Rice-fish System Research Articles

Increasement of Cd adsorption capacity of rice stubble from being alive until death in a modified rice-fish system

Soil heavy metal contamination is an increasingly urgent problem throughout the world. Phytoremediation is a cost-effective and ecologically friendly in situ method for the remediation of heavy metal contaminated soils. Rice has the potential for use in soil remediation due to its high biomass production, however, risks related to food safety and low accumulation potential exist. Therefore, in the current study, rice stubble was used as the adsorbent in a modified rice-fish system (MRFS) to assess its accumulation capacity in a model paddy field dosed with 0–40.0 mg kg−1 Cd. The weighted mean concentration (WMC) of Cd in rice stubble increased from 0.498 to 36.365 mg kg−1 to 1.038–71.180 mg kg−1 from 0 to 60 days post-harvest (dph), and the corresponding increment rate was 107.68%, 117.42%, 157.77% and 95.73%, respectively. Sixty-days post-harvest, removal rate of Cd from contaminated soils was 1.11–1.40%, which was greater than that of the Cd-hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens. The WMC of the heavy metals Cd, Zn, Pb, Cr and Cu in rice stubble increased 51.11–97.50%, and removal rate was 1.93–2.66%. Overall, rice stubble had a high capacity of heavy metal accumulation, mainly benefiting from the synthesis effects of MRFS and the changes of accumulation mechanism within the plant from being alive until death. Notably, this study also provides a new idea for in situ, herbage-based phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils.

Ethnoecology of paddy-fish integrative farming (minapadi) in Lampegan Village, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract. Fatimah IN, Iskandar J, Partasasmita R. 2020. Ethnoecology of paddy-fish integrative farming (minapadi) in Lampegan Village, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 4419-4432. In the past, the traditional paddy-fish integrative farming (minapadi) was predominantly undertaken by rice farmers in West Java, particularly in the water abundant areas. Currently, however, the practice of the rice-fish system has been dramatically reduced due to the Green Revolution programs, including water pollution that may have affected fish farming in paddy fields. Although the rice-fish systems have rarely been practiced in West Java villages, some farmer groups of Lampegan Village, Ibun Sub-district, Bandung District are still practicing the rice-fish farming system. The purpose of this study is to collect and document the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of Lampegan Village about the rice-fish system farming managements, including data on various fish species that are widely cultivated in the community, cultural practices of the rice-fish farming management, and benefits of the rice-fish farming system. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used, with an ethnoecological approach. Techniques of data collection, such as observation, semi-structured interviews, or deep interviews, and structured interviews were employed in this study. The results of the study show that the farmers of the rice-fish farming in Lampegan Village, Bandung District own rich and deep knowledge of fish species and practice of the minapadi system. The TEK of the rice-fish farming management system has been inherited from ancestors and is mixed with western scientific knowledge. The rice-fish farming systems have provided some ecological and socio-economic benefits for village people.

Efisiensi Penggunaan Pupuk pada Sistem Pertanian Terpadu Minapadi

Rice-fish farming is a model that is considered suitable to be applied in rice fields, both on a large or limited land as long as water availability is sufficient for rice and fish to grow. In rice-fish farming, there is integration between fisheries and agriculture where integration can improve the efficiency of the supply and use of fertilizer and feed. The research aimed to find the reduction of inorganic fertilizer in integrated rice-fish farming with the rice-fish system to increase fertilizer efficiency. The experiment used a single factor randomized block design with five levels of treatment, which are; rice monoculture with 100% inorganic fertilizer, fish monoculture, rice-fish farming with 100% inorganic fertilizer, rice-fish farming with 60% inorganic fertilizer, and rice-fish farming with 20% inorganic fertilizer. Rice-fish farming could reduce the application of inorganic fertilizers through complementary relationships between rice and fish. Applying inorganic fertilizer 20% of the reference dose in the rice-fish farming produced productivity that was not significantly different from the rice-fish farming fertilized with 60% and 100% of the reference dose, and the rice monoculture with 100% of the reference dose of inorganic fertilizer. Rice-fish farming could save 80% of inorganic fertilizers so that increasing the efficiency of using inorganic fertilizers. Fish survival and fish weight in rice-fish farming were not significantly different from fish monoculture.
 Keywords: inorganic fertilizer, monoculture, productivity, soil nutrients

