Author: IOI-SA

World Oceans Day, the International Ocean Institute Southern African teamed up with Cape Kayak Adventures for a day of celebration in raising awareness about the importance of our ocean to promote their conservation.  The ocean plays a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate, providing resources and livelihoods for people all over the world and with that supports a variety of marine biodiversity. Unfortunately, they are also under threat from a range of human activities, such as overfishing, pollution and climate change.

A step towards a cleaner and healthier ocean we invited the public to celebrate World Oceans Day with us. Winter rain cleans our streets, but along with it, so much plastic trash gets swept into our ocean. Three Anchor Bay beach is known to accumulate a lot of litter directly from the ocean and the objective of the cleanup was to pick up as much of the floating litter at the water surface. On Saturday the 10^th of June, Cape Kayak offered complimentary trips to the public, for 24 people to assist us with an ocean clean-up.

This experience was led by Kirshia Govender, IOI-SA and Tracy Rauch, Cape Kayak Adventures, and her team of guides to allow for an informed experience highlighting the marine life in Table Bay including the threats to them. A fun experience to celebrate, appreciate and conserve our marine life by removing as much marine waste as possible.

Positive feedback from the public, who would like to do more cleanups in future, and be more involved in ocean conservation activities with Cape Kayak and IOI-SA.

Following a request by the Philippines for assistance in the development of an National Programme of Action for Small-scale
Fisheries (NPOA-SSF), FAO and IOI-SA developed and facilitated a 3-day training workshop earlier this year. The National Training Workshop on the Small-scale Fisheries Guidelines and Development of an NPOA-SSF in Philippines was held from 20-22nd June 2023 with the following objectives:

1. To contribute towards developing the capacity of members of the National Task Team and relevant stakeholders to implement the SSF Guidelines;
2. To contribute towards creating an enabling environment for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines; and
3. To support the NPOA-SSF development process.

The course included several background presentations and an exercise on the development of an NPOA-SSF based on the Draft Toolkit developed by the FAO to guide the development of National Plans of Action on SSF (NPOA-SSF). The exercise ran across all 3 days and included a Stakeholder Mapping exercise, a Governance Review and Gap Analysis, and the 3 developments of a workplan for the development of the NPOA.

Opening remarks were made by Mr André Share on behalf of IOI-SA, Dr Lionel Dabbadie, the FAO Representative in Philippines and Mr Isidro M. Velayo Jr, Assistant Director: Technical Services of the Bureau for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

The majority of participants were members of the National Task Team, referred to as the National Technical Working Group (NTWG) for the development of the NPOA-SSF. They included the NPOA-SSF coordinator, the Bureau for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), representatives of Local Government and fisher organisations, as well as a number of academics and NGOs. The course was facilitated by IOI-SA and the two advisors, Harold Monteclaro and Alice Ferrer.

Online training, 19-29 June 2023.

Course Fee: Free

Duration of the Course: Total hours 20 

Language: English

Deadline of Application: 2 June 2023

Selection of Applicants: This course is designed primarily for South African participants, however it is also open to participants living and working within Africa with an interest in the ocean, ocean literacy, and ocean opportunities, including government, non-government organisations, business, labour etc.

The course will take place during in the afternoons (15h00- 18h30) and since it is interactive only applicants who can commit to attending all six sessions will be accepted. The class size will also be capped, and participants will be selected using a combination of criteria. Participants must be able to access Zoom.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Gain a basic understanding of the ocean: the goods and services it provides, the threats to the ocean, how to live in a more sustainable way with the Ocean;

• Learn about the importance of ocean governance, sustainable and equitable human use, the principle of the common heritage of humankind, respecting the needs of future generations, all in locally relevant context;

• Be empowered to become more active locally as stakeholders to positively influence their communities and beyond;

• To be able to identify priority issues, trends and future challenges in ocean issues, locally and globally

More Information: Kgovender@ioisa.org

Link to Application:  https://forms.gle/i9cJWKazBrGMYiP37

Link to programme: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BMhxUP6soqrwkOdcK1cijG9g9i-Ayq0g/view?usp=sharing

FAO and the International Ocean Institute—Southern Africa (IOI-SA) have recently launched a new e-learning course on  Governance in small-scale fisheries. The aim of the course is to contribute towards creating an enabling environment for implementing the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).

The SSF Guidelines are the first international instrument dedicated entirely to the small-scale fisheries sector. They are aimed at all actors striving to secure sustainable small-scale fisheries, to end hunger and poverty and strengthen human rights. They are a tool to guide dialogue, policy processes, and action at all levels, from local communities to global fora.

