The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat and the Pacific Community (SPC) will soon renew their partnership to strengthen cooperation in the areas of health, fisheries and agriculture.
This, following a meeting between the Director General of SPC, Dr Stuart Minchin and the Director General of the MSG Secretariat, Leonard Louma, at the SPC Headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia.
The duo have agreed to renew the existing Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC).
At the invitation of Dr Minchin, DG Louma is currently attending the 15th SPC Heads of Fisheries (HoF15) Meeting in Noumea. The opportunity will enable the identification of synergies between SPC’s Noumea Strategy – “A New Song for Coastal Fisheries” and the MSG Roadmap for Inshore Fisheries Management and Sustainable Development 2015 – 2024.
Both the Director Generals acknowledged that COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns in the region demonstrated in an unequivocal manner the reliance of our people on coastal fisheries for sources of food and income.
DG Louma noted that the inshore fisheries sector is made more significant when one considers that women, by SPC’s own accounts, represent 50 percent of the workforce in this sector.
Since taking up office in September last year, DG Louma has taken a particular interest in implementing the MSG Inshore Fisheries Roadmap in recognition of the importance of inshore fisheries to the economies and livelihood of MSG countries and people. He has since actively engaged in discussions with a number of MSG’s development partners to see how best to implement the MSG Inshore Fisheries Roadmap.
Both Director General’s exchanged specific ideas on Community-Based Fisheries Management and sustainable development in aquaculture/mariculture, the use of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and Fish Aggregating Devices (FDA).
DG Louma also requested the results of the Spatial Mapping that SPC was undertaking to assist MSG with identification of the extent of coral reef acidification and mangrove forest destruction in the MSG countries.
The HoF15 will look at the impacts of climate change and the recovery efforts of Pacific Island countries from the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture resources, in relation to food and nutritional security, livelihood and environmental conservation.
The meeting ends this Friday.
Source: MSG office Port Villa, Vanuatu
