IGAD – €COFISH Workshop On Marine Fisheries Coordination Platforrm
September 6, 2021 (ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia): In conformity with the mandated objectives and guidelines of the E€OFISH programme, IGAD in partnership with €COFISH held a workshop on 6 and 7 September in Addis Ababa, at the Radisson Blu hotel.
About 30 participants attended the workshop, most of them from member states of the region and representatives of partner organisations such as ARC-Kenya, FAO-SFE-Addis Ababa and AU-IBAR-Kenya.
This 2-day workshop focused first on finalising the terms of reference, including the operational modalities of the sub-regional coordination platform within the E€OFISH programme guidelines.
In his opening speech, Dr Fikru Regassa the State Minister of Livestock Development Sector said, “The inland and marine coastal fisheries resources of the Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region represent significant natural wealth that the ECOFISH strives to ensure the sustainable management of these assets by putting in place policies to handle them effectively, by protecting them and by promoting good fishing practices.”
Dr Eshete and Dr Wassie, who represent and lead the Ecosfish project as representatives of lGAD were able to present the contribution of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development by presenting all the work and workshops that have been done during this year.
This workshop which brought together the participants physically and was also followed virtually with the participants on the Mauritian side, was a success.
Background
The E€OFISH Programme is a Cross-Regional Initiative funded by the 11th EDF to leverage regional cooperation for enhancing sustainable inland and marine fisheries in Eastern African, Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO) region. The programme is promoted and administered by EUD Mauritius and IOC Secretariat in collaboration with the duly mandated regional economic and fisheries organizations (DMROs)for the benefits of the ACP partner countries in the region. It has a total budget of 28 million euros over 62 months starting that started in July 2019, however, its implementation has been delayed by the social restrictions provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic in the region.
Several objectives are fixed and consist of to assist in the strategic orientation of sub-regional and national chapter of the regional interventions and to provide inputs for the formulation of Concept Notes and Terms of Reference for Technical studies, background papers and Agenda for the sub-regional meetings and workshops.
Source: IGAD