Assessing and comparing relative farm-level sustainability of smallholder shrimp farms in two Sri Lankan provinces using indices developed from two methodological frameworks |
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| Institution: | 1. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada;2. Centre for Coastal Health, 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 5S5, Canada;3. Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5B4, Canada;4. National Livestock Development Board, Narahenpitiya, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka;1. Key Laboratory for Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, Hunan, China;2. Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang 547100, Guangxi, China;3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;1. Universidade Estadual de Pernambuco, Rua Barão de Itamaracá, 430, Apt 201, Espinheiro, Recife, PE CEP 52020-070, Brazil;2. Associação Águas do Nordeste, Rua Joaquim Xavier de Andrade, 44, Casa Forte, Recife, PE CEP 52.061-350, Brazil;3. CENSE, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Tecnology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, Caparica 2829-516, Portugal;4. Lab. of Landscape Ecology, Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, Berlin 10099, Germany;1. Public Research Centre Henri Tudor/Resource Centre for Environmental Technologies, 6A avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg;2. Université de Toulouse, INSA, UPS, INP, LISBP, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, F-31077 Toulouse, France;3. INRA, UMR792, Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et des Procédés, F-31400 Toulouse, France;4. CNRS, UMR5504, F-31400 Toulouse, France;1. Department of Natural Resources, Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Sari, Iran;2. Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, USA;3. Geography Department, State University of New York College at Cortland, USA;1. University of Iceland, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hjarðarhaga 6, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland;2. University of Iceland, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Environment and Natural Resources, Saemundargata, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland |
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| Abstract: | As shrimp farming can be an important means of income generation, particularly among Sri Lanka’s rural communities, it is important that this industry grows in a sustainable manner, starting at the farm level. The objectives of this study were to; 1) create baseline farm-level sustainability indices for smallholder shrimp farms in Sri Lanka using both content-based and system-based frameworks adapted from agriculture; 2) determine whether arranging indicators within both content- and system-based sustainability frameworks would provide additional insight into relative farm sustainability (rather than using just one framework); and 3) seek differences between the North Western Province (NWP) and the Eastern Province (EP) in sustainability index, sub-index, or indicator scores that might be used to create province-specific policies and education programs designed to potentially improve sustainable practices at the farm level. Since little has been published on the development of practical indicators and evaluation of farm-level sustainability in aquaculture, this study adapted two types of frameworks used for measuring sustainability in agriculture: content- and system-based. Using both frameworks, along with expert opinion, indicators of farm level sustainability were developed into a questionnaire and measured on 225 farms in two provinces of Sri Lanka. Indicators primarily included modifiable practices that farmers could influence to improve the chances of their farms’ survival. The farm indicators were normalized using “min-max” normalization, where scores of zero and one were assigned for the least and most sustainable options, respectively. Farm indicators in each province were then aggregated into sub-indices as well an overall aggregated sustainability index score. Similar themes were gleaned from both the content-based and system-based sustainability frameworks, and there was no significant difference between mean overall sustainability scores for the two different frameworks. Farms in the NWP scored significantly higher on the overall sustainability indices of both models despite the NWP’s history of severe disease outbreaks while the EP farms had no disease. Possible reasons for this difference were explored with an in-depth analysis of sub-indices as well as individual indicators. An overall aggregated sustainability index score was a useful baseline measure for monitoring changes in sustainability over time; however, its use was limited when attempting to identify gaps in sustainable management practices and provide practical information for farmers and stakeholders to improve farm-level sustainability. It was important to evaluate individual indicators in addition to sub-indices and overall index scores when making recommendations or identifying gaps in sustainable practices at the farm level. |
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| Keywords: | Sustainability Indicator Shrimp Farm Sri Lanka White spot disease |
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