The World is Moving: SDG Road No Poverty, Zero Hunger...Clear as Water

Floating Market Lokbaintan by Suryarakhmathidayat. Asia region leads Ocean food production systems.

As the UN Ocean Conference draws closer and closer the International eye draws its attention on the SDG Sustainable Development Goals. The World is on the Move. The road has been set by SDGs.

On March 28 UN Agencies communicated advances made in ocean research, sustainable fisheries and management.

“In advance of the UN Ocean Conference, the UN Development Programme UNDP has launched a blog series that will explore issues related to implementation of Sustainable Development Goal SDG 14 (life below water). Other recent sustainable fisheries management and oceans activities include: an expert meeting on trade in marine species; approval of a World Bank project on fisheries and aquaculture in Peru; a publication on fish production in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN; an International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN Red List publication on marine bony fish species; and a number of activities by the Common Oceans project,” UN Press Office reported.

Oh yes, the World is moving. One can see the movement happening. Things are changing. Perhaps not as fast as one would want but things feel different. New issues are emerging to the light. Some like lack of resources, migrations, piracy and climatic issues are extremely concerning. Others scientific issues and human development programs bring light of hope. While yet other issues which seem to have been hiding in the shadows are now being revealed. Sure thing. The World is moving. But where is it going? Is it on right track?

SDGs -Sustainable Development Goals which came to follow up on the Millennium Goal are still being worked upon. From draft to agreement to action the road is long and rough. Those who have been working the Millennium Goals know the path, the bureaucracy and the stories and importance behind these goals. For others International Goals are fresh as new.

The Oceans are a bigger part of the Sustainable Goals than they were of the Millennium Goals. This is largely because in the recent years the World has realized the potential of the Oceans and their ability to cross over into other sectors. Human relationships with the Ocean have never been untied but in politics there was harshly any connection. Issues like poverty, hunger, nutrition and health used to be strictly agricultural issues with the Oceans barely contributing to the talks. Issues like climate change and natural disasters have scaled up the Ocean's role in the planet's stability and issues like Human Development and even Human Health are now considered closely related to the Ocean. The higher spheres in desperate need of diversification due to demands and increase of global population and lack of resources are looking into the Oceans for solutions.

Worldfish is not a newcomer when it comes to understanding the potential of the Oceans´ Natural Resources. They have been deeply focused on aquaculture as a tool for ending poverty and hunger and serving nutrition and health for decades.

Worldfish recently released their 2017-2022 six year Strategy. They assure that the impacts of the plan will by 2022 have led to 5 million producer households adopting improved breeds, feeds, fish health and best management practices and will assist the exit of 3.5 million from poverty through gender-inclusive livelihood improvements.

...2.4 Million fewer women, men and children suffering from deficiencies in essential micronutrients, 3.3 Million hectares of ecosystems restored through productive and equitable management, 4.7 Million more women of reproductive age consuming an adequate number of food groups, 4.8 Million of fish farmed annually with improved climate resilience and reduced environmental impact...these are the bullet points of the New Worldfish Strategy.

Millions of people...it is easy to write...just three words and you got it but these three words have a heavy signification. It is very difficult to understand the magnitude of millions of people. Every single person, each human being in these statistic has a story...Worldfish in February told the story of Bina Majhi.

“...In 2007, cyclone Sidr swept through Bangladesh, leaving a trail of destruction. For Bina Majhi and her husband, the cyclone destroyed their fish hatchery business in an instant, and with it, their primary source of income.”

“I lost everything. My capital, hope, dreams... everything. I never thought that I would be able to run my business again,” says Bina from Hajipur village, Patuakhali district. Left with no resources or equipment, Bina and her husband were forced to close the hatchery, which they had worked for 10 years to establish.

Bina transformed her life working hard to reach success from a day laborer to hatchery owner.

“Today, Bina Majhi runs a thriving fish hatchery business in Hajipur, Bangladesh. But it’s been a bumpy 20-year journey for the former day laborer, who credits her success to support and training received from WorldFish projects,” Worldfish explains.

In a rough economic situation Bina and her husband found jobs in the hatchery and fields as day laborers.

“But the little pay they received made it hard to bear the family expenses. Looking for a way to increase their earnings, they started selling fingerlings they had bought with the little extra income they had saved. The next year, in 1997, Bina started a nursery pond with hatchlings she had bought from a nearby hatchery. It was the beginning of her hatchery enterprise,” Worldfish explains.

A few years later, in 1999, Bina joined the DANIDA-supported Patuakhali Barguna Aquaculture Extension project, which promoted integrated fish and vegetable farming, and received training from them. Despite this, she lacked the capital and equipment needed to put her new knowledge into practice. “I had to sell all of the ornaments from my wedding ceremony to buy the brood fish and equipment for my hatchery,” she says.

“Over the next five years, she was able to grow the business and make enough money to cover family expenses. Then in 2005 disaster struck and a poisoning incident saw all the fish in the nursery pond lost. This was followed, in 2007 by cyclone Sidr, which washed away everything, leaving Bina and her husband no option but to completely shut down the business,” Worldfish explains.

The story of Bina is but one story of those billions of people whose lives are directly linked to the Ocean and modern capricious times.

Gender Equality -which has been part of United Nations Goals perhaps for the past several decades also comes through in Ocean programs.

Worldfish explains that gender equality is important in the Aquaculture sector -dominated by Asian countries and contributing Billions of dollars every year to the Global Economy.

