The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) partnered with the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) for a project to strengthen policies and institutional mechanisms supporting small-scale fisheries (SSF) in the Philippines.
The project titled, “Assessing and Accelerating: Towards the Full Implementation of the FAO Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines in the Philippines,” assessed the alignment of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (FAO-SSF Guidelines) with national and local fisheries policies.
The project assessed the alignment of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication with national and local fisheries policies.
It also examined the institutional mechanisms supporting their implementation; assessed stakeholder awareness of the guidelines; identified facilitating and hindering factors affecting implementation, and developed policy and institutional mechanisms to support their adoption from the national to local levels.
The study found policies supporting small-scale fisheries, despite already in place, are inadequate in terms of institutional coordination, stakeholder participation, enforcement capacity, and localization of the FAO-SSF Guidelines.
Among the key recommendations discussed during the review led by DOST-PCAARRD was the need to establish clearer and more specific policy pathways for implementing the FAO-SSF Guidelines. Evaluators recommended strengthening the assessment of policy alignment by clearly presenting the criteria used to classify alignment as strong or moderate, as well as identifying specific provisions of the Fisheries Code that could support implementation.
UPV Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Alice Joan Ferrer, who leads the project team, attended the review together with external evaluators Dr. Mudjekeewis D. Santos and Dr. Jose A. Ingles, and DOST-PCAARRD representatives, including Ms. Monica B. Castillo of SERD, with representatives from the Marine Resources Research Division (MRRD) and the Office of the Executive Director – Research and Development (OED-RD).
The project was also encouraged to develop policy briefs and other knowledge products that clearly communicate the proposed policy language for consideration by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and other concerned stakeholders.
Ultimately, the project contributes to advancing the implementation of the FAO-SSF Guidelines by providing evidence-based policy and institutional recommendations that can help bridge the gap between national policy commitments and local-level action.
Source: DOST-PCAARD