Different diets can affect the digestion and immunity of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) according to enzyme activity assay and transcriptome sequencing

The goal of this study was to prove the benefit of mixed diet for common carp (Cyprinus carpio) liver health in rice field. Common carp is a typical omnivorous fish. They can generally prey on both plant and animal diets in rice paddy mode. In this research, the common carp were randomly divided into three groups: animal diet group (group AD), plant diet group (group PD) and mixed diet group (group MD). Growth index, enzyme activity (digestive and immune), and transcriptome profile were performed to evaluate the effect of different diets on carp health. The results showed that the final weight of common carp is lesser than initial weight and the activity of trypsin and lipase were the highest in animal diet group. On the contrary, the body weight loss and α-amylase activity were the highest in the plant diet group. The mixed diet group had the highest the acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity in liver. “Protein digestion and absorption”, “bile secretion”, “hematopoietic cell lineage” and “intestinal immune network for IgA production” pathways belonging to the digestive and immune systems had significant enrichment between common carp fed a single type of diet and a mixed diet. These results indicate that rice-fish system is more conducive to common carp health, certainly, it is better for economic benefits if providing additional diet for fish.

Research Progress in the Conservation and Development of China-Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (China-NIAHS)

To cope with the problem of the global agricultural environment, food security, and the crisis of sustainable agricultural development, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), together with other relevant national organizations and several countries, launched the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in 2002. The Qingtian Rice-Fish system was designated as China’s first GIAHS and was included in the first batch of GIAHS pilot sites, in 2005. Since then, study of systematic agricultural heritage and its conservation and development has progressed in China. On the basis of a comprehensive collection of relevant studies, the author reviews the main achievements in conservation and development of China-Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (China-NIAHS) over the past 15 years. At the present stage, the core contents of study on agricultural heritage are focused on two aspects. One is the benefit of exploration with multi-functional development. Another is dynamic conservation with adaptive management. There are many controversies around the concept and connotation of agricultural heritage, which, in turn, promote the understanding of this new type of heritage. The sustainable mechanism within agricultural heritage gives itself value diversity. Study about the value of agricultural heritage highlights the significance of conservation. The development of multi-functional industrials based on its multi-functional value is the pathway for the development of China-NIAHS, including the production of high-quality and characteristic local agricultural products, the development of ecotourism, and the development of cultural industries. To carry out dynamic conservation and adaptive management, the establishment of "five in one" benefit-sharing, multi-stakeholder mechanisms, legally guaranteed incentive mechanisms, government-leading, multi-financing mechanisms, and multi-disciplinary scientific support mechanisms are indispensable. Although China has made great progress in the study of agricultural heritage, it still needs to carry out additional research through heritage resources surveys, regular patterns of system evolution, and sustainable mechanisms, as well as perform more applicable research in framework and mechanism construction and paradigms of dynamic protection. Multidisciplinary comprehensive studies are necessary as well.

