In the first step of the solution GP Fish seeks to provide evidence about the role of fish in addressing malnutrition and supporting healthy diets, particularly for food insecure households. It is directed to professionals working in the field of food and nutrition security as well as rural development and investigates questions like “Does fish feed the poor, or is it too expensive?” By combining scientific insights with hands-on data from years of field experience, supplemented by practical examples, it aims to provide a broad overview of the current state in selected countries and a path forward.

Malnutrition is the most important aspect of food and nutrition insecurity and comes in many forms: undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies, often referred to as “hidden hunger”. The latter represents a major public health concern and results from inadequate intake of nutrients, such as iron, zinc, calcium, iodine, folate, and different vitamins. Strategies to combat micronutrient deficiencies include supplementation, (agronomic) biofortification, and most importantly diet diversification, which is the focus of contemporary policy discourses concerning the improvement of human nutrition. Diversifying diets by consuming animal proteins can significantly prevent micronutrient deficiencies, especially in low-income food-deficit countries, where diets are predominantly carbohydrate-based. Fish is a highly nutritious food that provides proteins, essential fatty acids, and micronutrients, as shown in Figure 1, to the point that it is sometimes referred to as a “superfood”. Due to its nutritional properties, even small quantities of fish can make important contributions to food and nutrition security. This is particularly true for small fish species that are consumed whole – including bones, heads, and guts –in regions where nutritional deficiencies and reliance on blue foods are high.

Figure 2 shows the share of recommended nutrient intake when consuming aquatic vs. terrestrial foods. Food sources are arranged from highest (top) to lowest (bottom) nutrient density. Visibly, aquatic “blue” foods like fish and mussels, are richer in nutrients compared to terrestrial sources. They are specifically good sources for Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin B12. Therefore, “blue foods” not only offer a remarkable opportunity for transforming our food systems but also contribute to tackling malnutrition.

Engaging and educating community members to ensure they understood the project, its benefits, and actively supported its implementation. This involved clear communication of project goals, addressing concerns, and fostering a sense of ownership among the community. Public participation was facilitated through monthly meetings in Kamungi Conservancy (KC) to create awareness on the benefits of the 10% Fence Plan, hazards, and overall project objectives. These meetings served as a platform for open dialogue, where community members could voice their concerns, ask questions, and provide input. Additionally, the meetings were designed to disseminate crucial information about the project, including how the fences would mitigate human-wildlife conflict, protect crops and livestock, and improve overall community safety. Educational sessions within these meetings focused on practical aspects of the 10% Fence Plan, such as maintenance and repair techniques, as well as broader conservation principles. This consistent engagement ensured that the community remained informed, involved, and supportive of the project's goals.

In a fish-loving country like Malawi, where fish is the main source of animal protein, but fisheries yields are in decline, great hope and effort is placed in the development of aquaculture. Better access to and regular consumption of fish, which is an important source of protein and essential micronutrients, can make an important contribution to overcoming development challenges. And food insecurity is one of the greatest in terms of public health. Women and children are particularly affected by malnutrition. The expansion and promotion of sustainable aquaculture represents an important approach to meeting a growing demand for fish.

This development requires – among many other aspects – innovations that contribute to successfully mastering challenges in the sector. With a focus on rural aquaculture, the Aquaculture Value Chain for Higher Income and Food Security Project in Malawi (AVCP), part of the Global Programme ‘Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture’ under the special initiative ‘One World – No Hunger’ of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, is providing technical training to 4,500 small-scale producers in Malawi. Fish farming helps them improve both income and food security.

One of the common and complex challenges in rural aquaculture is the use of mixed-sex Tilapia fingerlings in low-input systems. This means that farmers only have a limited selection and quantity of agricultural by-products available with which to feed a rapidly growing fish population in the pond. This leads to increasing competition for oxygen and food, which leads to poor growth rates and often an acceleration of sexual maturity. Accordingly, final harvests often consist of rather small fish, which does not meet the widespread expectations of harvesting edible – “plate filling” – fish from aquaculture.

Given the unavailability or prohibitiveness of mono-sex fingerlings, fish feed and aerators in rural aquaculture, the project was challenged to find an alternative solution to improve the productivity of rural aquaculture and its contribution to household nutrition.

In the context of fisheries and aquaculture, the fish trap represents an evolution of existing harvesting methods. Unlike active fishing gear, such as seines, the fish traps require less labor and energy, which makes them very efficient in terms of catch effort. In addition, the fish traps do not physically harm the caught fish, so the fish can be taken out of the trap alive and in good health. Early experiments on partial harvests in aquaculture in Malawi date back to the 1990s, when different tools for intermittent harvest were tested. However, due to the inefficiency and labor-intensity of the methods, there has been no broad application or further developments.

Based on this knowledge, further literature research, and expert discussions, the idea was born to build and test a size-selective fish trap to regularly harvest the juveniles of the initial fish stock. This innovation is thought to control the stocking density, to optimize the use of supplementary feeds, and to not exceed the carrying capacity of the pond. Ideally, a successful application of the fish trap would result in households increasing their overall aquaculture productivity, whilst harvesting small quantities of small fish much more regularly than has been customary in aquaculture to date. The intermittently harvested fish can be consumed within the household or used to generate small amounts of regular income. Meanwhile, the initial fish stock (parent fish) will be grown to a larger size for the final harvest.