The course will promote implementation of the SSF Guidelines by strengthening the capacity of FAO staff, officials in national ministries of fisheries or equivalent, and fisheries practitioners at local government levels and in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to promote the development of good governance frameworks. Good governance for small-scale fisheries typically means that fishers and fishing communities are involved in decision-making processes, that the rules and regulations governing fisheries are clear and accessible to all, that those responsible for managing fisheries are held accountable for their actions, and that the benefits of fisheries are distributed fairly and equitably among all stakeholders. Commonly applied approaches to collaborative governance include Co-management, the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF), and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA).

The course comprises 5 modules and can be completed in a minimum of 3 hours. It covers the following topics:

• The contributions of small-scale fisheries to livelihoods, food security, and nutrition;
• Legal instruments that support the management of marine and inland capture fisheries;
• How aspects of governance relate to the management of fisheries and socio-economic development;
• The links between the achievement of human rights, sustainable and equitable livelihoods and protection of ecosystems in small-scale fisheries; and
• The creation of an enabling environment for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines.

The course is available free of charge. To enroll, click here.

The International Ocean Institute – Southern Africa (IOI-SA) is happy to announce that the annual 4-week Ocean Governance Training Programme will take place from 4^th-29^th September 2023. Save the date, and don’t miss out on the opportunity to join the 2023 cohort. For more information click here. To apply please complete the online form by 15th June. Apply here.

No late applications will be considered.

The course ran from the 5th to the 30th of September 2022. The first two weeks were online but we were very excited to welcome participants to Cape Town for the final two weeks. With this, came the resumption of field trips, interactive sessions and enhanced discussion and interactions.

The weeks were characterized by thoughtful and enthusiastic input from the participants. We encouraged peer-to-peer learning and group exercises throughout the training. In addition to a Risk Assessment exercise and using the interactive board game donated by IOC-UNESCO to simulate a Marine Spatial Platform situation. One exercise ran throughout the four weeks and groups to develop a policy brief on one of four broad topics listed below:

• Green shipping – A solution to mitigate climate change;
• Small scale fisheries: Policy implementation challenges;
• Deep seabed mining: Why we must protect our biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction;
• Agriculture as a source of land-based pollution – The functionality of wetlands to improve water quality.

IOI-Southern Africa and IOI-HQ are happy to announce an online training opportunity for Early Career Ocean Professionals in November 2022. The course will be run in collaboration with IOC – UNESCO within the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and is being provided free of charge. It will comprise four three hour sessions during which participants will be introduced to the basic concepts of ocean governance in the African context. Sessions will include presentations, discussions, videos and interactive tools and will cover the following topics:

Basic Concepts of Ocean Governance – The oceans and sustainable development – The Blue Economy and Societal Perspectives – Introduction to Marine Spatial Planning.

Participants who complete all the sessions will be eligible for a certificate.

Target Audience and Applications:

This training is open to early career ocean professionals from Africa. For the purpose of the ECOP Programme, an ECOP is a person that self-identifies as being early in their career (10 years or less of professional experience) within any field related to the Ocean (not only employed/paid positions). The term “professional” is used in order to be inclusive of professionals from many different sectors of society.

The course will take place during office hours and since it is interactive only applicants who can commit to attending all four sessions will be accepted (this will require applicants to provide proof of permission from their supervisors). The class size will also be capped and participants will be selected using a combination of criteria including gender, sectoral background, geographic location and profession. Participants must be able to access Zoom.

 Apply here by the 21st October. No late applications will be considered.

The IOI-SA 2022 Course participants started their 4 week journey into understanding Ocean Governance today. The training started with an introduction to ocean governance and the science to policy process. The course is designed to encourage participation and discussion and this year’s participants started out on the perfect note. We look forward to spending the next 4 weeks with them, the final two of while will be in person in Cape Town!

In August 2022, IOI-SA teamed up with SAIMI (South African International Maritime Industry) to deliver 20 hours of free online learning on ocean issues. The Ocean Academy was marketed to South African interns who work in the ocean space but don’t necessarily have a marine science or ocean governance background. Through the magic of social media, and virtual training spaces, we also welcomed participants from all over Africa, in particular Kenya and Somalia.

The Ocean Academy explored what the ocean means for life on earth, and to each of us; marine and coastal biodiversity, ecosystem goods & services; challenges facing our oceans and coasts; climate change: what it means for our oceans and coasts and the blue economy.

The Ocean Academy encourages participant interaction and discussion.
This builds on the information that is presented during the course by
experts and professionals working in the ocean governance space. We also challenged everyone to commit to using what they have learned in their lives going forward.

As part of the International Ocean Institute’s 50 year celebrations, the IOI Centres and Focal Points in Africa are teaming up for a webinar celebrating the work IOI is doing in Africa and getting feedback from regional organisations in Africa on capacity needs and developments going forward. To join the conversation, please complete this form so we can send you the link.