Productivity and the complementary use of nitrogen in the coupled rice-crab system

Agricultural intensification has greatly increased yields but has also negatively affected the environment. The coupling of two agricultural systems (i.e., integrated agriculture-aquaculture or integrated crop-livestock) has been proposed as one of the important ways that reduce the negative effects of agriculture on the environment, but large-scale experimental data are lacking. In this study, we examined the coupled rice-crab system, which is a rapidly developing rice-fish system in China. We conducted a field survey across several rice-planting areas and field and mesocosm experiments to determine whether the rice-crab system achieves high yields of both rice and crab without damaging the environment. Our field survey showed that rice yield was not reduced in the rice-crab system across four rice-growing areas although total fertilizer N was reduced compared to rice monoculture. Our field experiment also showed that the rice-crab treatment produced higher rice yield than rice monoculture treatment with the same fertilizer N application, and that the coupled rice-crab treatment had higher crab yield with less crab numbers of precocious maturation than the crab monoculture treatment with the same amount of feed. Both field and mesocosm experiments showed that the rice-crab system did not cause serious feed-N accumulation in the field. Isotope 15N labeling indicated that rice plants used 7.6% of the feed-N. Dual isotope 13C/15N analysis showed that 59.1% of the food consumed by crabs consisted of organisms that thrived by directly using nutrients in the field. This recycling of N within the field explains the low fertilizer-N input and low effluent-N in the coupled rice-crab system. Our results suggest that the coupling of rice with fish production can achieve synergies between food production systems to reduce environmental impacts per unit of production.

Effect of nitrogen application rate on soil fungi community structure in a rice-fish mutualistic system

Rice-fish mutualistic production systems rationalise the use of water and soil resources in an improved approach to sustainable food production. However, drivers of fungi community structure in paddy soil, including effects of nitrogen (N) application rate, are unclear in these systems. Here, we assessed soil fungi community and soil physicochemical responses in paddy soil to contrasting rates of N application in a rice-fish system. To clarify the mutualistic effects, the rice-fish system was compared with a standard rice monoculture under a 325.5 kg ha−1 N application rate. The results showed that N application rate affected abundance of paddy soil fungi (P < 0.05). Alpha diversity and richness of fungi were lower in the rice-fish system, but evenness increased with a decrease in N application rate, while the rate of N determined diversity of soil fungi in the rice-fish system. Dominant genera in the two systems differed, and soil physicochemical properties were more important drivers of soil fungi community structure in the rice-fish mutualistic system than in rice monoculture. Total N, available N and P regulated the abundance of dominant fungi. Our results indicate that management of soil fungi may contribute to sustainable agricultural production.

Bioaccumulation and oxidative stress caused by pesticides in Cyprinus carpio reared in a rice-fish system

Nowadays, many irrigated rice producers have adopted the rice-fish farming systems, in which fish are reared in the same environment as rice is grown. These animals can biologically control many pests that disturb the crop, as well as increase the income of producers when they are reared in the same area as rice. However, a large variety of pesticides is often used for pest control in conventional irrigated rice crops, and fish are exposed to different pesticide concentrations and active ingredients. Thus, the aim of the current study is to assess the potential risks of these pesticides to freshwater fish (Cyprinus carpio) cultured in integrated rice–fish farming systems. We assessed five pesticides widely used in rice culture. This is the first report on the bioaccumulation of the insecticides lambda-cyhalothrin + thiamethoxam and clorantraniliprole and of the fungicide tebuconazole + trifloxystrobin associated with oxidative stress and with enzymatic and non-enzymatic parameters in edible fish samples reared in integrated in rice–fish farming systems. After 100 days of exposure, lambda-cyhalothrin and tebuconazole bioaccumulated in carp muscles. Acethylcholinesterase activity in the brain was lower in the experimental group than in the control group. Overall, the biochemical analyses showed increased responses in the experimental groups in comparison to the controls. Lipid peroxidation levels increased in the liver, gills and muscles. Protein oxidation increased in the liver and muscles. Catalase activity increased in the liver, and glutathione S-transferase increased in the liver, gills and muscles. Results demonstrate that these pesticides have severe adverse consequences in fish and indicate their potential risk to human health due to their bioaccumulation in farmed fish.

