Issue - 49
2015 July
What’s New, Webby?
SSF Guidelines made easy
By Nilanjana Biswas (nilanjanabiswas@yahoo.com), Independent researcher
The FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines) is a historic document, adopted in 2015, that identifies globally applicable rights and responsibilities for the small-scale fisheries.
A new video on YouTube presents the main tenets of the SSF Guidelines through an interesting combination of mediaanimation and filmthus making the Guidelines clear and accessible to the lay person. Although the video is in Spanish (with English subtitles), and covers fishers from Central and South American countries, the work that these fishers do, the experiences they speak about, and their hopes and fears could represent the lived reality of small-scale fishers anywhere in the world.
The video is in several sections, each highlighting a main principle of the SSF Guidelinesfor example, what the term SSF means and its critical importance in the lives of millions; the sustainable use of coastal and marine resources; the importance of participatory governance and co-management in the fisheries; and the relevance of the fisheries in guaranteeing food security. Every section begins with skilful animation and voiceover, that together explain the principle under discussion; then, interviews with small-scale fishers at work or in their homes reveal how and why the particular principle applies to their lives. The section on food security shows how important the role that women play in the fisheries, is in both production and in guaranteeing the health and well-being of their families and communities.
Brought out by a number of fisheries organizations and their support groups, including the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), the video is a highly useful tool for disseminating awareness about the SSF Guidelines.
You can watch it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W31XbKz8dmY