A National Consultative Workshop on Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystems (BOBLME) Project Phase II was held on 21-23 March 2024 in Chennai, India, with 85 participants, including representatives from the Department of Fisheries (DoF), the Ministry of Environment, and Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), as well as researchers and academia from regional and international institutions.
Participants discussed potential project sites and explored opportunities to implement an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) as well as improve management effectiveness of Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) that are designated for conservation. EAFM looks at the interactions between living and non-living things to understand how they contribute to an ecosystem from a social, ecological and governance perspective.
鈥淟ocal communities and the government must share the responsibility as well as authority for fisheries management,鈥 Dr E. Vivekanandha, Fisheries Expert, Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBPIGO), highlighted in his introduction to EAFM presentation. 鈥淲hat sets EAFM apart is that all affected stakeholders must have a role in the decision-making and implementation process.鈥
Dr E. Vivekanandha, Fisheries Expert, BOBPIGO, presents an Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM)
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According to a , 30% of the Indian Ocean鈥檚 assessed stocks are not fished within sustainable levels, with 16-34% of catch that鈥檚 illegal or unreported. To address this direct threat to food security as well as biodiversity, participants formulated an initial plan to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in India. Participants also conducted an initial scoping of potential project sites for MMAs. 听
To support long-term conservation efforts, 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 presented opportunities for applying the Green List Framework, a mechanism which recognises sites that produce successful conservation results for nature and for people. 鈥淭he Green List Standard serves as a pathway for conservation success by defining a vision, addressing challenges and opportunities to invest in resources for human-nature coexistence in EAFM and MMAs,鈥 Mr Khalid Sayeed Pasha, Coordinator, Regional Protected and Conserved Areas, 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 Asia Regional Office, shared. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a framework that is transformative for achieving area-based conservation success and community wellbeing.鈥
Mr Khalid Sayeed Pasha, Coordinator, Regional Protected and Conserved Areas, 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 Asia Regional Office, presents opportunities to apply Green List Standards to project sites
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Mr Wren Mishra, Deputy Secretary, MoEFCC, India, highlighted the BOBLME Phase II project is well aligned with national priorities, including India鈥檚 vision for the development of its Blue Economy to promote the sustainable use of its ocean and marine ecosystems. Moving forward, BOBLME project partners will finalise project site selection and hope to identify opportunities for applying Green List Standards to ensure long-term sustainability of marine conservation efforts beyond the duration of the BOBLME project.
The workshop follows a that brought together representatives from the fisheries and environment sector in the seven project countries. Bangladesh and Thailand have since conducted national inception workshops to identify opportunities for EAFM and MMA, as well as potential project sites.
