{"id":99640,"date":"2022-12-22T10:52:07","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T05:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/?post_type=samudra&p=99640"},"modified":"2022-12-22T14:57:10","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T09:27:10","slug":"roundup-news-events-briefings-and-more-3","status":"publish","type":"samudra","link":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/samudra\/roundup-news-events-briefings-and-more-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Roundup, news, events, briefings and more\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biodiversity<\/strong><\/p>\n

B<\/strong>angladesh balances energy needs with climate, conservation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fish, rice, mangrove trees and the lush delta wetlands where the massive Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers drain into the Bay of Bengal.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not luxury. But for the farmers and fishermen who live by the world\u2019s largest mangrove forest, it\u2019s more than enough. Now, the environment is at risk.<\/p>\n

A power plant will start burning coal near the Sundarbans this year as part of Bangladesh\u2019s plan to meet its energy needs and improve living standards, officials say. Home to 168 million people, Bangladesh is among the most densely populated countries in the world.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-63559426<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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CLIMATE CHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Twin Crises<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts and activists were hoping UN climate talks would end last week with a prominent mention of biodiversity in the final text. They walked away disappointed.<\/p>\n

Some say delegates at the COP27 summit missed a key opportunity to acknowledge the connection between the twin climate and nature crises, which many believe have been treated separately for too long.<\/p>\n

Failing to address both could mean not only further decimating Earth\u2019s life support systems, but also missing the key climate target of limiting warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius, they warn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doomed if we don\u2019t solve climate, and we\u2019re doomed if we don\u2019t solve biodiversity,\u201d Basile van Havre, co-chair of the UN biodiversity negotiations, told AFP.<\/p>\n

At the COP15 UN biodiversity talks next month, dozens of countries will meet to hammer out a new framework to protect animals and plants from destruction by humans. The meeting comes as scientists warn that climate change and biodiversity damage could cause the world\u2019s sixth mass extinction event. Such destruction of nature also risks worsening climate change. The oceans have absorbed most of the excess heat created by humanity\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions and, along with forests, are important carbon sinks.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.barrons.com\/news\/twin-crises-experts-say-nature-and-climate-can-t-be-siloed-01669345207<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Organizational Profile<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jaffna District Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Unions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Jaffna District Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Unions brings together ten cooperative fisheries unions in the northern Sri Lankan district of Jaffna. In turn, those unions represent 118 fisheries cooperative societies in coastal villages dependant on fishing. Most of the fisher families engage in nearshore fishing, using traditional methods.<\/p>\n

The federation\u2019s mandate is to address the problems of the fisherfolk; mediate in rifts among fishing communities; facilitate the marketing of the catch; and oppose illegal fishing methods. Annalingam Annarasa, a fisher leader from the coastal village of Thambaati in the islands off Jaffna, is the federation\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

The northern fishers have a serious problem in the form of trawlers from Tamil Nadu, India; they encroach into Sri Lankan waters. Over the past few years, the federation has organized protests to draw the State\u2019s attention to this encroachment, to find a solution to the conflict. For the past two decades, federation representatives have held several rounds of talks with the governments of Sri Lanka and India, and with the fishers from Tamil Nadu.<\/p>\n

The many resolutions adopted at these meetings have not been implemented. Both governments had agreed that trawling has devastating impacts on natural resources, that such fishing methods need to be stopped. However, steps to control such practices have been inadequate.<\/p>\n

Annarasa claims that several species, including the milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus) and the trevally (locally called parai), are hardly caught by the local fishers because most of these stocks have been overfished by bottom-trawling fishing methods. They also destroy fish banks and coral reefs, setting off cascading damage to fish production.<\/p>\n

The three-decade long Sri Lankan civil war seriously damaged the fishers\u2019 lives and livelihoods. After the violent conflict abated, the northern fisherfolk began to reel under devastating poaching.<\/p>\n

The fishing communities are also concerned about Statesponsored aquaculture projects; they believe these will spread diseases, impacting coastal fish stocks and further undermining nearshore small-scale fisheries.<\/p>\n

Over the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic was followed by a severe economic crisis in Sri Lanka; both have severely affected Jaffna fisheries. Most smallscale fisherfolk here rely on subsidized kerosene for their fibreglass boats with outboard engines. The ongoing economic crisis has led to serious fuel shortages. Even when the fuel is available, its price has quadrupled, hitting the income of the fishing households, pushing many into destitution.<\/p>\n

According to Annarasa, most families now face starvation; many families can afford just one meal a day. In these difficult times, the federation is continuing its struggle against trawlers and illegal fishing practices in the region. It wants to take steps to protect their natural resources and to make fishing a sustainable livelihood for their communities.<\/p>\n

by Yathursha Ulakentheran (ulayathu@gmail.com), an independent researcher based in Jaffna, Sri Lanka and Ahilan Kadirgamar (ahilan. kadirgamar@gmail.com), senior lecturer at the University of Jaffna.<\/em><\/p>\n

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SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

IYAFA 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

The United Nations designates specific days, weeks, years and decades as occasions to mark events or highlight topics to promote, through awareness and action, its developmental objectives.25 In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2022 the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022) and nominated FAO as the lead agency for celebrating the year in collaboration with other relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations (United Nations, 2018). The world faces many complex challenges, including hunger, malnutrition and diet-related diseases, an ever-growing global population that needs sufficient and healthy food and must reduce food loss and waste, and over-exploitation of natural resources, in addition to the effects of climate change and other major issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic. IYAFA 2022 highlights the importance of small-scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture for food systems, livelihoods, culture and the environment. Given that artisanal fishers, fish farmers and fishworkers produce a significant portion of aquatic food, 24 they can be key agents of transformative change for sustainable use and conservation of living aquatic resources \u2013 with positive ripple effects on food systems and nutrition security.<\/p>\n

The objectives of IYAFA 2022 are to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • enhance global awareness and understanding of small-scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture, and foster action to support its contribution to sustainable development, specifically in relation to food security and nutrition, poverty eradication and the use of natural resources; and<\/li>\n
  • promote dialogue and collaboration between and among small-scale artisanal fishers, fish farmers, fishworkers, governments and other key partners along the value chain, as well as further strengthen their capacity to enhance sustainability in fisheries and aquaculture and improve their social development and well-being<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    By elevating awareness of the role of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, IYAFA 2022 aims to strengthen science\u2013policy interactions, empowering stakeholders to take action including building and strengthening partnerships. It showcases the potential and diversity of small-scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture and highlights the benefits of facilitating partnerships and cooperation with fishers, fish farmers and fishworkers to achieve sustainable development of living aquatic resources. By sensitizing public opinion and governments and fostering the adoption of specific public policies and programmes, these subsectors and their communities can secure their rights and acquire best practices to operate in a sustainable manner.<\/p>\n

    \"\"Sources: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022: Towards Blue Transformation<\/em><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.fao.org\/3\/cc0461en\/cc0461en.pdf<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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    Infolog: New resources at ICSF<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Publications and Infographics<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Making Small-scale Artisanal Fishing Zones Work!: An ICSF Campaign by Vishakha Gupta, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Making Small-scale Artisanal Fishing Zones Work!: Research study on the tenure rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized fishers in Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh by Vishakha Gupta<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n