WALVIS BAY, Namibia -- The Strategic Partnership for Sustainable Fisheries Investment Fund (SPFIF) Secretariat convened the 4th Regional Advisory Committee meeting in Walvis Bay, Namibia from 1-4 June 2010. The meeting among other things reviewed and commented on proposed project concept notes, provided reports on approved projects, identified new projects, identified synergies and exchanged lessons.

Members of the Regional Advisory Committee, from left, Dr. Nouala - AU-IBAR, Dr. Abebe - AUC, Hon. B. Esau - Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, Namibia, Dr. Teferi - WWF-ESARPO and Dr. Harris - FAO

In his remarks during the opening of the meeting, the Namibian Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Hon. Esau noted that the Strategic Partnership is important in bringing about a coordinated approach to the management of African Fisheries for the benefit of the African people. “Sovereign nations and coastal states must ensure that they utilize their Exclusive Economic Zones in such a manner that the fisheries resources derived from these zones can contribute towards the improvement of the livelihoods of coastal communities and also to the country’s economic growth,” said Hon. Esau. He reaffirmed his commitment towards the development of a sustainable fisheries and reduction of poverty through a renewed focus on the fisheries sector.

Speaking on behalf of AU-IBAR, Dr. Simplice Nouala, the Chief Animal Production Officer said plans were underway to fully integrate the fisheries sector into AU-IBAR, following the realization that fisheries significantly contribute towards the improved livelihoods of the African people. He added that commercialization of small scale fisheries including aquaculture are some of the areas that African Union Commission would focus on to ensure that the sector contributed to poverty alleviation and wealth creation in Africa.

The Fourth Regional Advisory Committee in Walvis Bay, Namibia on 1-4 June 2010

On his part, Dr. Abebe Haile-Gabriel, Acting Director, Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission, who spoke on behalf of the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture and Chair of the Regional Advisory Committee, stressed the need to develop a mechanism that would ensure a coordinated approach to fisheries issues in Africa including establishment of a sustainable fisheries basket fund into which all players would contribute. Dr. Gabriel renewed the African Union Commission’s commitment to establishing the fisheries sector to facilitate sustainable fisheries management in Africa in order to reverse the decline of nutrition and ensure that the sector plays a key role in food security. Dr. Gabriel told the delegates that the African Union will organize a conference of Ministers responsible for Fisheries in Banjul, The Gambia later this year. This, he said, was in an effort to prioritize fisheries issues in the African Union and its member states and also to ensure that the ministers take the responsibility to speed up fisheries development in their respective countries.

The Strategic Partnership for Fisheries Investment Fund is an initiative by the Global Environmental Facility, whose objective is to facilitate sustainable fisheries in Africa’s large marine ecosystems to reduce poverty in line with the World Summit for Sustainable Development targets. The Global Environmental Facility has provided $60 million to be disbursed as grants to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries over a ten-year period for country-level projects that meet the criteria. Strategic partners are the African Union, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and WWF – the planet’s leading conservation organisation.