Passing the Panda Standard: A TAD Off the Mark?

Citation

Belton B, Murray F, Young J, Telfer T & Little DC (2010) Passing the Panda Standard: A TAD Off the Mark?. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 39 (1), pp. 2-13. http://www.springerlink.com/content/0044-7447/; https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-009-0009-4

Abstract
Tilapia, a tropical freshwater fish native to Africa, is an increasingly important global food commodity. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a major environmental nongovernmental organization, has established stakeholder dialogues to formulate farm certification standards that promote ‘‘responsible’’ culture practices. As a preface to its ‘‘tilapia aquaculture dialogue,’’ the WWF for Nature commissioned a review of potential certification issues, later published as a peer-reviewed article. This article contends that both the review and the draft certification standards subsequently developed fail to adequately integrate critical factors governing the relative sustainability of tilapia production and thereby miss more significant issues related to resource-use efficiency and the appropriation of ecosystem space and services. This raises a distinct possibility that subsequent certification will promote intensive systems of tilapia production that are far less ecologically benign than existing widely practiced semiintensive alternatives. Given the likely future significance of this emergent standard, it is contended that a more holistic approach to certification is essential.

Keywords
Aquaculture; sustainability; eco-certification; standards; Tilapia; environmental impacts; Environmental impact analysis; Aquaculture Africa; Tilapia

Journal
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment: Volume 39, Issue 1

People

Professor Dave Little

Professor, Institute of Aquaculture

Professor Trevor Telfer

Professor, Institute of Aquaculture

Professor Jimmy Young

Emeritus Professor, Marketing & Retail