Workshop: Gender - Strengthening community-based management of inshore fisheries towards gender...

partnership Ÿ excellence Ÿ growth

Strengthening community-based

management of inshore fisheries towards gender equity in Solomon Islands

WorldFish Center-Solomon Islands

Anne-Maree Schwarz, Delvene Boso, Zelda Hilly, Janet Oeta


• Background– Gender policy context– Gender issues in SSF

• What was the genesis of this project?

• What is this project doing?– Capacity building– Policy and strategy

Talk outline


Gender Policy Context • Solomon Islands Constitution highlights critical areas for improving the status of

women.

• The Solomon Islands National Women’s Policy of 1998 recognized women in fisheries as one of thirteen critical areas.

• 2009 policy upgraded to the Gender Equality and Women’s Development policy with no further attention to the fisheries sector.

• International policy and legal frameworks-ratification of the UN Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) –strengthened the cause of women at country level.

• To date, the development of national policies for advancing the status of women has been done in isolation and with little capacity within the Ministry for Women Youth and Family Affairs to ensure a government wide gender mainstreaming approach, a sector level approach is timely.


• Gender division of labor based on specialization although both men and women sell or barter the fish at the market.

• Collecting, processing, preparing and marketing of fish and other marine resources.

• Household responsibility for educating young children- food collection, preparation and management; can extend to traditional knowledge and traditional management with respect to resource use.

Gender characteristics in SSF• Melanesian fisherwomen’s contribution

to the subsistence catch, 4 times that of women in Micronesia and Polynesia (Kronen and Vunisea, 2009).

• Contribution in their communities less than that of fishermen, because of preference for less distant and more easily accessible habitats, shorter average duration of fishing trips, daytime fishing, and lower CPUE.


Why mainstream?• Women’s work in capture fisheries

is relatively invisible and underestimated.

• The Ministry of Fisheries’ Inshore Fisheries Strategy 2010-2012 does not mention gender, women or youth.

• Gender mainstreaming –– leads to a greater recognition of women’s rights to

assets and decision-making in fishing communities -including the right to be free of violence

– adressing gender equality increases well being of household and society


Entry point for mainstreaming

• SSF management strategies need to take into account cultural and gender differences relating to the impact of fishing activities and strategies, on habitats fished.

• A possible entry point for us to start to influence gender mainstreaming is within

CBRM.


Community driven• Kia; a CBRM cluster of

communities 2005-2008• Women’s church group with

family health and well being goals

• 2009 planned and trialed a training approach to add a module

• Pre conditions• Low levels of literacy• A literacy programme for local language• Some skilled and energetic trainers• No financial resources available

Key messages1. Marine resources are important for a healthy family

and a healthy community

2. Fish provides quality proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals for people

3. Healthy habitats are important for our marine resources

4. Coral is an animal. A healthy reef is made of live coral

5. Marine animals have a life cycle

6. If there is overfishing, there will not be enough food or money from marine resources in the future

7. Management of marine resources is important for community well being


Tools


After the training

• Talk to your family• Talk to the neighbours• Talk to your church / womens group.• Assisted to conduct targeted awareness in

neighbouring villages joined with the mens biological monitoring group

• Received funding for GEF SGP for a regional awareness programme

• Women in committees (constitution)


Subjects participants found difficulty understanding in the workshop

Initial trial 2009

Now been completed in

three regions in the village

Improved materials

Modification and trainer

consensus

Impact Assessment

Evaluation

Funded project MFMR


CBRM as a vehicle


Policy and strategy; First step: training capacity building

• 5 day staff and partner training (20 participants 9 organisations)

– Basic gender concepts and why gender analysis and mainstreaming are necessary in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.

– Introduction to gender analysis techniques that are specific to the fisheries/aquaculture sector.

– Hands-on field exercises to apply tools to assess the gender division of labor, analyze gendered assets, capabilities, decision-making, motivations, needs, and aspirations.

– Governance and institutional issues, gendered value chain analysis.

– The place of gender analysis and mainstreaming within policy and the project cycle, including gender specific indicators for monitoring and evaluation.


Policy and strategy; Second step: scoping a strategy

• An assessment on opportunities and constraints within the participants’ organizations for gender mainstreaming within the fisheries sector and how to develop strategies for success.

– representatives of government, NGO and applied research organizations

• Outcome:

• Outlined a set of proposals for gender mainstreaming.

• Prepared a draft strategy (June 2011).

• The gender strategy is mapped to five pillars of the Inshore Fisheries Strategy 2010-2012.


Current status

• Kia community Small Grant (GEF)

• Gender project: WorldFish and MFMR

• M and E

• CBRM gender module: national training

• Article SPC bulletin


SummaryThank you

Workshop: Gender - Strengthening community-based management of inshore fisheries towards gender...

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