Towards Gender Equitable Small Scale Fisheries Governance And Development A Handbook

This manual aims at providing practical guidance on how to achieve gender-equitable small-scale fisheries in the context of the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. Women play a key role, in particular in post-harvest activities relating to processing, marketing and trade, but their role remains undervalued. Within the broader context of the FAO Blue Growth Initiative, this publication therefore contributes to SP 1 Outcome 101 - Member countries and their development partners make explicit poli tical commitments in the form of policies, investment plans, programmes, legal frameworks and the allocation of necessary resources to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The target audience for this manual is twofold: (i) policy makers/public administrations working on small-scale fisheries will be informed about ways to ensure gender-sensitive policies, investments and small-scale fisheries sector support, (ii) CSOs/Fisheries organizations will receive guidance on how to active ly support the empowerment of women in small-scale fisheries. However, this publication is also relevant for other audiences who can provide a support function to the to key audiences, namely: academia/research, donors/resource partners, FAO staff.

The small-scale fisheries subsector is a crucial provider of livelihoods, nutrition, and food security to millions of people all over the world. However, small-scale fishers, fishworkers and their communities face many challenges, including lack of recognition, limited participation in decision-making, unsustainable use of aquatic resources, climate change impacts and conflicting interests with other sectors. The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) are the first international instrument entirely dedicated to small-scale fisheries and provide guidance on how to address existing challenges in the subsector. One of the key areas discussed in the SSF Guidelines is the need for an enabling environment that promotes good governance. This publication, Small-scale fisheries governance – A handbook in support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, was based on a number of training courses on governance in small-scale fisheries. It offers an overview of the SSF Guidelines and guidance on their implementation in particular with regard to good governance and the enabling environment needed.

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) are the first international instrument dedicated entirely to the small-scale fisheries sector. While the implementation of the SSF Guidelines will require legal and regulatory adjustments beyond national fisheries legislation to ensure political and legislative coherence and fully reflect the breadth of their provisions, the fundamental function of fisheries law in a sustainable use, management, and the development of small-scale fisheries is indisputable. Appropriate fisheries legislation provides the strongest possible framework for inclusive, participatory fisheries governance and resource management by providing a coherent basis for implementing and enforcing the SSF Guidelines and other related international and regional agreements and commitments. Legislation can therefore be a tangible way to support small-scale fishers, fish workers, and their communities and contribute to broader development goals, including the progressive realization of the right to food, poverty eradication, equitable development, and sustainable resource utilization. This document, Legislating for Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries – A guide and considerations for implementing aspects of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication in National Legislation, is a tool for States to strengthen their fisheries legislation in order to establish conditions for inclusive and sustainable small-scale fisheries development, taking into account the interrelatedness of social, economic and environmental sustainability, while focusing on marginalized groups.

The importance of small-scale fisheries for sustainable livelihoods and communities, food security, and poverty eradication is indisputable. With the endorsement of the ‘Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries’, FAO member states recognize that governments, civil society organizations, and research communities all have a role to play in helping small-scale fisheries achieve these goals. This book argues that policies targeting small-scale fisheries need to be based on a solid and holistic knowledge foundation, and support the building of governance capacity at local, national, and global levels. The book provides rich illustrations from around the world of why such knowledge production needs to be transdisciplinary, drawing from multiple disciplinary perspectives and the knowledge that small-scale fisheries actors have, in order to identify problems and explore innovative solutions. Transdisciplinarity for Small-Scale Fisheries Governance: Analysis and Practice, edited by Ratana Chuenpagdee and Svein Jentoft, successfully demonstrates how small-scale fisheries are important and what social and political conditions are conducive to their wellbeing. The volume contributes tremendously to building capacity of fisheries communities and policy-makers to make the ideals of small-scale fisheries a reality. It establishes the ecological, social, and economic sense behind small-scale fisheries. A milestone reference for all those who believe in small-scale fisheries and are keen to defend them with quality evidence! — Sebastian Mathew, Executive Director, International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) The Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines guiding principles call for holistic and integrated approaches for their implementation. This book will help a new generation of scientists, policy-makers, and small-scale fisheries actors make the fundamental connections between different disciplines in science, traditional knowledge, and policy to guide a collective process towards sustainable small-scale fisheries. The book contains an inspiring collection of practical cases from around the world, complemented by deep dives into dimensions of small-scale fisheries, like food security, stewardship, climate change, and gender, which all call for transdisciplinary approaches. — Nicole Franz, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Rome, Italy

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) represent the first ever international instrument dedicated to small-scale fisheries. They represent a global consensus on principles and guidance for small-scale fisheries governance and development. They were developed for small-scale fisheries in close collaboration with representatives of small-scale fisheries organizations in a participatory process between 2011-13, involving over 4000 stakeholders; facilitated by FAO, based on a mandate by COFI. They are directed at all those involved in the sector and intend to guide and encourage governments, fishing communities and other stakeholders to work together and ensure secure and sustainable small-scale fisheries for the benefit of small-scale fishers, fish workers and their communities as well as for society at large.

The purpose of this methodological guide is to outline how to conduct an empirical assessment of the current landscape of women’s small-scale fishery (SSF) organizations. Applying this methodology will enhance understanding of where women are organized in SSFs (both geographically and within the value chain); what their present organizational characteristics and capacities are; and their primary needs. Gathering this information through this methodology can help design interventions to enhance women’s organizational capacities and to work towards greater gender equality in fish value chains.

Illuminating Hidden Harvests: the contributions of small-scale fisheries to sustainable development (hereinafter IHH) is a global study uncovering the contributions and impacts of small-scale fisheries through a multidisciplinary approach to data collection and analysis. The study provides information that quantifies and improves understanding of the crucial role of small-scale fisheries in the areas of food security and nutrition, sustainable livelihoods, poverty eradication and healthy ecosystems. It also examines gender equality as well as the nature and scope of governance in small-scale fisheries. The IHH study was carried out in support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), themselves developed in recognition of the plight of small-scale fishers, fishworkers and associated communities and released as a contribution to the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. The purpose of this report is to contribute to a more holistic understanding of what small-scale fisheries are, their importance, and why they are essential to efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By using this knowledge wisely within a human rights-based approach in line with the SSF Guidelines, and by empowering small-scale fishers and fishworkers, a more inclusive, equitable, sustainable and resilient small-scale scale fisheries subsector can be achieved. Realizing this goal would benefit hundreds of thousands in fishing communities and society at large. With this in mind, the IHH report is aimed at all those with a stake or an interest in the small-scale fisheries subsector, in particular decision-makers who are concerned with fisheries, poverty eradication, food security and nutrition, and sustainable development more generally. It is also addressed to small-scale fisheries actors themselves and those who support them.