Third UN Ocean Conference: Side event on small-scale fishers’ livelihoods and marine conservation

In advance of the Third UN Ocean Conference in June 2025, a Side Event, titled “Immersed in Change — Small-scale Fishers’ Livelihoods and Marine Conservation: Mesoamerica’s Marine Territories of Life”, is scheduled to take place on 8 June 2024 at 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm in the Tortuga Baula room, Costa Rica Convention Centre, San José.

The Side Event will explore the vital role of coastal, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant peoples, local communities, and small-scale fishers in the collective governance, management and conservation of marine environments. The focus is on marine territories of life, characterized by a deep connection, community custodianship, and contributions to conservation. The event will emphasize the integration of human-rights-based approaches within the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,e SSF Guidelines, and SDG 14 b. It will consist of a short panel and a moderated discussion.

The objectives of the Side Event are:

1. To highlight the Mesoamerican Marine Territories of Life as a leading model of advocacy and human rights in conservation, demonstrating successful approaches to sustainable management and community empowerment.
2. Facilitate reflections from Africa, Asia, and other small-scale fisheries (SSF) in Latin America and the Caribbean, enabling sharing of challenges and lessons learned from local, practical, and territorial approaches to small-scale artisanal fisheries.
3. Foster discussions on the importance of ensuring preferential access for small-scale ishers and the effective implementation of the FAO SSF Guidelines and co-management regimes, emphasizing equitable resource allocation and community-based management approaches.
4. Engage participants in a dialogue on actionable initiatives for SSF, including co-management strategies, enhancing women’s participation, safeguarding SSF from industrial pressures and the Blue Economy, promoting transparent fisheries management practices, and building resilience within SSF communities.

Among the speakers are Ambassador Peter Thomson, United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, and Manuel Barange, Assistant Director General and Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, FAO.

The other speakers include:

Sakhile Silitshena, Head of Science, Policy and Governance, United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD);

Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica;

Small-scale fisher representative — Alfonso Simón Raylan, Martha Machazeck from Panama;

Aracelly Jiménez from Costa Rica;

María Luisa Acosta from Nicaragua;

Josefina Mata from México;

German Hernandez from the Honduras;

Lazaro Mecha. Board of Directors. TICCA Consortium.Cacique Maje Embera Drua;

Zoila Bustamante, President of ULAPA, from Chile; and

Alifereti Tawake, Co-Founder & Executive Director at LMMA International Network, ICCA Consortium, from Fiji.

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