Sri Lanka's fishermen and women celebrate new FAO agreement
Colombo (AsiaNews) - A the "historic" conquest: this is how Herman Kumara, activist and a special guest of the World Forum for Fisher People (WFFP), describes to AsiaNews the adoption by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the first international tool dedicated to the defense and promotion of small scale fisheries. These Guidelines (Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication) will support the visibility, recognition and development of small fisheries and fishing communities, with the aim of eradicating hunger and poverty.
Presented during
the 31st session of the FAO Committee of Fisheries, the tool is dedicated to
Chandrika Sharma, Executive Secretary of the
International Collective in Support of Fish Workers (ICSF), who died on
board Malaysia Airlines Flight
MH370.
Throughout
the world, Herman Kumara explains to AsiaNews,
"140 million people are engaged in fishing: 90% is made up of small-scale
fishermen, especially in the southern hemisphere. The catch of these workers
represents half of the total volume and provides about 60% of fish
for direct human consumption. " In
addition, "for each small scale fisherman there are at least four other
people who perform activities related to the production, from the preparation
of the equipment, to the sale of the catch. Overall, more than 500 thousand
people depend on small-scale fisheries for their livelihood."
For
over six years, a platform of civil society organizations has worked together
with the FAO to develop this tool. The
associations are: World Forum of Fisher
People (WFFP), World Forum of Fish
Harvesters and Fish Workers (Wff), International
Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty (IPC), International Collective of Fish Workers (ICSF).
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23/11/2009
23/11/2020 13:34
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