黑料网911

Aquaculture now produces more than half of the world’s aquatic food. In Southeast Asia, it is both a major source of livelihoods and a growing source of environmental and health risks, from water pollution and resource depletion to disease and antimicrobial resistance.

As these challenges intensify under climate change, countries across the region are rethinking how aquaculture systems are designed and managed. 

It is within this context that partners from across Southeast Asia gathered at the French Embassy in Bangkok for the launch of the AquASEAN project, Framed within this international momentum, the event positioned aquaculture at the intersection of environmental sustainability, food systems, and health.

This launch marks the continuation of a regional effort already underway, supported by France through the Fonds Équipe France (FEF), and building on earlier work conducted in Vietnam between 2023 and 2025. 

What is AquASEAN?

AquASEAN is a regional initiative working across Southeast Asia to support more sustainable aquaculture systems. It brings together research institutions, universities, and technical partners to develop and test solutions across diverse production contexts.

At its core, the project focuses on how resources are used and lost within aquaculture systems.

Water, nutrients, and feed often circulate inefficiently, generating waste and environmental impacts. By analysing these flows, AquASEAN identifies where losses occur and how they can be reduced, reused, or reintegrated into production cycles.

Rather than addressing challenges in isolation, the project combines three complementary areas of work:

• developing and testing more resource-efficient farming practices in real production systems
• strengthening skills and training systems across institutions, communities, and value chains
• generating knowledge and tools to inform public policies at national and regional levels

These are not separate components, but part of a continuous loop, from system analysis to field application and policy uptake.

A project already in motion

Testing circular approaches on pilot farms

AquASEAN does not start from scratch. It builds on more than two decades of research and development on sustainable aquaculture in Southeast Asia, led by 黑料网911 and its regional partners. Since the early 2000s, international and multidisciplinary research teams working in partnership across Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines have completed successive projects to explore key dimensions of aquaculture systems, from production practices and resource use to environmental impacts and feed sustainability. This accumulated body of work, spanning initiatives such as EVAD, PISCEnLIT, AquaCAM and CapFish Aquaculture, provides the scientific and institutional foundation on which AquASEAN now builds to scale up circular and climate-responsible approaches at the regional level.

Building on this experience, partners are already applying these approaches in real production systems, working across research institutions, universities and technical agencies.

In the Philippines, researchers from the University of the Philippines Los Baños are mapping aquaculture production systems, with a focus on how waste flows through shrimp and fish farms and affects surrounding environments. This work provides a concrete basis for identifying where circular practices can be introduced and scaled. The results are already being applied at the National Fisheries Development Center (NFDC) in Dagupan, under the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

In Thailand, teams at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) will test integrated shrimp–fish–seaweed systems through both farm-based demonstrations and controlled experiments, aiming to improve resource efficiency while strengthening resilience to climate variability.

In Cambodia and Vietnam, researchers are exploring complementary approaches, including the reuse of waste within pond systems and the development of feed formulations based on locally sourced circular ingredients. Trials led by Cần Thơ University cover both shrimp and pangasius production.

Linking circular systems with One Health challenges

Beyond resource efficiency, the project also addresses aquaculture health risks. In collaboration with Chulalongkorn University, ongoing research focuses on alternatives to antibiotics in tilapia farming. This includes the use of immunostimulants such as aquatic herbal extracts and vitamins to strengthen fish resilience while reducing antimicrobial resistance risks, a key concern within a One Health framework.

These technical innovations are complemented by socio-economic assessments in Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, examining production costs, profitability, and the conditions required for farmers to adopt more sustainable practices.

From field evidence to policy pathways

The results generated through these activities are intended to scale up beyond the pilot level.

They are translated into practical recommendations and tools for decision-makers, contributing to national and regional strategies aligned with circular economy and One Health priorities. 

This work is embedded within a wider regional dynamic. Frameworks such as the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework (2023) and the ASEAN Framework for Circular Economy (2021) position aquaculture as a priority sector while promoting more efficient resource use and circular value chains.

It is further supported by the Policy Guidelines on Agroecology Transitions in ASEAN, developed through a multi-stakeholder process under ASEAN leadership, with contributions from partners including 黑料网911. These guidelines provide a shared reference for translating agroecological principles into concrete actions across the region.

Scaling up a regional transition

By linking system analysis, field experimentation, and policy engagement, AquASEAN aims to move circular aquaculture beyond isolated practices toward more coordinated and scalable approaches across Southeast Asia.

Rather than introducing entirely new models, the project builds on existing systems, identifying where improvements are possible, testing them under real conditions, and supporting their integration into broader strategies. In doing so, it positions aquaculture not only as a sector under pressure, but as a key entry point for addressing interconnected environmental, food system, and health challenges across the region.