{"id":99696,"date":"2022-12-22T15:43:05","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T10:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/?post_type=samudra&p=99696"},"modified":"2022-12-22T15:44:11","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T10:14:11","slug":"leap-year","status":"publish","type":"samudra","link":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/samudra\/leap-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Leap Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
At the 35th Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), governments and civil society reiterated their commitment to the SSF Guidelines and the IYAFA Global Action Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n This article is by Crocevia<\/strong><\/em> (fisheries@foodsovereignty.org), facilitators of the IPC Working Group on Fisheries<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The occasion was the 35th Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI-35), the intergovernmental forum of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The purpose was to review and discuss issues and challenges related to fisheries and aquaculture. Campaigners for the rights of small-scale fishers and Indigenous Peoples once again joined forces to collectively voice their perspectives and advocate for the principle of food sovereignty.<\/p>\n They did so through the space of alliance and coordination offered by the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC), an autonomous and self-organized global platform of small-scale food producers, rural workers\u2019 organizations and grassroots\/community-based social movements to advance the Food Sovereignty agenda at the global and the regional level.<\/p>\n The IPC Working Group on Fisheries comprises major civil society networks representing small-scale fisheries (SSF); the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP); the World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers (WFF); the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC); and La Via Campesina (LVC). The working group is supported by Crocevia Centro Internazionale; the Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN); the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF); and the Transnational Institute (TNI).<\/p>\n COFI is the main intergovernmental political space for the participation of the IPC Working Group on Fisheries. It has made key advancements, particularly through the development and endorsement of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).<\/p>\n A turning point<\/strong><\/p>\n COFI-35 was a pivotal moment for SSF and Indigenous Peoples. Not only because 2022 is the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) but also because COFI\u2019s last in-person meeting occurred four years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The IPC Working Group on Fisheries seized this opportunity to collectively celebrate SSF movements. They brought a large group of IPC delegates to Rome, connecting with other agencies active around the world.<\/p>\n The IPC Working Group on Fisheries seized this opportunity to collectively celebrate SSF movements<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n On August 31 and September 1, Rome hosted 32 IPC delegates to prepare for COFI. The preparatory meetings offered the delegates the opportunity to rebuild internal cohesion and solidarity, which had suffered for two years, limited to online meetings. They defined common messages to take to COFI. Delegates arrived from across the world: India, Gambia, Tunisia, Nicaragua, Argentina, France, Mexico, Panama, the US, Indonesia, Thailand, Mauritius, Ecuador, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, Belize, Sri Lanka, Bahamas, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n Afterwards, the IPC delegates hosted the first IYAFA SSF Summit on September 2-4 with support from FAO, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and the SSF Hub. This Summit aimed to promote dialogue and collaboration among SSF actors, including fishers\u2019 movements and organizations, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A full day was dedicated exclusively to SSF organizations, creating an autonomous space for dialogue, opening up the possibility of regional collaborations to advance the implementation of the SSF Guidelines.<\/p>\n
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