An informed thought experiment exploring the potential for a paradigm shift in aquatic food production

SUMMARYTo meet the increasing global demand for food that is predicted over the coming decades it will be necessary to increase productivity and to do this in a way that is sustainable and efficient in its use of resources. Productivity is currently determined by the intrinsic genetic potential of the domestic plants and animals on which mankind is dependent as well as by components of the biophysical environment (temperature, water availability and quality, soil fertility, parasites, pathogens, weeds) from which terrestrial or aquatic food production is derived. Within certain limits, it is possible to manipulate plant and animal genotypes, the production environment, and the inevitable interaction between these factors, to relax constraints on productivity and potential output. Looking to the future, increased scientific understanding will undoubtedly permit this manipulation to be achieved more effectively, thus enabling the scale of production to be elevated predictably while reducing reliance on non-renewable inputs and limiting the use of more forest, grassland, wetland or coastal margin. The present paper introduces a collection of reviews that were commissioned as part of the UK's Government Office of Science Foresight Project on Global Food and Farming Futures which reports early in 2011. The reviews explore opportunities for advances in science and technology to impact in coming decades on the sustainable productivity of terrestrial and aquatic food production systems. Collectively, they describe many of the approaches currently being considered to define, remove or relax the different genetic or environmental constraints limiting sustainable food production. These include: potential impacts of climate change on aquatic systems, the application of biotechnology, genetics and the development of systems to improve livestock, fish and crop production; approaches to the management of parasites and pathogens; weed control in crops; management of soil fertility; approaches to countering problems of water shortage; reducing post-harvest wastage; the role of advanced engineering and the potential for increasing food production in urban environments.

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Developing Climate Information Services for Aquaculture in Bangladesh: A Decision Framework for Managing Temperature and Rainfall Variability-Induced Risks

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems ◽

10.3389/fsufs.2021.677069 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Peerzadi Rumana Hossain ◽

T. S. Amjath-Babu ◽

Timothy J. Krupnik ◽

Melody Braun ◽

Essam Yassin Mohammed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Support ◽

Climate Variability ◽

Food Production ◽

Fish Farming ◽

Information Services ◽

Climate Information ◽

Decision Framework ◽

Rainfall Thresholds ◽

Dry Spell ◽

Aquatic Food

Climate information services (CIS) are increasingly in demand to assist farmers in managing risks associated with climate variability and extremes experienced in food production. However, there are significant gaps in the availability and accessibility of these services, especially in aquatic food production in developing countries. In response, this study aims to generate the background knowledge for developing climate information and decision support services tailored for aquaculture farmers in Bangladesh. We surveyed 800 fish-farming households, interviewed 30 key informants, and conducted a systematic literature review to identify climate-sensitive operations and management decisions in aquaculture and to document fish-farmers' awareness of the relationships between climate variability and aquatic food production systems. We also sought to identify the lead time and communication method(s) needed to deploy forecasts effectively and prepare aquaculture farmers to act in response to the forecasts. A fish-farming activity calendar was developed that identified high temperature, cold spell, heavy rainfall, and dry spell events as key climatic phenomena affecting year-round aquaculture operations, including pond preparation and maintenance, fingerling stocking, grow-out management, and harvesting. We also identified five climate-sensitive management decision points and 26 potential advisories in line with specific climate variability to manage induced risks in the day-to-day operations of fish farmers. Finally, the research team developed a decision framework based on the temperature and rainfall thresholds for the grow-out phase of four widely cultivated and economically important fish species in Bangladesh. This innovative decision support approach is to our knowledge the very first endeavor to develop CIS using species-specific temperature and rainfall thresholds to reduce climate risks and ensure resilience capacity for South Asian aquaculture system.

