Creating Carbon Sinks and Carbon Negative Livelihoods

Fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus) are threatened by local extinction in many parts of their range in South and Southeast Asia due to poaching and unsustainable aquaculture (fish and shrimp farming) that has led to the deforestation of their globally important mangrove habitat. A feasible long-term solution to conserve mangroves to benefit both fishing cats as well as humans is to provide local people with alternative and sustainable livelihoods. 

Fishing Cat Conservancy provides an environmentally friendly alternative for  involves converting aquaculture farms into sustainable farms by planting mangroves in 70 percent of the farm leaving a channel where estuarine finfish and shellfish can be cultivated, Through this approach, not only would there be no parameter maintenance required after culture, but it would also open doors for the locals to tap into the ever increasing demand for organic, farm-to-table fresh seafood.

Sequester more than five times the carbon as tropical rainforest, but an estimated 50% - 80% of the historic coastal mangrove. A feasible strategy to conserve these unprotected mangroves is to provide human communities with alternative and sustainable livelihoods.This idea is also a low-investment alternative to commercial aquaculture ponds that are more expensive to maintain, pollute natural waters, and are prone to income losses due to soil infertility. 

From a conservation stand point, mangroves won’t need chemicals to be maintained, and they won’t pollute surrounding waters as aquaculture farms currently. This would create carbon sinks and carbon-negative livelihoods.

We are serving farmers along with the surrounding community, and their buyers in areas that include South and Southeast Asia.

Fishing Cat Conservancy provides an environmentally friendly alternative for achieving sustainable harvest of seafood from their to-be mangrove forest such that they could sell directly from their mangrove to "Farm-to-table" buyers.

The mission of the Fishing Cat Conservancy (FCC) is to promote the long-term survival of fishing cats in the wild through public education, capacity-building, and community-based research and conservation.

Grants, along with donation's from FCC's supporting organizations and individual donors who help fund regional and international travel and various components of FCC's field programs, administration and fundraising efforts in the United States and India.