Overview: the role of Non-Governmental Organizations in the implementation of the SSF Guidelines

Paragraph 2.3 of the SSF Guidelines: These Guidelines are addressed to FAO Members and non-Members, at all levels of the country, as well as to subregional, regional, international and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and small-scale fisheries actors (fishers, fish workers, their communities, traditional and customary authorities, and related professional organizations and CSOs). They are also aimed at research and academic institutions, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and all others concerned with the fisheries sector, coastal and rural development and the use of the aquatic environment.

The Global Strategic Framework enables everyone to contribute to the implementation of the SSF Guidelines and the fulfillment of Paragraph 2.3. To find out more, please follow this link.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) play an important role in supporting the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. In an informal meeting between NGOs and small-scale fisheries producer organizations on collaboration for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines, held in 2016 at the margins of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), it was acknowledged that NGOs often have experience in supporting the establishment of new and the strengthening of existing civil society organisations. It was also recognized that NGOs are frequently in a position to contribute technical expertise, advocacy  and  lobbying,  as  well  as  resource  mobilization  to  support  sustainable  small-scale fisheries.  Chapter 12 of the SSF Guidelines, Capacity Development, is particularly relevant in providing guidance on how NGOs can play a role in applying the recommendations of the SSF Guidelines.

Often NGOs working in specific regions have an expert understanding of local social, cultural and/or political nuances, and are therefore very effective in supporting the uptake of the SSF Guidelines in collaboration with local small-scale actors. For instance, in 2019, Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI), in collaboration with a number of partners from research  collaborated in co-designing a regional framework for mainstreaming the SSF Guidelines into governance and policy in Latin America and the Caribbean. This partnership continues today with a series of indicators being developed to measure the implementation of the SSF Guidelines at the local and regional level.

Some NGOs have experience and expertise in specific  technical areas, such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT)  and apply their knowledge to support the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. ABALOBI and Blue Ventures, two NGOs using ICTs in their support to small-scale fisheries, organized an international workshop called ICT4Fisheries in practice in Cape Town, South Africa in 2019. ICT4Fisheries is about promoting the use of digital technology and applications that span a wide range of areas from maritime safety to accessing markets, including also participatory data collection for fisheries monitoring purposes.

Some NGOs specialize in communicating and liaising with certain stakeholder groups, such as government officials and policymakers. In 2020, FAO embarked on a new partnership with the International Oceans Institute who is developing a 5-day training program in regional small-scale fisheries governance for African government officials.

To find out more about the role, perspectives and endeavors of some of the NGOs that support the implementation of the SSF Guidelines, please follow this link to read ‘In their own words’.