Preservation of the genetic diversity of a local common carp in the agricultural heritage rice–fish system

We examined how traditional farmers preserve the genetic diversity of a local common carp (Cyprinus carpio), which is locally referred to as "paddy field carp" (PF-carp), in a "globally important agricultural heritage system" (GIAHS), i.e., the 1,200-y-old rice-fish coculture system in Zhejiang Province, China. Our molecular and morphological analysis showed that the PF-carp has changed into a distinct local population with higher genetic diversity and diverse color types. Within this GIAHS region, PF-carps exist as a continuous metapopulation, although three genetic groups could be identified by microsatellite markers. Thousands of small farmer households interdependently obtained fry and parental carps for their own rice-fish production, resulting in a high gene flow and large numbers of parent carps distributing in a mosaic pattern in the region. Landscape genetic analysis indicated that farmers' connectivity was one of the major factors that shaped this genetic pattern. Population viability analysis further revealed that the numbers of these interconnected small farmer households and their connection intensity affect the carps' inherent genetic diversity. The practice of mixed culturing of carps with diverse color types helped to preserve a wide range of genetic resources in the paddy field. This widespread traditional practice increases fish yield and resource use, which, in return, encourages famers to continue their practice of selecting and conserving diverse color types of PF-carp. Our results suggested that traditional farmers secure the genetic diversity of PF-carp and its viability over generations in this region through interdependently incubating and mixed-culturing practices within the rice-fish system.

English

This study was undertaken in the main C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire fish farming production regions. Fish farming were surveyed on the basis of socio-economic characteristics of fish farmers, farming practices and production depending to the systems. Results show that majority of fish farmers used semi intensive (51.8%) and extensive (42.9%) systems. Intensive system represented only 1.3% and rice-fish system 4.0% of fish farms. Tilapia, Heterotis and Catfish were the most species reared with frequencies depending to the system. In intensive system, rearing structures were tanks and floating cages and farms owner were native (50%) economic operator (75%) or salaried (25%). In contrast, in semi intensive systems, the popular rearing structures were earthen ponds (68.6%), and farms belong to native (61.5%) farmers (46.3%). Extensive and rice fish farming used earthen ponds associated to dams (52.7-66.7%) and 45.7-50% of proprietary were allochthonous famers (77.5-91.7%). Imported (50%) and national commercial feeds (50%) were used in intensive system. In semi intensive system, national commercial feeds (55.13%), agro-industrial byproducts (46.79%) and feeds produced by fish farmers (33.97%) were largely used while agro-industrial byproducts and/or non-conventional feeds were used in extensive and rice-fish system to feed fish. The average farm production of semi intensive and extensive systems most practiced varied between 395.25 and 2937.12 kg/year. The results suggest that optimization of the Ivorian fish farming production need the adoption of appropriate production practices. They also emphasize the need to promote the intensive and semi intensive systems to increasing marketable fish production. &nbsp; Key words: Fish farming, System, socio-economic, farming practices, production.

Chinese Consumer Quality Perception and Preference of Traditional Sustainable Rice Produced by the Integrated Rice–Fish System

Historically, humans have created many sustainable practices, and among the most famous and successful sustainable practice is the rice–fish system in China. While previous studies have investigated eco-labeling food from various angles, consumer perception and preference of food produced from traditional sustainable practices (traditional sustainable food) remain unexplored. Taking the historical rice–fish system as an example, we examined consumers’ perception and willingness to pay (WTP) for rice produced by a rice–fish system, by using data from 1422 consumers from China. Our paper shows that most Chinese consumers do understand the meaning of the rice–fish system and perceive the traditional sustainable system as environmentally friendly and producing high-quality food. The premium that consumers are willing to pay for rice from a rice–fish system is about 41%. Consumers who perceive the linkage between sustainable production and food quality and safety have a significantly higher WTP for traditional sustainable rice (p-value = 0.000). Interestingly, the perception of environment risk does not directly cause more traditional sustainable food consumption, but those who self-proclaimed as environmentalists are willing to pay a premium for traditional sustainable rice. Females, people with high family income, and people with children are more willing to pay for traditional sustainable rice. Understanding consumer perception and preference of traditional sustainable food provides critical information for Chinese policymakers to develop a cheap and efficient way to keep traditional sustainable practices and promote sustainable food consumption.

