|
Dear <<First Name>>,
On the upside in September we had inspiring meetings bundling the voices of small-scale fishers and showing with good examples of collective action what’s possible when they stand together, work on solutions and seek to broaden alliances. This was the case at the SSF Summit in Rome supported by the FAO and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) which then carried its findings and demands forward to the FAO Committee of Fisheries (COFI) meeting the following week. That was also the case of the European edition of the 4th World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress in Malta, which specifically looked at what opportunities can be opened for better and just futures for small scale fishers and fisheries.
On the downside, the last days of August, the latest round of talks at the United Nations aimed at securing protections for marine life in international waters that cover half the planet ended without agreement. The fifth round of discussions, which lasted two weeks, were designed to establish a UN Ocean Treaty that would set rules for protecting biodiversity in two-thirds of the world’s oceanic areas that lie outside territorial waters. Progress has been made, but not enough to conclude. Now the UN General Assembly needs to schedule a special emergency session to conclude negotiations as talks will not automatically resume until next year.
We can not allow to be discouraged by the difficulties of reaching agreements between countries and groups with often quite different conditions and objectives, even if they share the same long- time goals. But waiting until more crises forces change on everybody at exceptional costs to nature and societies is extremely wasteful and daunting.
Let’s take the good examples shared during the September meetings as encouragement to keep actively seeking pathways to broader solutions. The transitions from where we are to where we want to be are naturally the difficult part. Initially it may be difficult to imagine organising our affairs in ways that will move us out of our routines and comfort zones. But the good examples can help our imagination to envision what else is possible to take practical action, while monitoring progress, correct mistakes that will happen particularly in the early part of the journey as we learn by doing things differently. If we get going faster, as we must, to address overfishing, climate change and social injustice, we’ll learn and start seeing even bigger opportunities. Nobody says it’s easy, but we can do it together. We’ll change together and become better at facing down the challenges. Today, every day. That also applies to WTO member countries which now now need to ratify the deal they struck in June, so that the agreed treaty can enter into force and trace the transition towards a world with less overfishing funded through harmful subsidies. Those public resources can be crucial to enhance food security for vulnerable groups.
|
