WCC 2020 Res 018 - Activity Report

With reference to operative statement 1d (strengthen IUCN’s focus on sustainable inland fisheries as part of IUCN’s programmes on species, water and ecosystem management) Topis Contreras MacBeath (Freshwater Conservation Committee Co-chair) and I also joined a cross cutting SSC meeting on developing an intercommissional Task Force to reconcile fisheries and conservation, as stipulated in IUCN 2020 Resolution 107 (https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/49246). Our role has been to ensure that inland fisheries are included within marine fisheries in this process.

With reference to operative statement 2 (request the Commission on Ecosystem Management Fisheries Expert Group to address equally both inland and marine fisheries) I (in my role as a Conservation International staff member and as SSC Freshwater Conservation Committee co-chair) have reached out to the Fisheries Expert Group and encouraged their greater focus on inland fisheries, and collaboration with the Inland Fisheries Alliance (IFA) as it develops. The IFA is a collaborative group of individuals representing several different organisations. https://www.inlandfisheriesalliance.org/.

The following is in reference to operative statement 1a (to support more explicit inclusion of inland fisheries in the post-2020 biodiversity framework, especially through the post-2020 zero draft target 5 and through reference to inland fisheries in SDG Targets 14.4, and 14.6, or in 15.1 (sustainable use of freshwater ecosystems). In my role for CI (who led on developing this Resolution) and as co-Chair of the SSC Freshwater Conservation Committee I have worked with colleagues in promoting the inland fisheries index, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United States Geological Service as a complementary indicator for GBF draft Target 5. My colleagues and I have recommended the adaption of this indicator in all feedback to the Post 2020 consultation process, through IUCN and through Conservation International. A brief summary of the index is given in (FAO, 2022). A more detailed description will be published later this year. This same indicator could then easily be applied to the SDG’s, for monitoring inland fisheries. This allow countries to easily monitor inland fisheries in both the GBF and the SDGs, using the same process, hence reducing complexity in application of indicators, which has been a concern of some countries.
FAO (2022). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. Towards Blue Transformation. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0461en.

The work listed above, especially the development of the inland fisheries index is also directly relevant to operative statements 1b (support assessment of inland fisheries in the SDGs, such that the national status of inland fisheries should not decline from their current state, or should be improved where the existing state is degraded) and 1c (enhance the collection of data to document the status and trends of inland fisheries).