Environment and aquaculture in developing countries

An Overview of Environmental Issues

in Developing-Country Aquaculture*

ROGER S.V. PULLIN

International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management

MCPO Box 2631,0718 Makati

Metro Manila, Philippines

PULLM, R.S.V. 1993. An overview of environmental issues in developing-country aquaculture, p. l-

19. In R.S.V. Pullin, H. Rosenthal and J.L. Maclean (eds.) Environment: and aquaculture in
    developing countries. ICLARM Conf. Proc. 31, 359 p.

Abstract

Aquaculture, like all interventions by humans to exploit or manage natural resources for food

production, has the potential for causing environmental harm as well as for improving livelihood and

nutrition. Aquaculture development mustbeundertaken in a broad intersectnral context, considering

especially its interactions with agriculture, forestry and capture fisheries and its environmental

consequences. This paper examines types of aquaculture development and discusses the concept of

sustainability and demographic, political and emnornic factors before giving examples of recent

developments and criteria for assessing others.

Introduction

Aquaculture, like all food production
by farming, has large effects on the
environment, many of which can be
negative: occupation and fragmentation
of former natural habitats; reduction of
the abundance and diversity of wildlife
and changes in soil, water and landscape
quality. The same applies to agriculture
(Simons1988,1989). Because farming will
remain the mainstay of most developing-
country economies for the foreseeable
future and will cause much environmental
change, it is essential that the potential
negative effects of further development of
aquaculture be thoroughly appraised.
Environmental protection and nature
conservation now have much higher

*ICEARM Contribution No. 737

profiles in the political arena, mass media

and public awareness than before.

Environmental impacts at the relatj.vely

new frontier of aquaculture need very

careful attention.

This paper gives working definitions

of terms (aquaculture, developing

countries, environment, sustainability and

agroecology) and discusses broad concepts,

summarizes the status of developing-

country aquaculture and considers the

future of aquaculture in developing

countries, emphasizing the search for

sustainability in the face of rapid change.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is defined here as a

modification of the definition proposed by

FA0 (1990a), omitting FAO's criterion

that produce can be considered as derived