24 MARCH 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG I introduced the concept of forming a voluntary organization to contribute to the alleviation of poverty through small-scale aquaculture during a keynote paper given at the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) conference in Salvador, Brazil in 2003 (New 2003). My idea was stimulated by reading about the activities of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and two articles published in the Economist (Anonymous 2003a,b). I ventured the idea that people that had Aquaculture without Frontiers 2003-2012: a Decade of Voluntary Service for the Poor in Developing Countries Michael Bernard New retired from a career in aquaculture might wish to volunteer their experience to help those less fortunate than themselves. In fact, I found that the idea of voluntary service in aquaculture appealed to a wide spectrum of individuals, from students to retirees. Encouraged by this response, I asked some of my friends and colleagues (Table 1) to help me establish a mission statement and an initial strategy (Box 1) for our group, for which I had proposed BOX 1. The principles and operational strategies of Aquaculture without Frontiers. MISSION STATEMENT Aquaculture without Frontiers is an independent non-profit organization that promotes and supports responsible and sustainable aquaculture in the alleviation of poverty by improving livelihoods in developing countries. PRINCIPLES Aquaculture without Frontiers will: • Provide technical and managerial experience from individuals in the existing aquaculture community, utilizing all age strata, from students to retirees, as appropriate. • Support responsible and sustainable aquaculture practices4. • Pay special attention to forms of aquaculture (and associated activities) that have the potential to alleviate poverty and improve health through the provision of ‘home-grown’ food and the enhancement of livelihoods. • Recognize and support the role that women play in aquaculture and linked activities. • Ensure that its activities are targeted at benefiting ‘grass-root’ farmers and SMEs5. • Be culturally sensitive, and non-discriminatory and non-aligned in religion and politics. • Carry out projects that are carefully monitored and assessed for efficacy. • Be transparent and accountable in its work. AwF will be established as an independent ‘stand alone’ NGO, although one of its key principles will be to assist existing NGOs, which have a wealth of experience in developing countries. Cooperation need not necessarily be confined to NGOs that already include aquaculture in their portfolio of project work; those that use common resources will also be targeted. OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES Aquaculture without Frontiers will support aquaculture development for poverty alleviation through improving livelihoods in developing countries by: • Promoting and introducing practical techniques for small-scale responsible aquaculture. • Demonstrating appropriate technology for farm construction and operation, including responsible resource use and integration with other income and food generating activities. • Assisting in product development for consumption and sale/ marketing. • Providing technical and management training for new and existing small-scale farmers, farm workers, extension workers, and agencies (including other NGOs) working to develop aquaculture. • Increasing awareness of the importance of the aquatic environment, animal welfare, and the potential of aquaculture6. • Helping to build capacity for ‘seed’ supply. • Promoting the development of micro-credit schemes to support the purchase of ‘seed’, and to assist women to establish aquaculture-based activities designed to provide additional family income. • Recognizing the frequently landless state and lack of legal rights to water use of the economically poor by maximizing the potential of natural productivity. • Wherever possible, avoiding ecosystem degradation by turning eutrophication into productivity. • Working for long-term stability, not just short-term relief. 4 FAO. 1995. Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Rome, FAO. 41p.; FAO, 1997. Aquaculture development. FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries. No. 5. Rome, FAO. 40p.; NACA/FAO, 2000. Aquaculture development beyond 2000: the Bangkok Declaration and Strategy. Conference on the Third Millennium, 20-25 February 2000, Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok, NACA and Rome, FAO. 27p. 5 Small and Medium Enterprises. 6 For example, through small-scale demonstration projects in schools, from which harvested products could be sold and/or taken home (indirect education of parents).
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