Integrated Agriculture-Aquaculture Systems for Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Livelihoods

The document examines integrated agriculture-aquaculture (IAA) systems, which recycle nutrients between crops, livestock, and fish to increase productivity and reduce external inputs. It argues that IAA is a promising climate-smart land use approach for Southeast Asia, offering benefits such as livelihood diversification, improved water efficiency, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The brief emphasizes the need for inclusive policies, gender equity, and regional cooperation through ASEAN frameworks to scale up these systems for smallholder farmers.

• Integrated agriculture-aquaculture (IAA) is a circular production approach that increases productivity and reduces the need for external inputs like chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and formulated animal feed by recycling nutrients and by-products between subsystems.
• IAA serves as an effective climate change adaptation measure by diversifying household incomes, improving water efficiency, and providing viable land-use options in coastal areas affected by saltwater intrusion, such as alternating shrimp and rice farming.
• IAA systems contribute to climate change mitigation by avoiding methane and nitrous oxide emissions from decomposing animal waste and reducing emissions associated with the production of commercial fertilisers and feeds, though the total mitigation potential requires further quantification.
• The document identifies several specific IAA models: rice-fish systems, integrated fish-livestock systems, and the Vietnamese VAC model (garden, pond, livestock pen), noting that semi-intensive systems can achieve fish yields of up to 10 tonnes per hectare.
• Realising the full potential of IAA for poverty alleviation requires a focus on equity and inclusion, particularly for women and very poor households, through tailored capacity-building and the removal of institutional barriers.
• To scale up IAA in Southeast Asia, the document recommends that national policy-makers integrate these systems into food and agriculture policies and that ASEAN Member States leverage existing regional frameworks, such as the Strategic Plan for ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry 2016–2025.

APA

Anschell, N., & Salamanca, A. (2021). Integrated Agriculture-Aquaculture Systems for Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Livelihoods. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/full-version-01-iaa-paper-series-may-2021.pdf

Chicago

Anschell, Nicole, and Albert Salamanca. Integrated Agriculture-Aquaculture Systems for Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Livelihoods. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2021. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/full-version-01-iaa-paper-series-may-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Anschell |first1=Nicole |last2=Salamanca |first2=Albert |title=Integrated Agriculture-Aquaculture Systems for Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Livelihoods |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=May 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/full-version-01-iaa-paper-series-may-2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{anschell2021integrated, author = {Anschell, Nicole and Salamanca, Albert}, title = {{Integrated Agriculture-Aquaculture Systems for Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Livelihoods}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/full-version-01-iaa-paper-series-may-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }