ABSTRACT
The purpose of the consultations was to seek stakeholder affirmation of a draft National Policy Framework and Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in Pakistan, following earlier community consultations – including with many of the same people in Chilya – and inputs from other stakeholders. The combined government and multilateral agency program put into motion a participatory process and practice that sought to involve as wide a range of stakeholders as possible, with two rounds of consultations “close” to people in communities and in some cases, actually with affected people and in particular women. As a component of the national fisheries policy and strategy, in 2007 the federal government established a fisheries development board with a mandate to develop the aquaculture sector in Pakistan. The consultation process using the facilitated advocacy approach raised awareness among fishing communities for coordination and cooperation for natural resources management which brought mutual benefits for everybody.
