t in 1987 to 20,000 in 1988. The recent development of competing production on mainland China and through out the rest of Asia has created further uncertainly. However recent government control over licensing water use and effluent discharge, combined with better management practices, may help to the industry as it evolves in the future. Meanwhile, the Taiwanese experience provides a good cautionary example for the planning and development of aquaculture (Chen, 1990).

The role of local and international development and investment projects might also be noted. Though many agencies understand fisheries and aquaculture to make a contribution to basic development aims, investment has often tended to support projects aimed at export production and foreign currency earnings - valid perhaps for structural readjustment - or has been imprecisely targeted to potential beneficiaries. Heavy commercial investment - local and international - has also tended to focus on the more obviously profitable areas of aquaculture, often at considerable cost to local resources and environments. Thus by the late 1980s, penaeid shrimp farming was Ecuador's most important export after oil and bananas, and in Bangladesh shrimp exports became second only to jute. In both areas, environmental and social cause increasing concern.

PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT

What are the prospects and constraints for co-operative development in the fishery sector? Fisheries and aquaculture development of even the simplest form needs resources, management and reasonable social and economic stability. Areas where malnutrition is related to drought and crop failure are unlikely to have resources for aquaculture; but may be able to support very important seasonal fisheries. In many areas, the two activities might be complementary; traditional dependence on capture allows consumption at significantly lower prices than are common for aquaculture, while the latter supplies more developed urban and export markets. In areas where aquaculture has traditionally supplied lower-cost supplies - eg the inland water carp culture of China, SE Asia and India, products are either increasing in price beyond the means of the poorer rural communities, or are being supplanted by other higher-value cash crop products. Within a given range of aquatic resource potential, lower value products may lose out to crops for export or for the more prosperous sectors of the society. While lower-value production from simple traditional methods continues to be significant in volume terms, its importance may become eclipsed.

it is obvious that aquaculture and fisheries require to be seen within the wider views of eg aquatic resources use, land-use development, rural, regional, general economic development. Though it has frequently been claimed that aquaculture is very ‘complementary’, profitably using resources which are otherwise unused, all forms of aquaculture require the organisation and mobilisation of resources, whose use represents a removal from use elsewhere - whether productive recreational, aesthetic.

Capture fisheries, based on natural aquatic habitats and their productivity, are also traditionally considered non-demanding of resources and may even respond positively to additional ‘waste’ inputs. However, the opportunity costs of maintaining or re-establishing fishery production, and the importance of the opportunity costs of maintaining or re-establishing fishery production, and the importance of the communities this serves, might increasingly be brought into benefit assessment.

Both in generalised planning and in specific design, it is important to be aware of these resource implications, and to consider the capacity of various locations and systems to supply resources. Increasingly, questions of aquaculture and fisheries in development will feature in the wider technical context, involving the understanding, management and rehabilitation in terms of individual ecosystems or ecotopes such as lake and river systems, lagoons, mangroves and coastal reef, in terms of understanding the characteristics and potential and ranges of production systems, and in terms of better characterisation of water resources, including domestic, agricultural and industrial ‘waste’ water. These components would then form part of a set of larger, higher-order multiple-linked systems and management approaches, such as

-  watershed management, particularly for inland fisheries; involving issues such as water retention, local albedo effects and soil stabilisation; sediment collection, maintenance of nutrients and productivity; groundwater use, reuse and quality management; multiple use of reservoirs, lakes, and the development of multi-use ecological and economic models; incorporation in larger scale projects for flood control, irrigation, water supply and waste water treatment.

-  coastal area management, for brackish water and marine aquaculture, coastal and lagoon fisheries, involving issues such as water exchange, physical development, sedimentation and salinisation, groundwater use, nutrient and chemical management,

There is considerable scope for greater integration between fisheries, aquaculture and water resources management. Where social and other conditions permit the management and regulation of fisheries, or where existing natural resources are threatened by other activities, aquaculture techniques - broodstock selection, hatchery production - may become more important in supporting or enhancing fisheries.
‘Biomanipulation’, using aquaculture - based knowledge or techniques to enhance productivity of natural water bodies may widen opportunities for lower-cost food production. These techniques, rather than competing with other forms of aquatic production, should provide better means for managing aquatic resources, whether in terms of understanding natural populations of phytoplankton or fishery stocks, supplementing production with habitat structures and controlled releases of nursery stock, or manipulating environments for restoration or enhancement. This understanding should be broad and open-minded, and would comprise many different aspects of traditional planning and engineering, together with sizeable elements of biology, sociology and economics. We might aim for a similar understanding to that of agricultural systems, of the means to define the possibilities, what resources they require, and how are systems set up to successfully produce our intended crops. There is no reason, short of several thousand years' experience, not to attempt similar approaches in aquatic resource use, and to develop the kind of practical framework in which we can plan, manage, research and develop.