This edition of the Window on the World presents a collection of websites of civil society networks, multilateral organizations and international scientific institutions working in marine conservation, aquaculture, fisheries and gender and fisheries.
I. Gender and Fishery Networks
The Gender and Fisheries Network
http://www. worldfishcenter.org/v2/ourwork-genderdetails.html
The Gender and Fisheries Network, which was founded by some members of the Asian Fisheries Society together with the WorldFish Center (see below) as a partner, provides a platform for information sharing and collaborative research among scientists, development and extension workers and managers.
The Network initially focused on women in fisheries but was later extended to gender and fisheries since it was felt that research focusing on just women runs the risk of simplifying the complex relationships between the roles played by women, men and children making up the fisheries community.
The Network initially catered for members from Asia but it now welcomes members from all over the world. The WorldFish Center serves as the focal point for the Gender and Fisheries Network webpage as well as the moderator for the Gender and Fisheries List Server.
European Network: women in fisheries and aquaculture in Europe
The objectives of this Network are:
- To establish links between social sciences researchers working in the field of fisheries and aquaculture, the women involved in this sector and the representative structures of women's organizations such as social, administrative and training institutions.
- To develop an inventory of the initiatives already existing in this field in Europe, concerning fisher women's organizations and research actions, and providing a 'place for exchanges and reflections' at the European level.
- To provide a preliminary opportunity in order to create a network of relationships between the fisherwomen organizations at the European level and make initial contacts with similar networks in other sectors of activity.
- To promote within the field of the social sciences the theme of research about women in fisheries and to conduct research on these themes.
- To make a preliminary assessment, in the form of discussion workshops between researchers and actors, of the role of women in this sector, and ensuring the communication and dissemination of information, including the popularization of scientific research work.
II. Scientific and civil society institutes
Asian Fishery Society
http://www.asianfisheriessociety.org/
The Asian Fisheries Society (AFS) is a non-profit scientific society founded in 1984 by fishery professionals in Asia. The society aims at promoting networking and cooperation between scientists, technicians and all stakeholders involved in fisheries (including aquaculture) production, research and development in Asia. Its ultimate objective is to enhance food security and income generating opportunities for fisheries workers via sound management practices, environmentally sustainable development and efficient utilization of the aquatic resources.
WorldFish Center
http://www.worldfishcenter.org
This NGO, with its headquarters in Malaysia, is one of 15 centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The World Fish Center carries out research-for-development to improve small-scale fisheries and aquaculture. Its key competencies are in policy economics and social sciences, natural resource management, and aquaculture and genetic improvement. This inter-linked set of disciplines work together to provide a wide range of research and analysis.
International Collective in Support of Fishworkers
The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) is an international non-governmental organization that works towards the establishment of equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector.
ICSF draws its mandate from the historic International Conference of Fishworkers and their Supporters (ICFWS), held in Rome in 1984, parallel to the World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
A number of fishworker organizations and concerned intellectuals, academics and social activists felt that the FAO conference had chosen to overemphasize the commercial, industrial, scientific and fishery resource aspects, at the expense of the actual real-world, life-and-blood people involved in fishing worldwide, fishworkers who are often sections of the population marginalized from mainstream society.
The main aims of ICSF are to monitor issues that relate to the life, livelihood and living conditions of fishworkers around the world; disseminate information on these issues, particularly among fisherfolk; prepare guidelines for policymakers that stress fisheries development and management of a just, participatory and sustainable nature; and help create the space and momentum for the development of alternatives in the small-scale fisheries sector.
III. NGOs and fishery programmes
WWF Global Marine Programme
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/index.cfm
WWF's Global Marine Programme is carrying out fishing projects toward a sustainable marine ecosystem that provides for fishermen livelihoods. The basis for the fishery projects is based on ecosystem-based management (EBM) – which aims to achieve sustainable exploitation of natural resources by balancing the social and economic needs of human communities with the maintenance of healthy ecosystems. Using the EBM framework, WWF engaged with the fishing industry to improve fisheries management, reduce the impacts of fishing and promote sustainably caught seafood.
