© 2018 AU-IBAR. Group photo of participants at the technical session, 2nd September 2018, Cairo, Egypt 2018.Introduction

The Fisheries Governance Project was implemented by the African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), in collaboration with the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) from March 2014 to September 2018. Through the support of this EU funded Project, also fondly referred to as the Fisheries Governance Project, AU-IBAR initiated the implementation of the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS). The overall objective was to enhance the contribution of fisheries resources to food security and economic growth in Africa. Specifically the objective was to improve institutional and policy environment for sustainable management and utilization of fisheries resources in Africa.

After four and half years of implementation, AU-IBAR organized a closure and dissemination workshop from the 02^nd-05^th September 2018 in Cairo, Egypt. The overall objective of this project closure workshop was to share the achievements of the Fisheries Governance Project including lessons, best practices and challenges. Three main events were organized to mark the official closure of the Project:

• A technical session comprising mainly of Directors of fisheries and aquaculture from the African Union member states, Regional economic communities, Regional fisheries bodies, water basin commissions, Non-state actors, women organizations and development partners
• A High Level Policy Dialogue ministerial session comprising of 10 Ministers in charge of fisheries and aquaculture (or their representatives)
• The final Steering Committee Meeting of the project

© 2018 AU-IBAR. Group photo of participants at the PPR Strategy pre-validation workshop for the State of Libya held at the Golden Tulip El-Mechtel Hotel, Tunis, Tunisia from 28th-30th August 2018.AU-IBAR is technically and financially supporting African Union Member States to develop and validate their national strategies for Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) control and eradication; and the control of other priority small ruminant diseases (SRDs). In Libya, PPR is endemic causing severe hardship to owners of small ruminants. Controlling PPR is regarded as key to poverty reduction and livelihood enhancement because it is spread all over the country and affects the majority of the population depending on small ruminants for their livelihoods. The purpose of the strategy is therefore to control and eventually eradicate PPR from Libya as well as guide the control of other small ruminant diseases and improvement in veterinary services delivery in the country. This strategy when implemented will lead to an increase in livestock production and productivity, and improvement in the general growth performance of small ruminants in the country. The expected net effects will include an increase in rural employment, income generation, and sustainable livelihoods.

Following the agreement to support the State of Libya to undertake this activity, two technical experts from the University of Tripoli were contracted by AU-IBAR as facilitators to support the national Veterinary Services National Centre for Animal Health (NCAH) in Libya to develop a draft of the strategy in July 2018. The experts were also to coordinate and facilitate the pre-validation workshop, and to finalize the strategy after the workshop. The draft was therefore presented for pre-validation at the workshop that was held from 28^th - 30^th August 2018 at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Tunis, Tunisia. The workshop was organized in Tunis because of the logistic difficulties of organizing the event in Libya under the current fragile security situation in the country.

The overall objective of the workshop was to review and pre-validate the draft of the Libya PPR control and Eradication strategy. The workshop also served to enlighten the other participants on the strategy development process.

© 2018 AU-IBAR. 7th Annual Aquaculture Network for Africa (ANAF) Meeting;13-15 August 2018 Nairobi, Kenya.Introduction

A Seventh Annual Aquaculture Network for Africa (ANAF) Meeting was organized by the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) in collaboration with the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). The workshop was among the key activities of AU-IBAR through the Fisheries Governance Project that is funded by the European Union (EU).

The meeting was held from the 13^th to 15^th August 2018 at AU-IBAR office in Nairobi, Kenya.

The overall objectives of the workshop were to review progress since the Sixth ANAF annual meeting and discuss the institutionalization of ANAF Secretariat into AU-IBAR.

Participation

The meeting was attended by representatives from the ten (10) ANAF affiliated African Union Member States namely: Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Mozambique, Liberia, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia; the ANAF Secretariat- FAO; Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO). Also in attendance were staff members of AU-IBAR (fisheries governance project and M&E) and CARDNO (Aquaculture Technical Expert).

© 2018 AU-IBAR. Experts at the Meeting for short-listing of institutions for selection as Africa Centres of excellence in fisheries and aquaculture.The Expert Meeting on short-listing for selection of institutions as Africa Centres of Excellence (CoE), following the second call for proposals that was launched between 7^th June and 6^th July 2018, was organized by the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) on the 8-9^th August 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The meeting was opened by the Director of AU-IBAR, Professor Ahmed El-Sawalhy. The Director welcomed the experts to AU-IBAR and expressed appreciation for their endeavour to travel and provide technical guidance on the selection process. He recalled the attention of the experts to the decisions of the 2014 Summit of African Heads of States and Governments that requested African Union to establish Africa Centres of Excellence in fisheries and aquaculture. The Director of AU-IBAR admonished the experts that it is therefore crucially important that the selection process is conducted in a professional and credible manner.

The Retired Director of AU-IBAR, Dr. Modibo Traore, chaired the Expert Meeting. In opening remarks, he expressed appreciation to AU-IBAR for the implementation of the recommendations from the Expert Meeting in May 2018 after conclusion of the verifications of short-listed institutions in the first call of expression of interest. He reiterated the critical nature of the process and the potential to promote sustainable fisheries management and responsible aquaculture in Africa. The process, when successfully completed, would address one of the longstanding challenges to evidence based sector governance – the need to strengthen human resources and institutional capacity.