These Guidelines for increasing access of small-scale fisheries to insurance services in Asia have been developed to support the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). The purpose of these Guidelines is fourfold, i.e. • to increase awareness about the needs of small-scale fishers for better risk management, disaster preparedness and insurance services; • to guide policy and decision makers to help introduce insurance services to small-scale fishers, with the ultimate objective to strengthen the sustainability and ecological and economic viability of these fisheries; • to build capacity among insurance providers, fisherfolk organizations, NGOs, and concerned government agencies, to design and implement insurance programmes that suit the needs of small-scale fishing communities and enhance social protection; • to promote insurance services that incentivize and reward a responsible and sustainable conduct of fishing operations and a better preparedness for natural disasters including climate change related challenges. These Guidelines commence by elaborating on the context and framework, in which insurance programmes for small-scale fisheries should be conceived. It is explained why most small-scale fishers are presently not insured. Major risks and consequences faced by fishers are identified. Risks include capsizing, grounding, collision and sinking of vessels; fire on board of vessels or in port; injury or death of crew as a result of above, human errors during navigation or fishing operations; oil spills or other pollution caused by fishing vessels; theft and vandalism, when moored in port; piracy

The Expert Workshop on Guidelines for Micro-finance, Credit and Insurance for Small-scale Fisheries in Asia was held in Bangkok, Thailand in the period 7-9 May 2019. Rural finance, insurance and fisheries experts from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, UK, Canada and the USA met to discuss ways to improve the access to financial services for small-scale fishers in Asia. The workshop aimed to discuss successful finance and insurance programmes in Asia for small-scale fishers, finalize practical guidelines in support of better access to financial services, and design a capacity building programme for increasing the provision of finance and insurance services to small-scale fisheries. The workshop was attended by 32 experts and was organized by the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) in close collaboration with FAO. The insurance and credit guidelines prepared will facilitate the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Poverty Eradication and Food Security (SSF Guidelines), as well as contribute towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14. Access to finance and insurance services will enable the small-scale fishers to invest in more responsible fishing operations and technologies, reduce overfishing, contribute to fisheries management and implement climate change adaptation measures. The micro-finance, credit and insurance guidelines for small-scale fisheries have been endorsed by APRACA members in June 2019, and implementation throughout the Asian region is promoted.

This policy brief summarizes the findings of surveys among financial and insurance providers, fishers and fisherfolk organizations in the Philippines in 2021. It explains why financial services are important for small-scale fishers (SSF) and provides recommendations for improving their access to finance and insurance. SSF make an important contribution to food security and the rural economy. The average income of most SSF is below the poverty line of USD 2 500/year. For economic growth and sustainable fishing operations SSF need access to financial and insurance services. Less than 50 percent of the SSF have access to financial services. Only 30 percent of SSF have a savings account at a bank. Many financial and insurance service providers in the Philippines are willing to provide their services to SSF. However, financial institutions find it hard to supply credit to SSF, because of the seasonality of the fishing business, lack of insurance of fishing vessels, and limited technical knowledge about fisheries within their institutions. Digital finance tools are required to deliver credit more efficiently to SSF. Fisheries organizations and financial institutions have a joint interest to increase financial literacy, and enhance business planning and record keeping skills of SSF.

The Asia Regional Workshop on SDG 14.b and Its Associated Indicator 14.b.1 was organized to: (i) Raise awareness about SDG 14.b and the proposed indicator 14.b.1; (ii) Explore the indicator methodology and related issues on data and information sources, analysis, reporting and validation; this included the use of the e-learning platform specifically created for this proposed indicator; (iii) Share experiences and lessons learned regarding the reporting and validation process and identify reasons for non-reporting and non-validation; and (iv) Identify capacity development needs in relation to reporting and validation on SDG 14.b. The workshop was attended by approximately 60 participants from countries in South and Southeast Asia, invited panellists and FAO officers from Bangkok and Rome. Participating countries constituted Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (the), Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines (the), Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam.

