SCELG invited to lead the Ecosystem Services for Sustainable Fisheries project

ESPA working group investigates the role of ecosystem services in sustainable fisheries management

May 2017: The Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme has established a working group on Ecosystem Services for Sustainable Fisheries to investigate the role of ecosystem services in sustainable fisheries management, as well as the contribution of the fisheries sector to poverty alleviation and wellbeing of the poor in developing countries. SCELG co-director, Prof Elisa Morgera and SCELG member, Dr Daniela Diz, were selected to support the new ESPA Fisheries working group by synthesising and communicating evidence from ESPA fisheries-related projects to key international organisations and processes, such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and at the UN Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (the Ocean Conference), scheduled in June at UN Headquarters in New York.

Marine Benefits Project

This new collaboration with the ESPA Directorate and other ESPA researchers builds on the Marine Benefits project, led by Prof Morgera, which explores whether and how the legal tool "fair and equitable benefit-sharing," as part of the ecosystem approach, can be integrated with the concept of marine ecosystem services to reduce the systemic poverty of coastal communities who depend upon marine resources for both food security and income generation. The project will focus specifically on how research on marine ecosystem services can support ongoing international efforts to implement the ecosystem approach to fisheries and to mainstream biodiversity into the fisheries sector.

As part of this new collaboration, Prof Morgera and Dr Diz, together with the ESPA Director Kate Schreckenberg, will visit the FAO Headquarters on 26 June and discuss collaboration in addressing the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries and mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services into the fisheries sector. Prof Morgera and Dr Diz will also be present at the Ocean Conference from 5-9 June, where they will co-host a side event entitled “SDGs and the blue economy: Investing in Marine Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation” on 7 June at 18:15 at the UN HQ in New York, NY.