Forum global sur la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition (Forum FSN)

1. Partnering for implementation

Question A:  How do you see the role of your organization and others in the implementation of the SSF Guidelines?

Small scale fisheries actors should develop and/or strengthen SSF associations/cooperatives to contribute to the sustainable management of the resources and strengthen their voice in decision-making. There is a need to encourage the development of policies to protect SSF livelihoods, promote income opportunities and emphasis the socio-economic and cultural importance of SSF. Organization and others should be used to build awareness and political support for the SSF guidelines; SPC can play a role in this process.

• Question B: How can partnerships be fostered and strengthened to include the ‘voices of the marginalized?

Organizations are already playing vital roles in contributing to addressing development and strengthening SSF, independently or in partnership with government and other actors, including as:

• Service providers: delivering services to meet SSF society needs such as education, health, food and security, community economic development; implementing natural resource management; undertaking disaster management, preparedness and emergency response, especially at the community level
• Experts: bringing unique knowledge and experience to shape policy and strategy of fishing, and identifying and building solutions on social, economic and environmental issues
• Capacity builders: providing education, training and other capacity building via informal as well as formal programmes for a wide range of target fishermen and using a diverse set of capacity building approaches including innovative use of information and communication technologies towards building adaptive capacity in small scale fishing.
• Representatives: giving power to the voice of the marginalized or under-represented, including poor communities, resource users and women who are otherwise excluded from decision-making processes
• Social monitors: holding governments and private sector to account, promoting transparency and accountability
• Advocates: raising awareness of societal issues and challenges and advocating for change, including on a range of sustainable development issues in fishing environments.
• Innovators: leading on thinking and practical action new and emerging issues to catalyze development in small scale fishing areas such as green economy, sustainable consumption and production.

• Question C: What will be required at local, national, regional and global levels to ensure effective and efficient partnerships?

1. Invite States to ratify or accede to and implement the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the overall legal framework for ocean activities;    

  (b)     Promote the implementation of chapter 17 of Agenda 21 which provides the programme of action for achieving the sustainable development of oceans, coastal areas and seas through its programme areas of integrated management and sustainable development of coastal areas, including exclusive economic zones; marine environmental protection; sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources; addressing critical uncertainties for the management of the marine environment and climate change; strengthening international, including regional, cooperation and coordination; and sustainable development of small islands;

     (c)     Establish an effective, transparent and regular inter-agency coordination mechanism on ocean and coastal issues within the United Nations system;

      (d)     Encourage the application by 2010 of the ecosystem approach, noting the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem and decision 5/6 of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity;

      (e)     Promote integrated, multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral coastal and ocean management at the national level, and encourage and assist coastal States in developing ocean policies and mechanisms on integrated coastal management;

   (f)      Strengthen regional cooperation and coordination between the relevant regional organizations and programmes, the UNEP regional seas programmes, regional fisheries management organizations and other regional science, health and development organizations;

     (g)     Assist developing countries in coordinating policies and programmes at the regional and sub-regional levels aimed at the conservation and sustainable management of fishery resources, and implement integrated coastal area management plans, including through the promotion of sustainable coastal and small-scale fishing activities and, where appropriate, the development of related infrastructure;

     (h)     Take note of the work of the open-ended informal consultative process established by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 54/33 in order to facilitate the annual review by the Assembly of developments in ocean affairs and the upcoming review of its effectiveness and utility to be held at its fifty-seventh session under the terms of the above-mentioned resolution.

In all, to achieve sustainable fisheries in respect to effective and efficient partnership, I would suggest the following actions are required at all levels:

•        (a)     Maintain or restore stocks to levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield with the aim of achieving these goals for depleted stocks on an urgent basis and where possible not later than 2015;
•        (b)     Ratify or accede to and effectively implement the relevant United Nations and, where appropriate, associated regional fisheries agreements or arrangements, noting in particular the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks and the 1993 Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas;
•        (c)     Implement the 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, taking note of the special requirements of developing countries as noted in its article 5, and the relevant Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) international plans of action and technical guidelines;

1. Information and communication – promoting experience sharing and collaboration

• Question A: What best practices with regard to communication would you recommend for SSF Guidelines implementation at local, national, regional and global level?

• The role of associations and bottom up-approaches to information and capacity development need to be highlighted.
•  Stakeholders must be proactive to ensure that adequate training is tailored to their needs.
•  It is important to emphasize and promote the use of technology and alternative methods for information dissemination and capacity development, including the use of mobile phones and the Internet.
• The guidelines should specify the need to create a variety of dissemination channels, including information sharing between non-government stakeholders and the use of training attachments and tutor exchanges between countries.

• Question B: What are your experiences from participatory monitoring and evaluation?

• It is important to develop an efficient system for monitoring at the international level that avoids over-burdening countries with reporting requirements— regional organizations could play a role in facilitating this.
• Funding opportunities can be explored by building on the different issues included in the SSF guidelines.
• There is a need to identify priorities within the SS guidelines and define milestones and time frames to achieve them.
• Regional platforms exist (e.g. island councils, Pacific Islands Forum Government Heads, Forum Fisheries Ministers Meeting, SPC Heads of Fisheries Meeting) and should be used to build awareness and political support for the SSF guidelines; SPC can play a role in this process.