Bioconcentration and half-life of quinalphos pesticide in rice-fish integration system in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

ABSTRACTIn order to determine the distribution and enable the elimination of quinalphos, a popular active pesticide compound used in the Mekong Delta, an experiment was set up in a rice-fish integration system in Can Tho City, Vietnam. Fish was stocked into the field when the rice was two-months old. Quinalphos was applied twice in doses of 42.5 g per 1000 m2. Water, fish and sediment samples were collected at time intervals and analyzed by a Gas Chromatography Electron Capture Detector system. The results show that quinalphos residues in fish muscles were much higher than those of the water and the bioconcentration factor (logBCF) was above 2 for the fish. The half-life of first and second quinalphos applications were 12.2 and 11.1 days for sediment, 2.5 and 1.1 days for silver barb, 1.9 and 1.3 days for common carp, and 1.1 and 1.0 days for water, respectively.

The Influences of Production Factors with Profit on Agricultural Heritage Systems: A Case Study of the Rice-Fish System

With the mobility and off-farm employment of rural villagers, agricultural production has been influenced by the absence of labor force in the past few years. In particular, the inadequate assignment of resources has threatened the sustainability of some Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems due to their low profit. In this paper, the influences of labor force and capital on agricultural heritage systems are analyzed, taking the Qingtian Rice-Fish Culture System (QRFCS) as an example, so as to maximize profit along with the sustainability of agricultural heritage. The Cobb-Douglas Production Function is applied to examine the impacts of these major factors on agricultural productivity based on a survey held among 32 households in Longxian Village, Qingtian County, China. Subsequently, the profit maximization problem can be solved by a marginal rate of technical substitution under production standard. We come to the conclusion that the output elasticity coefficients of labor and capital are 0.6 and 0.4. Our results also indicate that the maximum yield of rice and field-fish is 0.84 kg under the level of 9 Yuan RMB and 0.24 man-days per square meter. The net profit can hit 24.8 Yuan RMB regardless of human resource cost. In contrast, the demand of 218,800 m2 paddy fields exceeds the human resources available for the Rice-Fish system in QRFCS, thereby it is necessary to promote the refluence of skilled farmers.

Morphological traits of indigenous field carps maintained in traditional rice-based farming systems.

Rice-fish is an important traditional farming system. In the rice-fish system, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is the major species raised in paddy field where the environment is characterized by shadow water. Under a long-term of natural selection and artificial selection, the carp would adapt to the paddy field environment. We investigated two indigenous carps (C. carpio qingtianensis and C. carpio congjiangensis) that originated and evolved in the Globally Important Agriculture Heritage System (GIAHS) 'rice-fish system' in Qingtian, Zhejiang Province and 'rice-fish-duck system' in Congjiang, Guizhou Province. We measured the morphological traits of indigenous carps by collecting carp samples from 'rice-fish system' and 'rice-fish-duck system'. We used mitochondrial gene (D-loop) to build phylogenetic tree. We also collected data of morphological traits of other carp populations from documented databases and published papers. Both traditio-nal morphometric analysis and landmark based geometric morphometric analysis showed that Qingtian field carp and Congjiang field carp differed in body shape. Compared with Qingtian field carp, Cong-jiang field carp had a longer and more narrow tail, and lower ratio of tail length to body length. The analysis of phylogenetic tree suggested that Qingtian field carp and Congjiang field carp were genetically independent populations. However, principal component analysis basing on morphometric traits showed that the field carps (Qingtian field carp and Congjiang field carp) were morphometrically similar to each other and were both significantly different from other common carp populations, especially in the traits of caudal fin and dorsal fin. All these results suggested that carps living and evolving in paddy field environment were significantly different in genetics and morphology from the carp populations living in other water environment and that Qingtian field carp was morphologically different from Congjiang field carp.