In a fish-loving country like Malawi, where fish is the main source of animal protein, but fisheries yields are in decline, great hope and effort is placed in the development of aquaculture. Better access to and regular consumption of fish, which is an important source of protein and essential micronutrients, can make an important contribution to overcoming development challenges. And food insecurity is one of the greatest in terms of public health. Women and children are particularly affected by malnutrition. The expansion and promotion of sustainable aquaculture represents an important approach to meeting a growing demand for fish.

This development requires – among many other aspects – innovations that contribute to successfully mastering challenges in the sector. With a focus on rural aquaculture, the Aquaculture Value Chain for Higher Income and Food Security Project in Malawi (AVCP), part of the Global Programme ‘Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture’ under the special initiative ‘One World – No Hunger’ of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, is providing technical training to 4,500 small-scale producers in Malawi. Fish farming helps them improve both income and food security.

One of the common and complex challenges in rural aquaculture is the use of mixed-sex Tilapia fingerlings in low-input systems. This means that farmers only have a limited selection and quantity of agricultural by-products available with which to feed a rapidly growing fish population in the pond. This leads to increasing competition for oxygen and food, which leads to poor growth rates and often an acceleration of sexual maturity. Accordingly, final harvests often consist of rather small fish, which does not meet the widespread expectations of harvesting edible – “plate filling” – fish from aquaculture.

Given the unavailability or prohibitiveness of mono-sex fingerlings, fish feed and aerators in rural aquaculture, the project was challenged to find an alternative solution to improve the productivity of rural aquaculture and its contribution to household nutrition.

Sembrando Ciudades has two major components, the technical process and the participatory process with the community, for which each of the consulting teams has expertise in one of the two areas, and combined, it was possible to maximize its scope and impact. For the more technical component, the REVIVE team carried out a series of strategies and local actions in favor of the conservation, improvement and expansion of urban trees and green infrastructure, generating a spatial and operational toolbox to promote informed decision making on urban greening needs. Colectivo Tomate led the participatory processes by promoting the construction of a community model through multiple activities of environmental awareness and integrated risk management, strengthening the inhabitants to face the current challenges and appropriate the demonstrative solution to promote climate adaptation installed in the public space.

Throughout the work with each city, there were different stages according to the type of activities carried out:

• Preliminary

First approach with local officials, population and civil society involved with each city, in order to present the vision and objective of the project, as well as to generate a communication network to support the logistics of the implementation of all the activities to be carried out.

Spatial diagnosis of the selected site in terms of urban trees, pollution indexes, heat islands, among others, as well as a face-to-face analysis of the site to determine the feasibility of implementation aligned with the objectives of the initiative.

• Awareness-raising

Meetings with the community surrounding the implementation site where the field team introduces itself and explains the project's objective. Using a socio-artistic methodology, spaces are created to meet and dialogue with the people to learn about their needs, and thus begin to build a collaborative proposal sufficient to execute a demonstrative action in the public space that meets local needs.

• Socialization and training

Capacity building for the community and local officials, through awareness raising and socialization of essential concepts to address the climate crisis.

• Implementation

Installation of demonstrative actions that favor climate adaptation and meet local needs, promoting environmental and social connectivity in the area, as well as color interventions through murals and floor painting to promote the habitability and enjoyment of the space by children and neighbors.

• Closing

Commemorative space for the delivery of the results of the project, recognizing all the key actors involved, and community participation.

Malnutrition is the most important aspect of food and nutrition insecurity and comes in many forms: undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies, often referred to as “hidden hunger”.

To be able to write a joint management plan, we need to agree on what we have to manage. A shared understanding of the key values and attributes is crucial. An important step for us was to facilitate meetings that brought  the national geological surveys in both Sweden and Finland together so they could discuss land uplift and ice age traces and consider the site in its totality. These discussions gave important insight on the geological attributes of the site. 

To get a clear overview of the key values of the property, excerpts from the SOUV for High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago were analysed and grouped together as seven key values. Attributes were listed for each key heritage value. This process gave a clear connection between the SOUV in the everyday work with WH management. It makes the abstract concept of World Heritage more tangibly associated to its management.

The program is community-driven which means the youths in schools and youth clubs as well as community members especially women in natural resource management committees are both participants in and beneficiaries of restoration efforts. The program enjoys great support from the traditional leaders. The community decides where restoration should be done, and how and when it should be done.  

The local residents who were previously excluded from the various cultural tourism activities and festivals centering on the World Heritage property started to independently host village activities and built up their capacities for delivering and managing events. 

The initial residents group started to participate in the operations of the Suwon Heritage Night Walks in 2017 as traffic control staff. As the number of festivals that were hosted to celebrate Suwon Hwaseong as World Heritage increased, such as the Hwaseong by Night, World Heritage Festival, and Media Art Shows, the number of jobs available for the residents also increased. 

The Haenggung Village Cooperative Association was established on 31 May 2021 and it consists of 46 members. The main line of work is creating content and activities for visitors. 
The association is composed of 4 sub-groups each named “jigi”, which in the Korean language means friends: 

• Haenggungjigi, who focuses on providing event support, information, sanitation and the operation of activities; 
• Donghaengjigi, a group that creates the content and stories of the village tours; 
• Surajigi that promotes and shares research and education on food; 
• Cheongnyeonjigi, the group that monitors and conducts evaluations of activities.