Asia Regional Workshop on SDG 14.b and its indicator 14.b.1
Virtual Event, 06/07/2021 - 08/07/2021
In response to the request from Member countries of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) to support national-level efforts to achieve and report on Sustainable Development Goal Target 14.b, the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in collaboration with INFOFISH is convening a virtual workshop on SDG 14.b and its associated indicator 14.b.1. To date, no regional activity has been undertaken in Asia to discuss and explore SDG 14.b and its associated indicator 14.b.1. The proposed workshop will bring together reporting and non-reporting countries and provide an opportunity to share experiences towards the goal of increasing the number of countries reporting on and validating the indicator.
In its role as custodian agency, FAO is ready to support countries to strengthen their capacities to collect data, ensure that national data are comparable and aggregated at sub-regional, regional and global levels in order to monitor the SDGs. The virtual workshop will provide advice and support to Members on how to address SDG 14.b reporting.
The Asia Regional Workshop on SDG 14.b and its indicator 14.b.1 is being organized to:
- Raise awareness about SDG 14.b and the proposed indicator 14.b.1
- Explore the indicator methodology and related issues on data and information sources, analysis, reporting and validation including the use of the e-learning platform specifically created for this proposed indicator
- Share experiences and lessons regarding the reporting and validation process and identify reasons for non-reporting and non-validation
- Identify capacity development needs in relation to reporting and validation on SDG 14.b
The virtual regional workshop will bring together senior officers responsible for small-scale fisheries and senior officers responsible for consolidating responses to the questionnaire on the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in fisheries/agriculture departments/Ministries. The workshop is aimed to raise their awareness about the SDGs, particularly SDG 14.b and its associated indicator 14.b.1, and increase capacity on monitoring, measuring, reporting, and validating this indicator. Each participating country will be requested to nominate a maximum of three participants: the small-scale fisheries focal point; the officer responsible for the responses to the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries submitted to FAO every two years; and a representative of a fisherfolk organization or civil society organization or non-government organization involved or interested in the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in the country. The target countries are:
- Southeast Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam
- South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka
Representatives from countries which reported on and validated the SDG indicator 14.b in 2018 and 2020 will be requested to share their experiences and lessons in reporting on and validating SDG indicator 14.b.1.
The workshop will be carried out in a participatory, interactive, and iterative manner.
Prior to the workshop proper, the nominated country participants from the Fisheries Department/Ministry of countries that validated in 2018 and 2020 will be requested to prepare a 15-minute presentation that addresses the following questions:
- What are the laws, regulations, policies or strategies that specifically target or address the small-scale fisheries sector?
- Are there specific initiatives to implement the SSF Guidelines?
- What are the mechanisms through which small-scale fishers and fish workers contribute to decision-making processes?
- How is SDG progress reporting and validation coordinated in your country?
- What issues have you encountered in the reporting and validation process and how did you resolve these issues?
This presentation should be sent to the workshop organizers at least two weeks prior to the workshop.
Representatives from the other countries are encouraged to prepare their interventions for the discussion on the reporting and validation issues and how these may be resolved.