Dam restocking has emerged as one of the enhancement techniques to riparian social-ecological systems for livelihood and nutritional security advancement. Dams can thus promote community-aquaculture initiatives to increase fish production and availability in rural areas with proper management and husbandry. This paper highlights the development of the Framework for Community-based Dam Aquaculture (FCODA) which lays a solid foundation for blue growth and which are based on poverty alleviation and food security. In the implementation of FCODA, countries are encouraged to focus on environmental, economic, and social considerations that are critical for the Blue Economy’s long-term development. The FCODA herein was developed using expert opinions and various literature sources such as national and international policy documents such as the African Agenda 2063, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs. The framework’s three KRAs are: (i) Enhanced economic benefits to the communities; (ii) infrastructural and human capacity development; and (iii) Enabling environment for sustainable dam aquaculture. During the framework’s implementation, the resources required to operationalize a given business enterprise over a given period could be mobilized through ploughing back mechanisms, lobbying development partners and the government for additional funding, and other stakeholders. To ensure that the framework is implemented effectively, monitoring and evaluation should be done on a regular basis.
Keywords: Riparian, Dams; stakeholders; frameworks; policy; sustainability.