Governance of value chains where quality
and hygiene standards are the guarantee to
export may affect small scale fish farmers
negatively. Displacement of women from
micro and small-scale processing within
their communities and seasonal labor
migration to large processing factories
has been observed in some contexts. This
could be an increasing trend as a result of
compliance with new hygiene and quality
standards (Sharma, 2Oo3). Gendered costs
and benefits need to be taken into account
in on-going governance initiatives, for
example, community-based standards for
certification of aquaculture products.
are often lacking. Women’s producer groups
and collective structures have succeeded in
some aquaculture interventions in terms of
accessing greater benefits by women and
addressing gender inequities (WorldFish,
2007). In other cases, the polarization
between women and men due to a women-
centered approach and the perceived threat
by men has led to failure (Naved, 2000).
Gendered analyses of differential access to
land and conflicts over tenure in aquaculture
need to be made. While individual household
pond construction might be a negotiated
and collaborative effort by women and
their husbands (Bhujel et al., 2008), use of
existing water bodies without clear tenure
and usufruct rights by different stakeholders
can lead to complex conflicts, where gender
can also play a role.
Fish trading is subject to official and unofficial
rules that can affect men and women
differently. Research on the vulnerability
of small-scale female traders to regulatory
environments is scanty. The unpredictable
costs in the cross-border trade of fish
between Cambodia and Thailand due to
arbitrary fees imposed on women traders by
customs officers, for example, are regulatory
constraint on trade (Kusakabe et al., 2006).
In processing, access to new high-value
global markets is dependent on small-
scale producers and processors being
able to conform to the quality and hygiene
standards of developed countries. There
is little research available on the gendered
impacts of this process, although issues
such as eco-labeling are much debated
among fish producer associations and NGOs.
Governance issues in aquaculture are closely
linked with the aspiration and realization
of economic, social and political rights of
vulnerable and marginalized groups. While
literature exists on women’s rights to land/
fishing assets, as well as on rights of women
fishworkers (Munoz, 2008; Nayak, 2008;
Bidesi, 2008;), a gendered analysis of causes
of discrimination that lead to marginalization,
and how rights might be defined and
understood differently by women and men,
is lacking.
Theme 5: Climate change,
disasters, and resilience
Climate change has emerged as one of
the biggest challenges to the resilience of
human societies. Coastal and flood plain
communities, by virtue of their location, are
vulnerable to exposure and face high risks
in climate change-related disasters such as
flooding, rising water levels and changes in
salinity. Costs to women and children are
often disproportionate because customary
norms and beliefs in most societies prevent
them from acquiring skills and capacities —
the ability to swim, and access to information
on impending disaster. Households are used
to dealing with idiosyncratic shocks (loss
of cages, fencing and gear, illness, death)
but climate-induced disasters put stress
on informal means of coping like social
networks. Such disasters also put strain on
assets being used for consumption or for
investing in livelihood activities and micro/
small enterprises. Women and children are
often seen primarily as victims of disaster
and climate change, with higher levels of
vulnerability to risk. However, these groups
can also possess under-valued local