Shrimp Trade & Mangrove Ecosystems

Multi-stakeholder partnership to strengthen transformative processes in shrimp trade as a basis for the protection of mangrove ecosystems in South Asia

The mangrove forests of the tropical coasts are amongst the most important and productive eco-systems on earth. Because of their immense carbon storage potential and function as shield against extreme weather conditions, they play a central role in stabilizing the world's climate and protecting the coastal communities. In recent decades, however, global mangrove forests have been severely decimated, by 20 percent alone since 1980, and this due various reasons, the spread of shrimp farming being one of them. Nevertheless, shrimp farming – as the central economic activity in the mangrove areas – has the unique potential to significantly foster mangrove protection and restauration. This holds true for the “non-pond”-areas under the management of farms and their communities as well as the aquaculture systems.

In our project we therefore work on the development of Piltot aquaculture farms using sustainable IMA systems (integrated mangrove aquaculture). In this pond farming, mangroves are planted in the dams, water channels and directly into the pond. In this way shrimps can exist in symbiosis with mangroves and the ecosystem is preserved.

Details regarding the pilot projects

Food for Biodiversity

In consortium with Naturland - Verband für ökologischen Landbau e.V., the GNF wants to explore this potential and coordinates the project titled "Multi-stakeholder partnership to strengthen transformative processes in shrimp trade as a basis for the protection of mangrove ecosystems in South Asia", which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). A significant part of the project measures will be implemented in the Sundarbans, where the world’s biggest mangrove forest stretches over an area of 10,000 km², more precisely in the federal state of West Bengal in India and the Khulna Division in Bangladesh. The two local collaborating partners are the Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS) and the Nature Environment & Wildlife Society of India (NEWS). Germany, on the other side, is an important market for sustainable and certified (e.g. organic) seafood and will be the setting for linking the market’s demand for mangrove-friendly shrimp with the environmental and social initiatives in the shrimp producing countries.

Project Goals

The overall objective of the project is to consolidate communication and interaction on mangrove conservation and sustainability issues in the aquaculture sector, both in the aquaculture production countries themselves as well as along the international value chains. This project is based on the concept of so-called multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSP) in and between India, Bangladesh, and Germany. An MSP is outlined as a long-term, transformative process involving the civil society, the private sector, as well as scientific and public stakeholders. A special focus of our project is on the establishment of South-South and North-South dialogues, aiming at maintaining a common focus and a free exchange of technical and marketing-related information.

The activities in the project include:

The determination of success factors and challenges of current approaches for mangrove protection in shrimp farming in the producing countries India and Bangladesh as well as in export and consuming markets such as Germany.
Promotion and consolidation of mechanisms for dialogue, understanding and coordination within the partnership of the various actors, initiatives and sectors.
Capacity building and promoting active leadership by local civil society organizations
Strengthening of the target groups, especially the local smallholder population in the project areas
Local pilot projects dealing with selected aspects of mangrove protection in shrimp farming
Establishing durable North-South and South-South dialogues, partnerships and mutual learning
Joint identification and implementation of targets, policies and business models to increase sustainability in shrimp aquaculture, including polyculture approaches with crab and finfish.