Emergy Evaluation of three Rice Wetland Farming Systems in the Taihu Lake Catchment of China

Emergy analysis was performed to evaluate the sustainability of three rice farming systems (rice mono-cropping, rice-fish and rice-duck farming systems) in the Jiangsu province. The results showed that the three systems exhibit unique characteristics on each component. The emergy of rice seeding and the labour input were the most important costs, at 57.18 and 18.20 sej/ha/season, respectively, for the rice mono-cropping system. In the rice-fish and rice-duck systems, the feed input played a more important role, corresponding to values of 63.70 and 79.20 sej/ha/season, respectively. The machinery input was 45.21 sej/ha/season for the rice-fish system due to the construction of fish ponds and ditches. The rice-duck system exhibited lower environmental loading and a higher sustainability index than the rice mono-cropping and rice-fish systems, respectively. The ratios of the economic input to output were 0.41, 0.61 and 0.41 for the rice mono-cropping, rice-fish and rice-duck systems, respectively. The net profit of the rice-duck system was $3264.2 per hectare, which was nearly 40% higher than those of the other systems. Based on the results showing the highest economic efficiency and value on the sustainability index, the rice-duck system may be the optimal rice agriculture system from both ecological and economic perspectives.

Socio-Ecological Adaptation of Agricultural Heritage Systems in Modern China: Three Cases in Qingtian County, Zhejiang Province

This paper, on rural restructuring in China, focuses on the ability of agricultural heritage systems to adapt to modernizing conditions in the rural economy. Since 2002, when FAO initiated the protection of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), the value of agricultural heritage has been widely acknowledged, as has the importance and urgency to protect the systems in which they are embedded. However, such complex systems have not been fully assessed for their contribution to food security, ecosystem services and cultural preservation, as well as their ability to adapt to the demands of modernization. In fact, they have not been effectively evaluated as whole systems, largely because we have not yet devised satisfactory ways of studying complex systems, nor have we been able to assess them fully for their multi-faceted contributions to sustainability. This paper accepts the premise that such systems are sustainable in that they have survived as agro-ecosystems for many hundreds of years, having endured the predations of droughts, famines, plagues, floods and wars. This ability to sustain a rich diversity of biological and human systems is considered, in the theory of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS), to be a form of resilience, meaning that these systems have either formed a new normal or returned to the old normal after a period of environmental or social stress. In effect, ancient agricultural heritage systems can be seen to represent what has been traditional and normal in China, but which today are faced with the overwhelming forces of modernization. Taking three examples from Qingtian County in Southern China, where physical and political conditions are consistent, the paper shows how similar rice-fish systems adapt differently and sustain themselves in the face of modernization, and particularly to the loss of youth and labor to urbanisation. One system self-adjusts by using remittances from abroad to sustain the system: an example of self-organization. In another township, the pursuit of tourism is the main form of adaptation to large losses of working population and marginal incomes. To maintain the landscape as a key attraction for tourists, this community has re-assembled abandoned rice terraces and is farming them as a collective enterprise under the auspices of a co-operative: an example of land and labor restructuring that has become common as the dominant form of agrarian change in China. In a third example, the local rice-fish system is being strengthened by modern farming technology and scientific techniques: an example of technological adaptation. The discussion explores the three responses as evidence of sustainable practice involving local restructuring, continued ingenuity, and the creative support of local governments in the face of the homogenizing demands of modernization.

Can the co-cultivation of rice and fish help sustain rice production?

