Ocean governance

FROM COMMITMENTS TO ACTION: Strengthening small-scale fisheries at the SSF Summit 2026 and COFI37

by Marina Gomei, Coastal Communities Initiative Programme Manager From 4 to 6 September, I attended the third Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Summit, which gathered around 300 fishers and fish workers, Indigenous Peoples, governments, civil society organizations and researchers at the Headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome. Led by the IPC Working Group […]

Enabling French Guiana’s Ocean Defenders to address European Forum

Environmental human rights defenders play an important role in ensuring that action to heal and protect our planet considers the rights, voices and needs of communities. Representatives from two French Guianese associations working tirelessly to protect nature across the Guiana region contributed to discussions that informed recommendations for future European actions on environmental defenders.

One Voice, Many Islands

In the stillness of dawn, before the sun gilds the Pacific horizon, the ocean speaks. It speaks in the hush of waves against mangrove roots, in the rustle of pandanus leaves, in the chants of elders who remember the old ways. For the Indigenous Peoples of Oceania, the ocean is a living ancestor, a keeper of stories, a bearer of truth.

Co-designing community learning and innovation hubs for ecosystem restoration with local government and communities

“Induh gumih rukut ranting (mother nature) speaks through those who are closest to her.” This case study explores the practice of actively listening and embedding community knowledge and voices in strengthening local governance in Bataraza and Balabac, Province of Palawan, Philippines. Read the full case study, here:

Tasamu Rawanang: A traditional approach to community-based fisheries practiced by the Indigenous Asai

Noticing changes in the volume of their fish catches, duration of fishing, and need to travel ever-increasing distances to be able to fish, the community of Kampung Asai in Papua drew upon traditional knowledge to better manage their marine resources. After learning about the success of sasi (or: ‘prohibition’) from the community in Menarbu – […]

Community-led Science monitoring to support improved evidence-based resource management

For generations, communities in Solomon Islands have leveraged indigenous knowledge to manage marine resources. However, increased pressure on those resources stemming from climate change, overpopulation and overfishing have negatively impacted their health.

Managing fisheries together: How co-management gives fishers and their communities a say in their own future

One of the first issues that Barbara Orlando, president of the fisher cooperative in Porto Cesareo – a fishing village in the south of Italy – had to discuss when she joined the newly established co-management committee was the need for a reduction in fishing pressure in the local marine protected area (MPA), to allow depleted stocks to recover.

SASI – How one community’s traditional wisdom in fisheries management sparked learning and replication in other islands

It was a sunny day — almost like any other — in the 1990s when Yustus Menarbu’s parents took him along with them to the sea. For Yustus, that day was special.

Ocean governance

Opinion: Our ocean provides, but is not an endless bounty, by Ghislaine Llewellyn

For some people, putting a value on nature is deeply unsettling. How can one species — humans — put a price on the exquisite diversity of life with which we share our planet?

Ocean governance

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