Inclusive environmental performance through ‘beyond-farm’ aquaculture governance

Summary

This paper examines the potential for improved environmental performance of smallholder aquaculture production through ‘beyond-farm’ governance. Smallholder aquaculture farmers face a range of systemic environmental risks related to disease and water quality that extend beyond the boundary of their farms. Yet most governance arrangements aimed at mitigating risks, such as certification, finance and insurance, are focused on the farm-level rather than the wider landscape within which farming takes place. In this paper we propose an integrated approach to area-based management of aquaculture risks that integrates collective action, risk assurance and transfer, and inclusive value chains. In doing so, we set a new research agenda for the integrated governance of mitigating production risks and producer vulnerability in global food production.