Stakeholders Speak Out Ahead of Biological Diversity Meeting
May 13, 2024 Reston, VA – The International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA) is reminding the Convention on Biological Diversity’s scientific advisory body, known as the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), that there are 15 references to “sustainable use” already in the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Today the SBSTTA meets in Nairobi, its 26th meeting, with both “Marine and Coastal Biodiversity” and “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine and Coastal Biodiversity” on its agenda.
“It’s important to remind bodies like SBSTTA, who inform much of the work done around the Convention on Biological Diversity, that sustainable use is fully consistent with conservation outcomes,” said ICFA Chair Paul Lansbergen, President of Fisheries Council of Canada. “The men and women who work the waters are focused on the sustainability of marine biodiversity, as their livelihoods depend on it. In fact, they’re experts on the role effective and sustainable fisheries management plays in that world.”
Fish and fish products provide a healthy protein that sustains lives and livelihoods globally. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports (State of the Worlds Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022) 82.5% of the world’s wild-capture fisheries landings by volume are from sustainably managed stocks. This performance should be recognized and understood by those who seek to influence the implementation of the Convention.
ICFA recognized the importance of stakeholder expertise when the international biodiversity framework was first drafted, noting back then the “positive relationship sustainable use can deliver for conservation of biodiversity.” The group is even more committed to this position as an ambitious biodiversity agenda looks past 2030 towards 2050.