IUCN Global Marine Programme
http://www.iucn.org/themes/marine/
Responding to the need to conserve marine and coastal resources IUCN formed the Global Marine Programme (GMP) in 1985. Since its inception, the GMP has been working across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Mediterranean, and Central and South America. These programmes have covered multiple areas such as integrated coastal and marine management, fisheries, marine protected areas, larger marine ecosystems, as well as coral reef rehabilitation, and the effects of coral bleaching and climate change.
IV. Global fishery information systems
Fishbase
FishBase is a global information system containing practically all fish species known to science. FishBase was developed at the WorldFish Center in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and many other partners, and with support from the European Commission (EC).
Reefbase
Free and easy access database for the improved knowledge in support of research and management of coral reef resources. It includes information on the location, status, threats, monitoring and management of coral reef resources in over 100 countries and territories as well as publications, photos and maps related to coral reefs.
It also provides information on the status of coral reef fisheries, focusing on the development of the industry and the impacts on the coral reef resources. Much of the information in this section was taken from various status reports, such as those produced by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN).
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/GlobalMarine
The Global Map of Human Impacts to Marine Ecosystems that synthesizes global data on human impacts to marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, sea grass beds, continental shelves and the deep ocean is now available online. The work was conducted by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and involved 19 scientists from a range of universities, NGOs and government agencies. The goal of the research was to estimate and visualize, for the first time, the global impact humans are having on the ocean's ecosystems. According to this first global-scale study, more than 40 percent of the world's oceans are heavily affected by human activities, and few if any areas remain untouched. By overlaying maps of 17 different activities such as fishing, climate change and pollution, the researchers have produced a composite map of the toll that humans have exacted on the seas.
V. Multilateral organizations
Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of FAO
The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of FAO aims to facilitate and secure the long-term sustainable development and utilization of the world's fisheries and aquaculture. FAO is acutely aware of the fundamental social and economic role played by these two sectors and the need for them to be responsibly managed. This implies preventing overfishing, promoting sustainable aquaculture, coordination and delivery of effective research and extension and the empowerment of people, especially women tasks. The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department therefore provides, on the request of Members, technical assistance in all aspects of fisheries and aquaculture management and development.
United Nations Law of the Sea
www.un.org/depts/los/index.htm
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides, for the first time, a universal legal framework for the rational management of marine resources and their conservation for future generations. Rarely has such radical change been achieved peacefully, by consensus of the world community. It has thus been hailed as the most important international achievement since the approval of the United Nations Charter in 1945. This is where the United Nations plays an important role as the depository of the Convention and the globally recognized forum for monitoring and reporting on all aspects related to oceans and the law of the sea.
World Bank Fisheries and Aquaculture
The World Bank has established a new partnership, the Global Program on Fisheries (PROFISH) with an emphasis on sustainable fisheries management and improved governance. Through the Global Environment Facility, and partnership initiatives and country-level projects, the World Bank has a portfolio of over US$1.2 billion in fisheries, aquaculture, coastal and aquatic environmental management and related projects serving coastal and fishing communities.
EU Directorate-General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/fisheries
The Directorate General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs aims at ensuring the delivery of the Commission's political priorities in the areas of fisheries, the Law of the Sea and Maritime Affairs. The Directorate General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs is responsible for the management, on behalf of the Commission, of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in order to provide the basis for sustainable fisheries within and beyond community waters, taking into account environmental, economic and social aspects and applying good governance principles.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.aspx
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) was called for by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2000. Initiated in 2001, the objective of the MA was to assess the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and the scientific basis for action needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of those systems and their contribution to human well-being. The MA has involved the work of more than 1,360 experts worldwide. Findings, contained in five technical volumes and six synthesis reports, provide a state-of-the-art scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world's ecosystems and the services they provide (such as clean water, food, forest products, flood control and natural resources) and the options to restore, conserve or enhance the sustainable use of ecosystems.
