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Developing inland aquaculture in Solomon Islands |
Like other Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), Solomon Islands has a great reliance on fish for food and income. In a total population of just over half a million people, some 75% of Solomon Islanders are subsistence-oriented, small-holder farmers and fishers; and fish accounts for 73% of total expenditure on food that is sourced from animals.
Many PICTs recognize that there is an increasing gap between fish supply and demand; this is due to growing populations, combined with the impacts of climate change and overfishing on the health of inshore reef fisheries... |
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Community-based resource management and climate change vulnerability assessments in Solomon Islands – Coral Triangle Support Partnership |
The warm tropical waters of the Coral Triangle may host the richest diversity of marine life on this planet. More than 75% of all recorded coral species and at least 3,000 fish species and can be found here. A diverse mix of habitats including river estuaries, mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs sustain this rich marine biodiversity. Resources from this area support livelihoods and provide income and food security for more than 100 million local people, particularly in coastal communities.
The Coral Triangle, occupying approximately 6.8 million square kilometres (just over 1... |
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Payments for Mangrove Ecosystem Services |
Mangroves are key coastal ecosystems that furnish valuable goods and services including water quality control, nursery habitats and storm protection. Additionally like other forests, mangroves have high rates of primary productivity and sequester (i.e., take up) large amounts of atmospheric carbon. Mangroves thus function as critical global sinks for carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas), and their conservation and restoration can play an important role in climate change mitigation in developing countries.
Payment for ecosystem services, such as the global climate change... |
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Improving Food Security with Fish Aggregating Devices |
Fish aggregating device, Solomon Islands
In Solomon Islands, as well as in many other Pacific Island Countries and Territories, fish is a major source of protein, especially for rural and coastal people. However, growing populations combined with the effects of climate change and increased fishing pressure on inshore reef fisheries means the gap between fish demand and supply is increasing. If steps are not taken to alleviate this situation, it is predicted that a number of these countries and territories will be unable to meet their nutritional needs from reef... |
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Developing Co-Viability in Fisheries Management |
Fish selling, Solomon Island
Globally, capture fisheries have been declining since 1988. This has had a major impact on the more than 120 million people worldwide who are fisherfolk, more than 90 percent of whom live in developing countries, working in small-scale, household-based or artisanal fishing enterprises. Marine ecosystems are also in decline worldwide, and this loss of biodiversity is exacerbating the reduced fish stock production, with huge impacts on the socio-economic performances of fisheries and the livelihoods of the... |
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Diversifying livelihoods through aquaculture in Timor Leste |
Rural livelihoods in Timor Leste are essentially subsistence or semi-subsistence, and largely depend on crop farming and raising livestock. A carbohydrate-based diet (maize, rice, cassava, taro, sweet potato and vegetables) provides the major source of calories; meat or fish (animal protein) is only eaten on special occasions as these are expensive food items and fish is not readily available in rural areas far from the coast. Nearly half of the population lives in extreme poverty and food insecurity. The proportion of underweight children under the age of five has been estimated at 45% by... |
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Community-Based Fisheries Strategies to Help Vulnerable Island Communities |
More than 70% of Solomon Islanders derive their livelihood from subsistence fishing and agriculture. However, the well-being of these people, one third of whom are under the age of 15, is under threat. Faced with one of the highest annual population growth rates in the world, habitat degradation, climate change, and an increasing demand for cash, small-scale fisheries in this South Pacific archipelago are finding it harder and harder to meet the increasing demand for fish.
Examples of a communities with a high reliance on fish for both food and income can be found in Lau Lagoon, located on... |
