Background: Despite the connections between terrestrial and marine/freshwater livelihood strategies that we see in coastal regions across the world, the contribution of wild fisheries and fish farming is seldom considered in analyses of the global food system and is consequently underrepresented in major food security and nutrition policy initiatives. Understanding the degree to which farmers also consume fish, and how fishers also grow crops, would help to inform more resilient food security interventions.Results: By compiling a dataset for 123,730 households across 6781 sampling clusters in 12 highly food-insecure countries, we find that between 10 and 45% of the population relies on fish for a core part of their diet. In four of our sample countries, fish-reliant households are poorer than their counterparts. Five countries show the opposite result, with fish-reliant households having higher household asset wealth. We also find that in all but two countries, fishreliant households depend on land for farming just as much as do households not reliant on fish. Conclusions:These results highlight the need for food security interventions that combine terrestrial and marine/ freshwater programming if we are going to be successful in building a more resilient food system for the world's most vulnerable people.

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Decentralization in natural resource management (NRM) is increasingly promoted as it is believed to offer better management. This study explores the positive and negative aspects of the forestry confl ict that sometimes increases with decentralization. Drawing upon the results of a case study from Sumatra, this study examines how forestry confl ict under decentralization processes was viewed by stakeholders. The confl ict involved a logging company and a local community, and centered on a disputed forest boundary. The community accused the company of logging within the boundaries of its communal forest. In contrast, the company argued that it was logging within a state forest and was legally protected because it held a legitimate permit issued by the government. It is obvious that the confl ict revolved around property rights claims. While forestry confl ict is often viewed as a purely negative phenomenon this study shows that forestry confl ict has both negative and positive sides. Stakeholders had both negative and positive perceptions of the issue. Confl ict was seen to accelerate deforestation, sour relationships and generate high social risk. On the other hand, stakeholders suggested that confl ict also created opportunities to participate in forest management, allow negotiation and stimulate learning. To address confl ict under decentralization, property rights claims (de facto vs. de jure) need to be addressed and reconciled through negotiation processes so that positive aspects of confl ict can be fostered and negative ones can be avoided. Additionally, decentralization needs to be prepared and implemented with care. Strong legal frameworks, clear implementation guidelines and capacity building for stakeholders are important elements that can contribute to the effectiveness of decentralization.

The term 'partnership' has become a watch-word for development organisations that aim to mobilise the resources and collaboration needed to achieve long-term goals such as poverty reduction and sustainable resource management. Achieving effective collaboration in practice, however, can be challenging. This article adds to recent discussions on what makes effective partnerships, offering lessons from an on-going partnership between RECOFTC (Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific) and SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation). Key findings include the observation that the role of individuals in maintaining partnerships often goes unrecognised and needs to be supported in appropriate ways; clearly defined and focused areas of collaboration are essential; a formal basis for the partnership needs to be backed with strong informal communication and collaboration processes; and, while partners bring distinctive knowledge and networks to a partnership, some degree of evenness in the scale and type of resources committed to the partnership is important.