Second regional workshop on legislative implementation of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries under the EAF-Nansen Programme.
Accra, Ghana. Delivered by the Development Law Service (LEGN) and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (FI), the workshop on strengthening policy and legal frameworks for the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF), took place between 2 and 4 December in Accra, Ghana.
Representatives of national ministries and agencies for fisheries, environment, and maritime affairs from six anglophone African countries — the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Namibia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa took part in the hybrid event.
The workshop was opened by the FAO representative in Ghana ad interim, Ms Priya Gujadhur; the Legal Officer, LEGN, Ms Julia Nakamura (on behalf of the EAF-Nansen Programme Coordinator Ms Merete Tandstad); a delegate from the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), Ms Hannah Ansah (on behalf of the Secretary-General of FCWC), and; the Executive Director of Ghana’s Fisheries Commission, Prof. Benjamin Campion.
Prof Campion recalled that “by aligning with the ecosystem approach, we are not only protecting fish stocks – we are safeguarding communities and the future of our planet’s aquatic resources”.
LEGN presented its work in developing the Diagnostic tool for implementing an EAF through policy and legal frameworks, its previous training events, and the overall findings of applying the tool in 33 countries.
Delegates shared information and experiences on the implementation of the EAF through national policy and legal frameworks and identified good practices and needs for improving countries’ legal and policy frameworks vis-à-vis the EAF. There was rich discussion in the working groups on the challenges in adopting and implementing legislation aligned with the EAF. Participants also presented updates on their policy and legal framework since the publication of the respective countries’ legal reports (the Gambia; Ghana; Liberia; Namibia; Sierra Leone, and South Africa).
The outcome of this workshop is a roadmap for developing a legal report by FAO jointly with the participants, showcasing the common features and good practices in the implementaiton of the EAF through policy and legal frameworks identified in these three days of collective work.
For more information, please contact:[email protected]; [email protected]