FAO, Philippine fisheries partners mark culmination of IYAFA with two-day high-level event
From 31 January to 1 February 2023, FAO, in partnership with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Rare Philippines, KKAMPi, PANaGaT Network, and Oceana, co-hosted the National Coastal Fisheries Pre-Summit (NCFS) and the Culminating Activity of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) at the Luxent Hotel in Quezon City.
Joining the celebration were fisherfolk leaders and LGU representatives from across the country, including from the Province of Zamboanga del Norte (an FAO-NORAD project partner), along with officials from the different national government agencies such as the NAPC, DA, DENR, CCC, DILG, NEDA, DOST-FNRI, NNC, and DOF.
The back-to-back activity not only celebrated the role and value of small-scale fishers in the Philippines but also built a way forward for collective action in upholding their rights and promoting their interests.
It was also during this auspicious event that the country launched the “State of Artisanal Fisheries in the Philippines” and the “10-Point Philippine Blue Agenda for Sustainable Fisheries”, to which government and civil society partners pledged their support.
FAO Philippines Head, Dr. Lionel Dabbadie, reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to work with the country stakeholders on the Blue Agenda for the Philippines.
He said that “through our various capacities, FAO will continue to strive to support inclusive value chains for small-scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture; to promote resource stewardship of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems; to secure social inclusion and well-being of our fishers and ensure their effective participation in decision-making processes that impact them; to acknowledging the role and empowering women in this sector; and to increase the preparedness and adaptive capacities of small-scale fishers to environmental degradation, shocks, disasters and climate change.”