Shrimp Farming and the Environment - Library

The field studies are examining these issues and experiences in countries included in this study in orderto better document the preliminary conclusions drawn in this report.Environmental capacity is often referred to in discussions of sustainability, but the concept has beenused very little in developing countries. There is a need to clarify the nature of environmental capacityand how it can be used to promote the sustainable development of aquaculture and other activities inthe coastal zone.Social impact of shrimp farmingThe issue of the social impact of shrimp farming has been mentioned by many authors, and severalcases of social unrest have been reported. However, few, if any, attempts have been made to study thecauses and the overall impacts of these incidents, or of aquaculture’s social effects in general.Furthermore, very few studies have assessed comprehensively the overall social, environmental, andeconomic costs and benefits of aquaculture to particular areas or countries. Social impact is anothercomponent of the ongoing field studies.Legislation, regulations, and existing experienceLegislation related to shrimp farming has been introduced in some countries, but little is known aboutthe implementation and effects of the associated rules and regulations. In other countries, specificlegislation has governed aquaculture development for many years. The field studies should focus onlegislation related to shrimp farming and should draw on experience with other types of aquaculture, incountries where such legislation has been in place for many years.Countries of specific interest in this regard include:• Thailand (as a major shrimp farming country with limited legislation);• Ecuador (as a major producer with very different scales and intensity of activities and land usecontrols);• Sri Lanka (which has significant relevant legislation that has not always been effective);• China (which in some cases has strong central or provincial government control, and hasrecently embarked on ICM initiatives);• Vietnam (which has a rapidly expanding shrimp industry based mainly on very small-scaleproducers);• Indonesia (because of the scale and dispersion of the industry), and• Norway (as a salmon farming country with a long history of legislation related toaquaculture).In addition to legislation proper, the associated and accompanying regulatory instruments should beexamined in detail, and their effects should be identified. It would be practical and most effective tostudy regulations in the same countries where legislation is studied.Economic incentivesWhile economic incentives to promote the development of shrimp farming (or aquaculture in general)have been introduced in a number of countries, speculation about their effects is rampant. There isconsequently a need to establish reliable conclusions about the results of such incentives. Field studiesshould examine tax and other economic incentives introduced to promote aquaculture and particularlythe results of these incentives. However, tax incentives to promote sustainable aquaculture seem to beless common and less widely understood. Field studies are needed to identify various forms of taxincentives and constraints that are expected to promote sustainable aquaculture, and, to the extentpossible, the experiences and lessons learned from their use. It appears that countries of interest in thisregard would include Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Norway.Enforcement instrumentsThe present study has indicated that law enforcement instruments are either lacking or not used asintended, for a number of reasons. Field studies need to examine cases of failure and success in thisregard and propose a general framework for establishing law enforcement instruments, particularly fordeveloping countries, while taking into account such illicit practices as corruption.74