How can responsible investment ensure the sustainable growth of aquaculture?
The first Expert Consultation Workshop for the development of principles for responsible investment in aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea was held on 1 July 2021.
Sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea requires targeted blended finance and substantial private capital input. To achieve this, the sector needs to promptly identify responsible investment principles to guide public and private financial support towards activities that have the potential to increase the social dividend of aquaculture, establish a paradigm of a new corporate ethos in the wider food industry and actively support efforts for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), as part of its 2030 Strategy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, is developing principles to promote responsible investment in aquaculture. These principles are expected to act as a tool for national and international development organizations and respective financial institutions to better design and provide targeted blended finance to aquaculture and effectively attract the necessary private financial resources for the sustainable growth of the sector.
|
The overall aim is to develop a set of principles which will help create a more enabling environment for responsible investment in aquaculture, support Blue Economy in the region, and ultimately enhance the development benefits of such investments for the people of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea countries. |
Learn more about the speakers here.
In this context, the GFCM launched an Expert Consultation project as the first step towards developing the concept of responsible investment in aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The project consisted of an online survey with industry stakeholders and selected experts to collect views and perspectives on the topic, setting the foundation upon which a constructive dialogue can be initiated for the identification of the governing framework for the subsequent development of the related Principles.
The online survey, open from 22 April – 30 May 2021, received 115 responses from industry stakeholders and experts. The responses represent 12 international organizations and a total of 25 countries, 19 of which are contracting parties and cooperating non-contracting parties (CPCs) of the GFCM.
The findings of the online survey were presented at the First Expert Consultation Workshop for the development of principles for responsible investment in aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, held online on the 1st of July 2021.
During the workshop, through an engaging and participative process, selected industry stakeholder representatives and experts attempted to better identify the strategic framework and governing principles for responsible investment in aquaculture and support the GFCM towards the proposal of a roadmap for the development of principles for responsible investment in aquaculture.
Learn more about the workshop here.