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What are SIDS?
The Small Island Developing States (SIDS), are a distinct group of developing countries recognized by the United Nations as a special case for both their environmental and development challenges, facing specific social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities.
The countries designated as SIDS are located in the Caribbean and in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans and in the South China Sea, but they are all faced with unique problems related to their small size, their isolation, and their vulnerability and little resilience at environmental challenges, such as climate change.
Most of SIDS suffer from a reduced access to resources, lack of infrastructures, high cost of energy and dependence on imports for many goods, often at high prices.
What we do
Fisheries is of vital importance in achieving food security and nutrition, and the sector plays a major role in national SIDS economies, especially in the Pacific SIDS, where capture fisheries can contribute to as much as 10 percent of GDP. The set of challenges SIDS need to face, such as shifting market access conditions of key markets as well legal and policy frameworks which must adapt to the unique nature of these countries, continue to undermine the growth in trade of SIDS fishery products to the regional and international markets.
In this regard, the SVC4SIDS Project focuses on the value chains associated with high-value species to enable SIDS micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to strengthen their markets access while contributing to sustainable production and trade in fishery products.
How we work
SVC4SIDS will conduct a multilevel, step-by-step, action plan in order to maximize the effects of the intervention:
- Improving fisheries stakeholders’ understanding of the functioning of the value chain will lead to the development of targeted and more effective improvement strategies
- A strengthened market access will increase MSMEs’ economic performance
- A better management of natural resources will enhance environmental sustainability of the selected value chains
- While facilitating MSMEs’ access to additional sources of finance and investment will help their growth.
Where we work
The SVC4SIDS is a global project with activities in the countries of Cabo Verde in the Atlantic Ocean, Kiribati in the Pacific, and Barbados (over the period 2020-2021) in the Caribbean. In target countries, the project will closely work with stakeholders to develop sustainable fishery value chains whereby a triple bottom-line sustainability assessment will be carried out in order to identify inefficiencies and opportunities pertaining to social, economic and environmental dimensions. Results of the assessments performed in the first stage of the project will inform and form the basis on where the related value chains have potential to develop. The process is highly participatory as stakeholders, guided and assisted by international experts, will help formulate and agree on upgrading strategies that include actions and investments by the public and private sector that will generate positive economic, social and environmental externalities.