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Managing to harvest? Perspectives on the potential of aquaculture

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2004.1572 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 360 (1453) ◽

pp. 191-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

James Muir

Keyword(s):

Resource Use ◽

Food Production ◽

Developing Economies ◽

Natural Resource Use ◽

The Past ◽

Rural And Urban ◽

Production Growth ◽

Contemporary Perspective ◽

Aquatic Food ◽

Practical Constraints

Aquaculture has been one of the most rapid and technically innovative of food production sectors globally, with significant investment, scientific and technical development and production growth in many parts of the world over the past two decades. While this has had a significant effect on the global supply of aquatic food products and had an important impact in rural and urban food supply and employment in many developing economies, growth and increasing internationalization has not been without concern for natural resource use, environmental impact and social disruption. The expectations for production and diversification are now significant and while the scientific and technical means are already available to meet much of the intended targets, practical constraints of investment, profitability, resource access and system efficiency are likely to become far more important constraints for the future. This review offers a contemporary perspective on the ways in which the sector might develop, its interactions with constraints and the strategies that may be required to ensure that future development is both positive and sustainable.

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Linking agroecosystems producing farmed seafood with food security and health status to better address the nutritional challenges in Bangladesh

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980019002295 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (16) ◽

pp. 2941-2949 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Baukje de Roos ◽

Nanna Roos ◽

Abdullah-Al Mamun ◽

Tahmeed Ahmed ◽

Alan A Sneddon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Food Production ◽

Salinity Gradient ◽

Local Communities ◽

Food Sector ◽

Estuarine Zone ◽

Food Deficit ◽

Public Health Institutions ◽

Health Institutions ◽

Aquatic Food

AbstractObjective:Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing food production sectors in many low-income and food-deficit countries with aquatic ecozones. Yet its specific impact on nutrition and livelihood in local communities, where commercial and/or export-orientated aquaculture activities are developed, is largely unknown.Design:The present narrative and argumentative review aims to provide an overview of our current understanding of the connections between aquaculture agroecosystems, local and national fish production, fish consumption patterns and nutrition and health outcomes.Results:The agroecological dynamic in a coastal-estuarine zone, where the aquatic environment ranges from fully saline to freshwater, is complex, with seasonal and annual fluctuations in freshwater supply creating a variable salinity gradient which impacts on aquatic food production and on food production more generally. The local communities living in these dynamic aquatic ecozones are vulnerable to poverty, poor diet and health, while these ecosystems produce highly valuable and nutritious aquatic foods. Policies addressing the specific challenges of risk management of these communities are limited by the sectoral separation of aquatic food production – the fisheries and aquaculture sector, the broader food sector – and public health institutions.Conclusions:Here we provide an argument for the integration of these factors to improve aquaculture value chains to better address the nutritional challenges in Bangladesh.

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A world transformed by climate justice

New Perspectives ◽

10.1177/2336825x20935235 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 347-365

Author(s):

Madita Standke-Erdmann ◽

Alina Viehoff

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Paradigm Shift ◽

Thought Experiment ◽

Global Scale ◽

Economic Consequences ◽

Climate Justice ◽

Security Risks ◽

Political Actors ◽

Guiding Principle ◽

The Future

What will the world look like in 2040 and how did we get there? How will climate change, one of, if not the most pressing issue of our times be tackled on a global scale? With these questions in mind, this article invites the reader to perform a thought experiment into the future. Following an imagined snapshot of the year 2040, the reader is guided through major global developments regarding climate change, social movements and, eventually, climate justice from the 2020s to 2040s. By imagining social, political and economic consequences of climate change and responses to them, this article paints a picture of what the future could look like if climate justice became a guiding principle in the struggle of mitigating the effects of climate change. Suggesting a paradigm shift from securitizing climate change to securing climate justice, this ‘future’ calls for a discursive turn of the manner in which climate change is thought of and acted upon. It requires different entities, including academia, to recognize their role as political actors within society. Consequently, it is crucial to reflect upon whose security is (not) considered but also which responses are taken into account in what way to mitigate security risks related to climate change. The article concludes that imagining a future of climate justice is pivotal to finding solutions to the challenges we are confronted with, that is, keeping the metaphoric ship from crashing into the cliffs.

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