Improving effective participation of Africa in the WTO SPS Committee

Fisheries and aquaculture make critical contributions to development in Africa especially in the areas of rural development, improved livelihood, employment (the vast majority of whom live in the rural areas, working in fish production); food security and nutrition (with fish constituting an important source of nutrients for the poor and often being the cheapest form of animal protein); and trade, (with a third of fishery commodity production in developing countries destined for export).

The African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) through the Fisheries Governance Project "Strengthening Institutional Capacity to Enhance Governance of the Fisheries Sector in Africa" targets at enhancing the contribution of fisheries resources to food security and economic growth in Africa by improving institutional and policy environment for sustainable management and utilization of fisheries resources in Africa.

The specific objective of the project is achieved through the following results areas:

  • Result 1: Institutional capacity and regulatory frameworks for sustainable fisheries management improved;
  • Result 2: Sustainable fisheries management in small-scale fisheries including inland water bodies enhanced;
  • Result 3: Institutional capacity and regulatory framework for aquaculture development strengthened;
  • Result 4: Advocacy, Lessons Learning for knowledge sharing and Capacity for increased investments and fostering reforms in the fisheries sector enhanced.

Promoting innovation, activism and improving knowledge transfer to end-users is considered an effective approach in implementing Result 4 for progressive integration of fisheries and aquaculture in the Agricultural Transformation Agenda and linkages for investment across Africa. To this effect AU-IBAR would like to commemorate the significance of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa through the publication of a Special Edition of the Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa (BAHPA).

The BAHPA of AU-IBAR is a scientific journal which publishes articles on research relevant to animal health and production including wildlife and fisheries contributing to the human wellbeing, food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable development in Africa. The Bulletin disseminates technical recommendations on animal health and production to stakeholders, including policy makers, researchers and scientists. The Bulletin is the African voice on animal resources issues specific to Africa.

Accordingly AU-IBAR wishes to invite professionals, experts, researchers, stakeholders, investors and interested parties in the sector to send Abstracts of original work on any topic related to fisheries and aquaculture in Africa. Subject coverage areas include but not limited to:

  • Sustainable Aquaculture Development and Techniques:
    • Fish Feed Development
    • Brood-stock Management
    • Fish Seed Development
    • Culture System and Species Diversification
    • Mari-culture
  • Fish Diseases and Biosecurity
  • Oceanography: Biodiversity, Pollution, Acidification
  • Fish Genetics
  • Fish Ecology and Environment
  • Fisheries Policy, Legislation and Governance
  • Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and Reserved Areas as Tools For Fisheries Management
  • Rights-Based Fisheries Management - An Option In Managing African Fisheries
  • Governance of African LMEs
  • IUU Fishing in African Fisheries and Impact on Africa Socio-Economic Development
  • Inland Capture and Small-Scale Fisheries
  • Fish Trade, Marketing and Distribution in Africa
  • Fish Processing and Post-Harvest Handling
  • Investment and Financing Opportunities in Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in Africa
  • Regional Cooperation In Fisheries Management In Africa
  • Co-management (participatory approaches) in fisheries
  • Wealth-based fisheries management
  • Vulnerabilities, shocks and alternative livelihoods

The Abstract should be a maximum of 400 (four hundred) words which should be submitted electronically via attachment as pdf file only to: The Editor-In-Chief, Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa: bahpa@au-ibar.org. Abstracts should be received no later than 30 June 2015. Once abstracts have been accepted, full papers using the BAHPA format would be requested, and those should be received no later than 30 September 2015. Abstracts should be in French and English.

This is a great opportunity to show-case African fisheries and aquaculture resources development and you are encouraged to publish in this esteemed journal and contribute to increasing knowledge and raising awareness on the importance of these African renewable resources.

We look forward to receiving your abstracts.

The Editor-In-Chief,
Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa

 

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