Stories and News

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 […]

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PUTTING OUR HEADS TOGETHER: How community learning networks are delivering local conservation solutions

Across the Coral Triangle, Mediterranean and the West Indian Ocean, WWF and partners are connecting coastal communities through learning hubs and regional networks, combining local knowledge and science to strengthen the climate resilience of people and nature.

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.

Protecting the pristine Kitikmeot Region 

In the Kitikmeot Region of the Canadian Arctic, rapid changes in sea ice, warmer waters and shifting species distributions are putting the local Kugaaruk community’s traditional livelihoods at risk. To protect and conserve their ancestral lands, waters and ice, the Kurtairojuark Hunters and Trappers Association started an Indigenous Guardians Programme in early 2024. The programme employs locals to patrol and monitor the area, providing ecological data to help the community better respond to climate-induced risks.

Growing a future from the sea

On Mafia Island, Tanzania, where tradition runs as deep as the ocean the coastal community protects and depends on, a new chapter is being written. In Kanga Village, the Hiari Women Group is stepping out of traditionally-defined roles, transforming their newly found skill for seaweed farming into a living evolution of their community’s heritage.

Working for greater representation of women in artisanal fisheries

"Like many women, I am several roles in a single person: mother, wife, housewife, worker, social leader, and micro-entrepreneur, but one of the most important, and I say this with great pride, is that I am a woman of the sea." Carmen Díaz Vargas, artisanal fisher, shipowner and diver's assistant, Isla Grande de Chiloé, Chile.

COP30: can ripples of progress for the ocean lead to waves of change for coastal communities?  

As the dust settles on outcomes of COP30, the CCI explores how the conference met - or fell short of - the needs and expectations of coastal communities.

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:

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