This learning guide has been designed specifically to give civil society and grassroots organizations a deeper understanding of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). The aim is to enable the members of these organizations and their constituents, especially small-scale fishers and fishworkers, to use the VGGT and SSF Guidelines meaningfully and effectively to improve the governance of tenure in their respective countries.

Poster on non-commercial fisheries

This conceptual-level information note seeks to highlight the human rights aspects of the goals and targets relating to food security and small-scale fisheries (SSF), particularly from the perspective of the right to adequate food, and to demonstrate how this interrelationship plays out in the monitoring mechanisms established by relevant instruments.

The aim of this PANORAMA Solutions in focus publication is to highlight existing good practices in the WIO region that contribute to the three main objectives of the GBW. Scaling such solutions across the region and integrating these into future planning and investments, as well as supporting knowledge exchange amongst key actors to build on “what works”, will all be key to achieving the ambitious goal of the GBW.

This publication focuses on 46 PANORAMA Solutions from the WIO region that provide a good representativity of the range of actions delivering tangible outcomes and that are promising for further development. We first classified them according to the GBW’s three components. We then identified their contributions to ecosystem health, human well-being or both, based on the description provided in the solutions’ impact section.

The main aim of this report is to establish the status and achievement of co-management, contribute to the development of successful fisheries co-management in the SWIO region and share lessons learned from previous and existing interventions. The information generated in this report will be of invaluable contribution to the own going fisheries co-management interventions and future work on this topic. There are various fisheries co-management initiatives in the SWIO region supported by both government and non-governmental entities.

The Regional Minimum Terms and Conditions Guidelines for granting fisheries access in the SWIO region were developed and adopted by the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC) member states. This policy brief prepared by SWIOTUNA serves to raise awareness among her constituents and the general public about these regional MTC guidelines and urges SWIO member states to accelerate its implementation at national and regional level.

This diagnostic tool advances the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) through policy and legal frameworks. By using this tool, users are able to recognize the national policy and legal instruments that are relevant to small-scale fisheries in a country, consistent with the SSF Guidelines.

This document includes eight studies showcasing good practices in support of sustainable small-scale fisheries. FAO commissioned these studies aiming to share experiences and promote the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).

This document examines the tenure systems, rights and governance issues in the vast, diverse and complex inland fisheries of India. The objective is to highlight how inland fisheries have been changing and the associated challenges for governance and tenure.

Traditional Knowledge of Northern Waters 2018 was a project that focused on two iconic Arctic river basins in the Fennoscandian and Russian North – the Skolt Sámi home stream of Näätämö river flowing from Finland to the Barents Sea and Ponoi river on Kola Peninsula, Russia. A third geographical area of the project was the coastal community of Sosnovka which is in close proximity to the Ponoi river mouth. The project benefitted from previous scientific work that commenced in the area 2006.

The project was led by the Snowchange Cooperative (FI) with House of Culture (Lovozero, Russia) and CBM – Swedish Biodiversity Center being project partners together with Sámi organisations. Funding was provided by NEFCO PECC-1 Programme.

El presente protocolo se realizó con la inspiración de diferentes protocolos que se emplean en los tres ecosistemas prioritarios donde COBI trabaja. El objetivo principal es fortalecer las capacidades de los socios comunitarios, personal de áreas naturales protegidas, investigadores, estudiantes, y voluntarios en general, los cuales podrán conocer y aprender las diferentes técnicas de monitoreo, especies que se censan en estos ecosistemas prioritarios y así lograr una colecta de datos estandarizada a nivel nacional.

This guide, available in both English and Kiswahili, has been designed to provide guidance to community members and resource users who wish to manage their own natural resources by developing a strategy for local management of their coastal area and marine resources. It is meant not as a comprehensive, step-by-step guide, but rather as an introduction to the important ideas and processes involved in establishing local management. The guide provides some links where those interested can find out further information or can request support and practical assistance.

The following information brief provides an overview on the topic of marine tenure in securing sustainable small-scale fisheries and its role in meeting global development objectives.

The SSF Guidelines detail a rich, multisectoral compilation of good practices for a wide range of stakeholders to be aware of and to adopt to secure sustainable small-scale fisheries for food security and poverty eradication. As such the Tool is designed to raise awareness of these good practices and to support a country-level assessment of status of implementation to inform programming and project design.

The Indonesia field assessment, conducted from February 19 to March 3, 2017, contributed inputs to an overall strategy on marine tenure that will support the USAID SEA project’s goal to improve the management and sustainability of small-scale fisheries.

This desk study provides a summary of the Bangladesh experience in small-scale fisheries and marine tenure.

Marine Tenure and Small-scale Fisheries: A Sourcebook of Good Practices and Emerging Themes (Sourcebook) draws on findings from scholarly research, policy documents, development projects, and publications by development practitioners, researchers, and nongovernmental organizations to explore good practices and emerging themes in marine tenure and small-scale fisheries.

This report identifies stakeholders of the artisanal fishery in Ghana, conducts a network analysis of these stakeholders and provides recommendations on how these networks could be harnessed for the development of the artisanal fishery in the region.

Summary of recommendations for the revision of Ghana’s Fisheries Act

This report examines traditional management and tenure arrangements in the clam fishery of the Volta river estuary and provides recommendations for ensuring the sustainability of the clam fishery, which is critical for local livelihoods and food security.

This report aims to accelerate climate change adaptation implementation in fisheries management throughout the world. It showcases how flexibility can be introduced in the fisheries management cycle in order to foster adaptation, strengthen the resilience of fisheries, reduce their vulnerability to climate change, and enable managers to respond in a timely manner to the projected changes in the dynamics of marine resources and ecosystems.

This policy paper calls for the mapping out and creation of fresh water and marine protected areas in Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta region. It outlines the need for and benefits of such areas, sources of inputs and steps in their establishment, and the associated legal institutional and policy frameworks. This paper can well be adapted and replicated for use across the Congo Basin and the Gulf of Guinea.

This document, Towards Gender-Equitable Small-Scale Fisheries – 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 (henceforth the “handbook”), was developed to support gender-equitable small-scale fisheries by enhancing the understanding of their gender dimensions, with a focus on the specific role and conditions of women in the small-scale fisheries sector.

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.