Aquaculture for Rural Development: An Asymmetrical Initiative

Abstract

The aquaculture sector in the Philippines has seen tremendous growth over the last three decades. Its growth is largely supported by both national and various local government units as aquaculture is seen to support food security programs in the country’s drive towards economic development. This is in response to food security challenges at the present and in the future, and also because growth in the sector is seen to increase export gains in the country. This study provides an analysis on how aquaculture development, which has largely been driven by the international demands for seafood, has impacted the livelihoods of coastal dwellers in the Philippines. The study captures local communities’ responses to this initiative as seen in the experiences of the people of Infanta, Quezon. It details the assertion of local peoples of their rights over mangrove areas, which are common property resource, against more economically and politically powerful fishpond developers who are not from the municipality. The study hopes to add further to the understanding of how conversion of mangrove areas to fishponds is transforming livelihoods and identities of peoples in the local communities. This research employs political ecology in locating the ecological transformations and the consequent changes in livelihoods and identities of the local population in Infanta.