Inland Aquaculture and Adaptation to Climate Change in Northern Thailand
Programs and partnerships
Lead institution(s)
Summary
Aquaculture currently contributes almost half of the aquatic animals consumed by humans, and this percentage is expected to grow.Read more
Aquaculture currently contributes almost half of the aquatic animals consumed by humans, and this percentage is expected to grow. A large fraction of global aquaculture production takes place in the tropics and subtropics of Asia, serving as an important source of employment and food security for rural residents. However, research on climate change and aquaculture is limited compared to many other agricultural activities. This project focuses on tilapia grown in farm ponds or floating cages in rivers and reservoirs in northern Thailand. It explores both how aquaculture practices should adapt to changing climatic conditions and the value of aquaculture as an adaptation strategy. Researchers will explore past impacts and future risks of floods and droughts on farms using different risk-management practices. They will look at the effects of climate variability on water properties and tilapia production, and use models to build scenarios to assess future risks from floods and low-flow episodes due to climate change. Researchers will also focus on aquaculture as an adaptation strategy, identifying and measuring the contributions of aquaculture to the resilience of households. Findings will be used by different stakeholders to assess adaptation options for fish aquaculture and create pilot adaptation projects. By combining the practical experience of water managers and fish farmers with research, recommendations can be developed for the water and fisheries sectors in northern Thailand and other aquaculture areas in Asia. This project is funded through IDRC's Adaptation Research Initiative in Asia (ARI-Asia) with funds from the Government of Canada's fast-start financing.
Research outputs
Access full library of outputs Opens in new tab
This paper is a one page draft submission towards an article examining local ecological knowledge of inland fish farmers, of both cage and pond culture systems in Northern Thailand. Different local groups use ecological knowledge to understand climate-related problems that affect their aquaculture practices. As local communities are directly and most affected by disasters, they are more concerned about mitigation and adaptation than other stakeholders. Community-based disaster risk reduction that integrates both scientific and local knowledge systems could be a promising trend for climate disaster mitigation.
This article reviews evidence about the impacts from flooding and drought or low flows on fish cage culture in rivers in Thailand. Major floods damage cages, result in fish escapes and kill fish while low flow results in water depths too shallow for cages, increasing effective fish densities, which when combined with poor water circulation, leads to low dissolved low water quality. Floods and droughts are a significant source of financial losses. Farmers may be forced to oxygen concentrations and poor harvest carly sell fish at smaller-than-standard size and thus at a low price. Losses due to floods and droughts can be reduced by improving management of risks at farm and reach level.
