Page 68 - FAO-IPCC Expert meeting on climate change

Appendix 01: Speakers’ summary notes
Direct climate change effects include extreme weather events, rising water temperatures (influencing oxygen content, stratification intensity and higher oxygen demand for poikilotherms), changes in river flow patterns, extensive draughts and floods, increase salinization of coastal river basins (e.g. Mekong)15. The possibility of direct man-induced changes (e.g. dams) exacerbating CCI on inland fisheries and aquaculture (IFAq)16 are a major reality (e.g. Mekong17, Amazon Basin18).
Hydrology changes could impact on the reproductive cycle of species, and effect recruitment and consequently production19. In Lakes Tanganyika and Lake Malawi deep waters have warmed 0.2–0.7°C over the past 100 years, increased thermal stratification, and prevented upwelling affecting fishery productivity with yet unknown consequences on food security20.
Aquaculture in Vietnam, Lao, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China21 are ranked very vulnerable to climate change. The catfish farming in Vietnam, with a work force of nearly 200,000 and exports worth over US $ 4 billion22is made vulnerable from sea level rise and salinization23. Shrimp only and shrimp-rice alternating systems in deltaic areas of Bangladesh, major foreign exchange earners, are under threat24.
CBF, a developing country practice in small water bodies, is predicted to yield 10 million tons of fish. This cost-effective strategy, enhances production many fold over that from natural recruitment25,26, and improves food security in rural areas. CBF is dependent entirely on the rainfall patterns and therefore vulnerable to CCI.
Adaptation strategies (AS)
AS to counteract negative impacts on inland fish production should be a coordinated watershed effort. Strategies for fishery communities include the development and adoption of alternative livelihoods, integrated monitoring and early warning systems28 to prepare fishers for extreme events or to face sharp changes in the catches of target species. More flexible fishing gear and methods to harness unexploited species offer an option27 but will have to be regulated to ensure maintenance of ecosystem services and sustainability of the resources; developing management plans according to an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) could increase resilience of systems.
In aquaculture AS need to be developed and implemented according to specific farming systems and contexts.
Key governance aspects of adaptation, valid to all types of aquaculture include the spatial planning of aquaculture considering climate change related risks (especially extreme events and sudden circulation pattern changes in tropical lakes). Biosecurity frameworks and better management systems put in place to minimize risks, such as escape of cultured alien species, genetically improved strains. Implementation of integrated environmental monitoring and early warning systems at the watershed scale with stakeholder involvement are essential8,28 to improve stakeholder understanding of climate change related threats.
Current farming systems already offer some adaptation opportunities; species resilient to temperature changes (e.g. carps, tilapias), and saline tolerant strains of some.
15 De Silva S.S, Soto D. (2009). FAO Fisheries Technical Paper, 530: 137-215.
16 Tello, G. (2013. FAO Actas de Pesca y Acuicultura No 29. Roma, FAO. pp. 103–181.
17 Mekong Commission (2011). Mekong River Commission Secretariat, Vientiane, Laos PDR. 254 pp.
18 Finer M., Jenkins C.N. (2012). PLoS ONE 7(4): e35126. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035126
19 Vass, K.K., Das, M.K., Srivastava, P.K., et al. (2009). Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management, 12; 138-151.
20 Rosenzweig, C., Casassa, G., Karoly, D.J. et al. (2007) Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. CUP, Cambridge, UK, pp. 79–131.
21 Handyside, N., Telfer, T.C., Ross, L.G. (2016). Fish & Fisheries. DOI:10.1111/faf.12186, 23
22 De Silva, S.S., Phuong T.N. (2011). Reviews in Aquaculture, 3, 45-73.
23 Nguyen, L.A., Vinh D. H., Bosma Roel, et al. (2014) Ambio, 43; 1059-1068.
24 Ahmed, N., Diana, J.S. (2015). Ocean and Coastal Management, 114; 42-52
25 Pushpalatha, K.B.C., Chandrasoma, J. (2010). Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 26, 99-104.
26 Phomsouvanh, A., Saphakdy, B., De Silva S. S. (2015). Aquaculture, 439, 29-38.
27 Amarasinghe, U. S, Ajith Kumara, P.A.D., De Silva Sena S. (2016). Food Security, 8; 769-781.
28 FAO (2016). FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Proceedings No. 45. Rome, Italy
FAO-IPCC Expert meeting on climate change, land use and food security