Because rice feeds half of the world’s population, a secure global food supply depends on sustainable rice production. Here we test whether the co-cultivation of rice and fish into one “rice-fish system” (RFS; fish refers to aquatic animals in this article) could help sustain rice production. We examined intensive and traditional RFSs that have been widely practiced in China. We found that rice yields did not decrease when fish yield was below a threshold value in each intensive RFS. Below the thresholds, moreover, fish yields in intensive RFSs can be substantially higher than those in traditional RFS without reducing rice yield. Relative to rice monoculture, the use of fertilizer-nitrogen and pesticides decreased, and the farmers’ net income increased in RFSs. The results suggest that RFSs can help sustain rice production, and suggest that development of co-culture technologies (i.e. proper field configuration for fish and rice) is necessary to achieve the sustainability.

Nồng độ quinalphos trong nước, cá chép (Cyprinus carpio) và cá mè vinh (Barbonymus gonionotus) trong mô hình lúa cá kết hợp

Quinalphos, Kinalux 25EC brand name, is popularly used in agriculture of the Mekong Delta. To figure out the residue concentration and bio-concentration ability of quinalphos in rice fish system in Co Do District, Can Tho City, Kinalux 25EC was applied twice in rice fish field with the producer recommended dose which was 170 mL/1000m2. Samples were collected at the day 1, 3, 7 and 14 after application, then, samples were continuously collected every 14 days to the end of experiment. Water samples were also collected after 30 minutes of applications. Residues of quinalphos were analysed by gas chromatography – electron capture detector system (GC-ECD). The results showed that quinalphos residues in fish tissue were much higher than in water. The half-life varied between one and two days fish tissue and around one day for water.

Rice-fish Integration in Sub-Saharan Africa

In light of the logistical challenges for gearing production and conservation efforts to the scale of the smallholder, there is growing interest in promoting Integrated Irrigation-Aquaculture (IIA), such as rice-fish culture, which has strong potential in Sub-Saharan Africa. Available literature has stressed institutional shortcomings in providing necessary services, including extension, training, and creditlending; ways in which farmers could craft new water-management regimes if these services were available have not been well studied and are key to successful farming integration. In this paper, we analyzed the conditions for achieving integrated water governance, with reference to the available evidence relating to the rice-fish system environment, investment incentives, collective action, and property rights. Our analysis suggests that the system design should be adapted to existing farm conditions to minimize topographical and technical modifications and maximize successful adoption of rice-fish culture. Labor and capital requirements must remain within the bounds of investment capacity, which is limited and seasonal among African smallholders. Investments in IIA should promise an adequate profit margin to secure reinvestment. Since reinvestment is important for the advanced operation and maintenance of water facilities, sustainable rice-fish farming requires strong accountability in organizing water distribution, monitoring, and related rule enforcements. Therefore, a preliminary need is to understand farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics and interests that affect participation and free riding.

ERAHS: A New Platform for the Exchange of Regional Information and Experience on Agricultural Heritage Systems

There are more than 10000 years of agricultural development history in the world that has provided very fruitful and ingenious traditional knowledge and experiences reflecting the evolution of humanity and the nature. In 2002, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) initiated an international partnership initiative of “Conservation and Adaptive Management of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)” which aims to establish the basis for the international recognition, dynamic conservation and sustainable management of such systems, agricultural biodiversity and their associated biodiversity knowledge systems, food and livelihood security, landscapes and cultures. According to FAO, GIAHS are defined as “Remarkable land use systems and landscapes which are rich in globally significant biological diversity evolving from the coadaptation of a community with its environment and its needs and aspirations for sustainable development.” It is very obvious that GIAHS sites are different from other kinds of heritage. Generally, these traditional agricultural systems are selected on the basis of their importance for the provision of local food security, high levels of agricultural biodiversity and associated biological diversity, stores of indigenous knowledge and the ingenuity of their management systems. Correspondingly, some new and effective approaches to conserve and manage the new kinds of “heritage” should be found and developed. International and regional collaboration can play an important role in the process. Up to now, there are 31 GIAHS sites located in 13 countries. Most of them (23) are in Asia. China is one of the first countries responding and actively joining the GIAHS initiative. In 2005, the Qingtian Rice-Fish Culture System