In consultation with our stakeholders, ICLARM has adopted an aquatic resource system approach— used for the first time in the earlier Plan—and examined eight different aquatic resource systems, the special resource issues of small island developing states, and the major issues and benefits of each aquatic resource system for the poor in developing countries. These resource systems have been selected largely to respond to the needs in the tropical regions of the world. A companion volume to this Plan is also available (see ICLARM 1999 “Aquatic Resources Research in Developing Countries: Data and Evaluation by Region and Resource System: Supplement to ICLARM Strategic Plan 2000-2020”). It contains population, poverty and aquatic resource profiles of developing countries by regional groupings; and summary data by aquatic resource systems used to frame the priority-setting process as well as in describing the process itself.