Sustainable Utilisation of Aquatic Resources for Poverty Reduction through Education and Training
Aquatic resources in Malawi cover approximately 20% of the country. The development and management of these resources has been recognised to contribute to ensuring food security and enhancing livelihoods. By improving the knowledge base of research, teaching and farmer communities’ about sustainable utilisation and management of aquatic resources and its role in poor livelihoods, it is anticipated that prospects for developing natural resource management strategies that benefit the poor will be improved.
The project aims to build human capacity through education and training for sustainable utilization and management of aquatic resources in targeted communities in collaboration with Mzuzu University, whilst adding value to the curriculum and training of other universities, vocational institutions and schools.
Increase in fish demand, urbanisation, environmental degradation and deepening poverty threatens the sustainable use of aquatic resources in Malawi. This is further exasperated by fishing methods that lead to a decrease in fish landings from natural water bodies. Furthermore, it is widely acknowledged that significant numbers of the poor either directly of indirectly, depend on these aquatic resources. Studies on the wise use of aquatic resources and an assessment of the most pressing issues threatening sustainability in Malawi are limited. The purpose of this project is to address these issues, through capacity building to generate new knowledge, and disseminating such information to stakeholders and target groups and institutions through education and training using appropriate formats that promote uptake and use.