Building the business case for freshwater fisheries co-management
We are working with The Nature Conservancy and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to build a global business case for investment in freshwater fisheries co-management.
Freshwater fisheries support food security, nutrition, employment and household income in many low- and middle-income countries. They also contribute to biodiversity, cultural identity and resilience in communities that depend on lakes, rivers and floodplains. Despite this, their full value is often missing from national development plans and investment decisions. Their contribution is frequently measured only through the volume or market value of fish produced, while wider benefits to livelihoods, health, ecosystems and local economies remain overlooked.
This creates a significant financing gap. Governments and development partners recognise the importance of managing freshwater fisheries, but often lack the evidence needed to compare investment options, estimate returns or justify long-term funding. Benefits such as improved nutrition, stronger community institutions, biodiversity protection, livelihood security and resilience rarely appear together in a form that investors and public authorities can use.
Our work
The project assesses the benefits, costs, investment requirements and returns associated with effective and inclusive fisheries co-management. It covers selected fisheries across Africa, Latin America and Asia, focusing on countries where freshwater fisheries make an important contribution to food systems, local economies and biodiversity.
We examine different types of freshwater fisheries, including commercial, subsistence and mixed systems. This reflects the different roles fisheries play in different places. In some settings, they generate income, employment and trade. In others, their greatest value lies in providing affordable nutrition, supporting household survival and helping communities cope with environmental or economic change.
The project also distinguishes between different forms of co-management. Some arrangements involve communities mainly in implementing decisions made elsewhere. Others give fishing communities a stronger role in setting priorities, managing resources and sharing responsibility with government. We assess how investment needs, benefits and returns change as co-management becomes more inclusive, equitable and locally embedded.
Recognising the full value of freshwater fisheries
The business case captures economic, social and environmental returns that conventional investment analysis often misses.
Economic benefits include more stable fisheries production, increased household income, lower management costs, stronger local value chains and improved market access. Social benefits include better access to nutritious food, poverty reduction, stronger community participation, cultural continuity and greater resilience to shocks. Environmental benefits include healthier fish populations, restored habitats, improved biodiversity and avoided environmental costs.
The project also considers how these benefits are distributed. Effective co-management is not only about increasing overall value. It is also about who has access to fisheries, who participates in decisions, who carries the costs and who receives the benefits. Gender, age, poverty, tenure and local power relationships therefore form part of the assessment.
For each case study, we identify the investment required to establish and sustain co-management. This includes support for community institutions, management planning, training, monitoring, enforcement, sustainable fishing equipment, habitat restoration and improvements to processing and post-harvest infrastructure. We compare these costs with the economic, social and environmental benefits generated over time.
From evidence to investment
A central part of the project is translating evidence into practical investment propositions for governments, international finance institutions, philanthropic organisations and private investors.
We assess financing options that suit different fisheries and country contexts. These include public budgets, licence revenues, philanthropic finance, public–private partnerships, benefit-sharing arrangements, nature-based finance, payments for ecosystem services and blended finance.
The analysis recognises that no single financing mechanism works everywhere. We therefore consider the scale of the fishery, the maturity of co-management arrangements, institutional capacity and the type of benefits generated. This helps distinguish between activities that require long-term public or development support and those that can attract private or blended investment.
Impact
The project strengthens the case for sustained investment in freshwater fisheries by making their wider contribution visible and measurable.
It gives governments and investors a clearer basis for deciding where investment creates the greatest public, environmental and economic value. It also supports the inclusion of freshwater fisheries in national priorities relating to food security, poverty reduction, biodiversity, climate resilience and rural development.
The project produces country and fishery case studies, assessments of benefits and investment requirements, return-on-investment scenarios, financing options and audience-specific investment recommendations. Together, these outputs support more credible and durable financing for co-management systems that strengthen fisheries, communities and freshwater ecosystems.