November 2014: WorldFish has published a feature article on a partnership between the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) and WorldFish that supports sustainable resource management in communities across Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Viet Nam by providing access to research grants, mentors and literature, and opportunities for training and knowledge sharing for local researchers.

Funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), EEPSEA was founded in 1993 to support training and research in environmental and resource economics. It builds local researchers’ capacity in its ten member countries, aiming to help them provide evidence-based advice to policymakers. According to EEPSEA Program Director Herminia Francisco, WorldFish became EEPSEA’s “partner of choice” because sustainable management of natural resources is one of its strategic goals. There are now two EEPSEA-WorldFish partnership offices hosted by WorldFish, one in Los Baños, the Philippines, and the other in Penang, Malaysia.

In 2014, EEPSEA collaborated with WorldFish through the CGIAR Research Programme on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS). WorldFish is a member of the CGIAR consortium. Projects funded by EEPSEA include ‘Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal Communities of Philippines, Indonesia and Viet Nam’ and ‘Economic, Social and Distributional Aspects of Mariculture Parks in the Philippines.’

Francisco notes that EEPSEA researchers bring their economics expertise in the analysis of environmental issues facing AAS communities, while WorldFish researchers and partners supply science expertise as well as the “research in development approach,” which “brings better targeted results faster to where they matter most,” namely local communities. This, Francisco says, enhances research results by improving adaptive capacity and natural resource management, and reducing environmental damage. [WorldFish News]