Livelihoods

The WorldFish mission is to strengthen livelihoods and enhance food and nutrition security by improving fisheries and aquaculture. We pursue this through research partnerships focused on helping those who stand to benefit the most—poor producers and consumers, women and children This strategy details the ambitious impact targets we have embraced, which are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and charts our course to achieve them.

This booklet present several stories of women in rural Bangladesh and Nepal who are making positive changes in their communities. The stories have been collected from a variety of projects WorldFish has been implementing over the past nine years with support from partners and donors. These inspirational women have undertaken new agriculture-aquaculture livelihood opportunities to better their lives and those of their family members. To get where they are now, these women have had to overcome many challenges.

This paper provides an in-depth understanding of social dynamics in the form of kinship ties in matrilineal societies. It unpacks gender roles and relationships at the community level to understand how social structures, created by the pattern of relations, enhance or hinder coping initiatives during lake recessions in the Lake Chilwa socio-ecological system.

This report details rural communities’ perspectives on the importance of fish, and how it supports the poor. Variability between zones and social groups is detailed, as well as constraints and opportunities in the sector.

Various studies have illustrated how gender differences could affect ecosystembased adaptation based on gender-based preferences and perceptions, social and economic roles and institutional arrangements. However, these gender aspects in climate change adaptation are seldom reflected through empirical case studies.

Sustainable intensification has recently been developed and adopted as a key concept and driver for research and policy in sustainable agriculture. It includes ecological, economic and social dimensions, where food and nutrition security, gender and equity are crucial components. This book describes different aspects of systems research in agriculture in its broadest sense, where the focus is moved from farming systems to livelihoods systems.

The establishment of a sanctuary is often suggested as an effective strategy for ecological restoration, though social aspects of such attempts are often overlooked. This study analyzed the socioeconomic status of 248 fishing households who are dependent on hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) sanctuaries in southern Bangladesh.

This report resulting from 3 years of surveys details the relative contribution of fish to wealth, nutrition, labor, resilience and health among rural Cambodians.