Disaster risks & climate change

What can your fishery and community do to prepare for natural disasters and climate change? Rising sea levels, storms, and pollution are some of the many threats facing small-scale fisheries and communities. Small-scale fisheries communities can adapt and increase resiliency to address these issues. Start here to learn more about disaster risks and climate change and explore more in the sub-categories below. 

Subcategories

Resources

COVID-19 impacts on the South African Small-Scale Fisheries Sector

In this presentation, Dr Bernadette Snow, Nelson Mandela University, shares early inter-disciplinary research findings on the effects of COVID-19 and the related lock-down measures on the small-scale fisheries sector in South Africa.

Small-Scale Fisheries and Blue Justice: Procedural and Substantive Rights of Fisherfolks

This seminar will explore the role and practical relevance of international legal instruments for the recognition and full realisation of the human rights of small-scale fishers, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication.

Ocean & Women

This short film presents the story of a Ghanaian fish worker, Peace Gavour Abla, and discusses the challenges faced by Ghanaian women living in coastal communities. The film highlights the importance of improving the protection of women’s human rights in small-scale fisheries and holding governments and businesses accountable

A report by The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition

This report addresses a frequently overlooked but extremely important part of world food and nutrition security: the role and importance of fish in seeking food and nutrition security for all. Fisheries and aquaculture have often been arbitrarily separated from other parts of the food and agricultural systems in food security studies, debates and policy-making.

The small-scale fisheries and energy nexus

This publication introduces the current situation and proposes a way forward with regard to the use of renewable energy in small-scale fisheries. It provides general guidance for decision-makers and development specialists on the choices, benefits and challenges related to renewable energy use and uptake in small-scale fisheries.

Climate Change Poster

Poster on the impacts of climate change on fisheries

Blue Infrastructure Supporting SDG 14 in Coastal Communities in Indonesia

In this white paper, “Blue Infrastructure Supporting SDG 14 in Coastal Communities in Indonesia,” we outline the pros, cons, and impact of blue infrastructure solutions, alternatives, and adaptations to gray infrastructure that will best suit the needs of coastal communities in Indonesia. We provide examples of what is working around the world, and hope this serves as a resource for other partners and decision-makers who want to achieve U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.

Impact of Ocean Risks on SIDS and LDCs

Coastal communities in SIDS and LDCs have high levels of exposure and sensitivity to ocean risks, in part owing to the heavy dependency on the sea for fisheries and tourism. This report outlines the impacts of prominent biophysical and anthropogenic stressors on SIDS and LDCs, highlights the key social-ecological features that shape their vulnerabilities to these stressors, and suggests potential ways to mitigate ocean risks and build resilience.

Direct-to-Consumer Strategies for Seafood: The Landscape, Challenges, and Opportunities since COVID-19

This report categorizes the different types of direct-to-consumer [D2C] models that currently exist within the seafood sector, and evaluates their respective strengths and weaknesses, the enabling conditions important for certain models to thrive, as well as barriers to scale and growth. The goal is to provide insight into how these models may affect the way wild capture seafood is bought and sold around the world, and in particular, the impact this may have on social and environmentally responsible seafood initiatives.

Global Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Seafood Industry

For nearly two years, local, regional, and global fisheries and seafood supply chains have been forced to adjust and adapt to the unprecedented conditions brought on by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

This study seeks to synthesize the complex conditions and outcomes to date, and provide an overview of the current landscape of change. Within that landscape we explore which trends or pa terns emerged simply as stop gaps in a moment of crisis, and which shifts are likely to last in the long-term.

Lessons learned and public policy recommendations on adaptation to climate change in artisanal fisheries and small-scale aquaculture in Chile [Policy brief].

This document is part of the project “Strengthening the adaptive capacity to climate change in the fisheries and aquaculture sector of Chile. This document presents the primary results and innovative aspects of the project, in keeping with its three main components: strengthening of public and private institutional capacities; improvement of the adaptive capacity of artisanal fisheries and small-scale aquaculture; and strengthening knowledge and awareness about climate change in fishing and aquaculture communities

Inclusive social development and decent work for enhancing small-scale fisheries resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic

This document is part of a series of briefs framed under the provisions of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). The briefs aim to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods and sustainable development of the small-scale fisheries sector and provide examples of coping strategies.

Climate Change and Marine Fisheries in Africa: Assessing Vulnerability and Strengthening Adaptation Capacity

This report takes stock of available knowledge on the economic importance of marine fisheries in sub-Saharan Africa and the populations that depend on them and provides a biophysical analysis of the impacts of climate change as they have already been measured and how they are modeled to evolve, a socioeconomic analysis of the same impacts of climate change, and preliminary estimates of the vulnerability of marine fisheries.

Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Summary for Policymakers

This Summary for Policymakers (SPM) presents key findings of the Working Group II (WGII) contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the IPCC1. The report builds on the WGII contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the IPCC, three Special Reports2, and the Working Group I (WGI) contribution to the AR6 cycle.

Marine Havens Under Threat: The impacts of the climate crisis on tropical coral reefs and the communities that rely on them

This report focuses on climate change as the primary long-term threat to coral reefs, but it is clear that both unsustainable fishing and pollution are serious near-term threats that must not be neglected.

Cambio Climático en México: Recomendaciones de Política Pública para la Adaptación del Sector Pesquero y Acuícola

Este documento presenta un análisis detallado de la situación de la pesca y la acuacultura de México ante la perspectiva y el desafío que constituye el cambio climático global, bajo la perspectiva ambiental y el marco jurídico existente que establece las líneas a seguir para la adaptación al cambio climático en el sector de interés

Building resilience to climate change and disaster risks for small-scale fisheries communities

This guide presents a perspective on implementing the climate change and disaster risk elements of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), with special attention to protecting human rights.