Inland fisheries livelihoods in Central Asia: policy interventions and opportunities

This technical paper presents the findings of a study on inland fisheries livelihoods in Central Asia. It discusses current policies and potential livelihood-enhancing policy interventions. The study was conducted in 2008 under a partnership between Portsmouth University, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The paper examines the evolution of the Central Asian fisheries sector, showing how it was one of – if not the most – acutely affected sectors by the deterioration in the economic environment after the collapse of the former Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991. Examples are given of livelihood or coping strategies that have evolved for those persons who currently derive an income from the sector. Three distinct groupings are highlighted in the examples presented: the Kazakh “fisher brigades” based on the North Aral Sea, the “community” fishers of Kyrgyz Republic and the pond culturalists of the Republic of Tajikistan. The livelihood strategies of each group and the particular constraints each group faces are documented. A concluding chapter identifies the prerequisites for more effective livelihood-supporting policy interventions within the fisheries sphere across the Central Asian republics.