FAO Presents Blue Economy works at GEF Workshop in Bali
Nusa Dua, Bali
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Indonesia showcased its works in Aquatic Inland and Marine Biodiversity at the Asia Pacific Global Environment Facilities (GEF) workshop and learning station to disseminate learnings and best practices that have been achieved in the last four years.
The GEF Council approved $78.5 million for13 FAO-led projects in 16 countries,, including Indonesia. Numerous works have been implemented in managing aquatic inland and marine biodiversity in close collaboration with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) under the Indonesian Seas Large Marine Ecosystem (ISLME) and IFISH projects.
“Sustainable management of blue economy activities, that include Blue Foods – foods produced from the ocean and lakes and rivers – have an essential role to play in achieving food security, ending malnutrition, and building healthy, nature-positive and resilient food systems in the country”, said Rajendra Aryal, the FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor Leste.
More than 3,000 species of aquatic animals and plants are captured or cultivated for use as food in the world. They are produced through a wide variety of systems – from ocean-going factory trawlers to small-scale fishers using smaller boats, and freshwater fishponds. Blue foods are already a cornerstone of the global food system, providing a vital source of nutrition for more than 3 billion people worldwide, and livelihoods for other hundreds of millions.
Sustainably managing Biodiversity in Indonesia
Working with MMAF, *the FAO ISLME project* promotes sustainable fisheries and marine resources management in the Indonesian Seas, an area of over 2.3 million hectares, shared by Indonesia (98 percent) and Timor-Leste (2 percent).
The ISLME region is located in the heart of the biogeographical area of the western Indo-Pacific ocean, which has the richest marine species in the world. There are 500 species of coral reefs, 2500 species of marine fish, 47 types of mangroves and 13 species of seagrass.
At the Asia Pacific workshop *FAO ISLME* is selected as one of GEF Learning Stations for its support for transboundary sustainability, marine habitat protection and mariculture productivity. Project activities are data driven and based on evidence, and conducted in close partnership with key stakeholders, such as academia, fishers groups, women’s groups and private sector.
The eight supported high-value fisheries in the lines of Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) and Harvest Strategy are lobster, mud crab, Blue Swimming Crab, snapper, grouper, lemuru, seaweed and sea cucumber, which offer long-term economic potential for national to community-level development when managed and utilised properly.
They also strengthen EAFM for fisheries’ management areas 712, 713, 714 and 573 and northern water of Timor Leste. Furthermore, the pilots on Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture and Integrated Multi Aquaculture set direction for sustainable mariculture. The project is also carrying out Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis leading to a Strategic Action Programme for ISLME.
*The FAO-IFISH* is another FAO project jointly implemented with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) for mainstreaming biodiversity conservation value and sustainable use into inland fisheries practices. This project is currently the largest inland fishery project in Indonesia.
Inland fisheries in Indonesia is generally practiced by small-scale industries and communities along the watershed. In 2018, at least 965,756 fishing families worked on inland fisheries throughout Indonesia.
One of the project breakthroughs being displayed at the exhibition is the collaborative work for fishway development in Sukabumi District, West Java. Fishway is crucial for the life cycle of migratory fish such as Anguilla sp. eel and other high economic value fish. The design currently being developed is a first of its kind in Indonesia as it was developed based on a series of fish biodiversity and hydrology assessments since December 2021.
The concept of fishway has also been adopted by the provincial government of West Java as a prerequisite for new weir and dam development in the province. An official visit to Sukabumi will be conducted on 14 - 15 January 2023 to observe the project works for conservation and development of sustainable inland fisheries for the provision of ecosystem goods and services.
FAO - GEF - Indonesia partnership
The FAO GEF project partnered with Indonesian Ministries include Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Marine and Fisheries. The GEF- FAO projects address global environmental crises that impact the productivity and sustainability of agri-food systems in land and water across five continents.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to help tackle environmental problems. Since then, the GEF has provided more than $21.1 billion in grants and mobilized an additional $114 billion in co-financing more than 5,000 projects in 170 countries.