“In 2014, women accounted for about 50 % of the workforce in fisheries and aquaculture, when the secondary elements such as processing and trading are included. This reliance is significant given that the sectors support the livelihoods of approximately 10 to 20% percent of the world’s population and are central to global food and nutrition security,” Worldfish says.

Global demand for food, National Security, national economic stability, these are today deeply Ocean connected issues. Women in the developing countries are every day playing a much important role to their immediate family and work environment and impacting wider society. Under these programs Goals like Zero Hunger and the End of Poverty seem to be in reach but challenges are widespread.

Fisheries, Zero Hunger and No Poverty programs are also tapping into environmental issues. As they become sustainable they begin to work for the environment.

“Observing that SDG 14 aims to conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas, UNDP’s Head of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, Midori Paxton, underscores the importance of expanding marine protected areas MPAs for marine biodiversity conservation, socio-economic benefits and ecosystem health,”  United Nations Press office just recently communicated.

UCN Director General Inger Andersen said, “the growing extinction threat to fish off the central and western coast of Africa could seriously undermine food security across the region, impacting on progress towards the first two SDGs in addition…to undermining SDG 14.”

“Our strategy focuses on the three interlinked challenges of sustainable aquaculture, resilient small-scale fisheries and enhancing the contributions of fish to nutrition of the poor in the places where we can make the most difference. These challenges will only be met by partnering with the communities, research innovators, entrepreneurs and investors who give fisheries and aquaculture its dynamism and promise,” WorldFish -Director General Designate Blake Ratner adds.

World Bank working on its own program is also deeply immersed in these Ocean connections. On March 28 World Bank communicated that Madagascar and Indian Ocean Commission received 83.15 million USD to improve the management of selected fisheries at regional, national and community levels.

“Marine fisheries and aquaculture production is worth  213 million USD per year for Madagascar alone, where fisheries can contribute up to 7 % of GDP annually. In Madagascar the sector directly employs at least 300,000 and indirectly or part time an estimated 500,000 people, including a high proportion of the coastal population which has some of the most vulnerable, marginalized, and landless communities. Many women are involved in the small-scale fisheries sector, mainly in seafood collection, processing, marketing, and aquaculture. The sector is also a major contributor to nutritional health and Food Security,” World Bank explained.

A growing global population and changing diets are driving up the demand for food. Production is struggling to keep up as crop yields level off in many parts of the World, ocean health declines, and natural resources -including soils, water and biodiversity are stretched thin. 2016 estimates found that one in nine people suffers from chronic hunger and in 2014, 12.9 % of the population in the developing countries was undernourished. The food security challenge will only become more difficult. Food demand is projected to rise by at least 20% over the next 15 years.  

The future looks grim... at times…

A new World Bank reports assures that it is not a matter of spending more but rather spending better. Innovation and creative thinking is needed to find the way out of the puzzle. Sources of income like tourism are eyed for their additional economic drive which could aid in the fulfillment of the SDG Goals

On April 7 the World Bank announced that 26 million USD in funds for a regional project will be directed to boost the Caribbean Tourism areas of Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

In the Caribbean Tourism is the leading economic sector.

“Tourism accounts for 61 %, 50 %, and 45 % of export earnings in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, respectively, and 42 % of employment in Saint Lucia and 19 % both in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. While tourism is the lead economic sector in the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States OECS, the region accounts for less than 0.2 % of World Tourism Arrivals and receives less revenues than the rest of the Caribbean,” World Bank reported.

"There is a tremendous potential to develop regional tourism in the Eastern Caribbean and the collaboration among the governments of Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is highly promising”, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean Tahseen Sayed told the press.

“This is an opportunity to develop the tourism industry, generate new jobs particularly for women and young people, and attract private sector investments," he added.

For Bina in Bangladesh it has been five years since she restarted her business. With the help of Worldfish programs working with local organizations and government as well as the USAID and Nutrition programs she is moving up the ladder well.

“When we finally started our own hatchery, people condescendingly called it a bou hatchery -a hatchery owned by a wife. The entire village was against me. However, training on aquaculture from WorldFish’s AIN project and mental support from my husband gave me the power to fight against the situation,” she says.

Established gender discrimination did not tie Bina down she soon realized that the economical potential could play harder and discrimination could be worked for through education and support. Since she began she has had 586 kilograms of fish spawn produced by 2016 valued in over 1.2 Million and produced 1.2 million fingerlings valued in 280 thousand BDT.

Worldfish believes that many active programs like Bina´s program will increase Global productivity of fish farms and improve the lives of millions like Bina and her family through better health and financial security.

Nutritional studies show that the first 1 thousand days of life are critical for humans. Children and pregnant women are also locked into a special need group. In parts of Asia, Caribbean, Latin America, India and Africa and the rest of the World Ocean fisheries nutrition could provide the needed nutritional values to face diseases and deaths caused by lack of proper nutrition.

“Fish is the animal-source food with the fastest-growing production in the world. In low-income food deficit countries it is also often the cheapest and most accessible animal-source food for poor consumers. Sustainable aquaculture practices offer water, energy and feed conversion efficiencies superior to any other domesticated animal food production system. Fisheries and aquaculture contribute to the livelihoods of 800 million people; in the fisheries sector, 90 % of those are in small-scale fisheries and 97 % live in developing countries. Fish consumption has a critical role to play in boosting dietary diversity and reducing the number of people who suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, with lifelong benefits for health and productivity,” the Strategy of Worldfish is ambitious for its impact targets we they have embraced.

“The work is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and charts our course to achieve them,” Worldfish kicks it.

The World is Moving on the SDG Ocean Road: No Poverty, Zero Hunger...clear as water.