This circular summarizes the findings of an FAO assessment of legal frameworks in five Caribbean countries (Barbados, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago) in terms of entry points for introducing fishing vessel insurance. It also contains an overview of international conventions governing marine insurance and examples of mandatory fishing vessel insurance legislation from selected countries. The origins of compulsory third party liability insurance in the maritime industry and its introduction in international instruments (e.g. the Bunkers Convention, the Wreck Removal Convention, and the EU Directive 2009/20/EC) are discussed. The benefits of introducing compulsory third party liability insurance for everyone involved in the fisheries industry (claimants, shipowners, and society in general) in line with those in the merchant shipping industry are presented. Model regulations to facilitate introduction of compulsory third party liability insurance for fishing vessels are provided, as well as information to support fishers’ awareness raising and capacity building on this subject. This circular also contains the proceedings of a Stakeholder Meeting on Fisheries Insurance Legislative Frameworks for the Caribbean, held on 15 November 2019 in Barbados, where the assessment findings, best-practices and model regulations were presented. The circular makes a case for introduction of compulsory third party liability insurance for fishing vessels in the Caribbean, and claims that such insurance contributes to improving the working conditions of fishers, their safety and to responsible fishing practices.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) works towards ending hunger and poverty while using precious natural resources sustainably. The fisheries and aquaculture sector makes substantial contributions to food security, livelihoods and global trade. Global production of fish and other aquatic animals continued to grow and reached 179 million tonnes in 2018, and about 59.5 million people were engaged in the primary sector of capture fisheries and aquaculture. Fishery net exports generate significantly more revenue for developing countries than other agricultural commodities such as rice, coffee and tea. Millions of people are struggling to maintain reasonable livelihoods through the fisheries and aquaculture sector. These are the people who are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Climate change adds to the many threats and obstacles that already confront them in their day-to-day lives. Particular attention must be given to the most vulnerable if the sector is to continue to contribute to meeting global goals of poverty reduction and food security. This publication presents FAO’s work on climate change and fisheries and aquaculture. It includes examples of FAO’s support to countries so that they are better able to adapt to the impact of climate change in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. It also brings together FAO’s most up-to-date knowledge on climate change, including a portfolio of adaptation tools and measures used to support countries’ climate commitments and action plans.

These Guidelines for increasing access of small-scale fisheries to credit and microfinance services in Asia have been developed to support the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). The purpose of these guidelines is fourfold, i.e. to: • Increase awareness about the financial service needs of small-scale fishers (SSF) for more sustainable and inclusive access to finance; • Guide policy and decision makers in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere, to help introduce and incentivize financial services to small-scale fishers, with the ultimate objective to encourage investment in the industry and by doing so influence and strengthen sustainability, ecological and economic viability of these fisheries; • Build capacity among financial service providers, fisherfolk organizations, NGOs, and concerned government agencies, to design and implement financial service products and programmes that suit the needs of small-scale fishing communities and enhance social protection; and • Promote financial services that incentivize and reward a responsible and sustainable conduct of fishing, fish processing and marketing operations. The document commences by laying out the background and context, purpose and target audience of these Guidelines. It describes why microfinance and credit are important for small scale fisheries and why many small-scale fishers are not currently financed, which includes a discussion of risks. The Guidelines suggest entry and leverage points for actors interested in supporting the access of financial services for SSFs and compares agriculture (smallholders) and SSF business characteristics. The Guidelines identify a range of actors involved in finance of SSF, which include supply side, demand side, multifunction and enabling environment actors. It elaborates on the likely roles and activities of each category of actor, as well as their incentives and constraints in the provision or receipt of finance. The Guidelines describe some key good practices in the provision of microfinance and credit to SSFs and delves into some detail on the market, main activities and possible products, the role of product design, policies and procedures, marketing and promotion, risk assessment and credit analysis, delivery channels, loan monitoring and repayment elements and the need for product pricing to contribute to institutional sustainability. Finally, the Guidelines provide advice to second tier investors, including guidance on the use of smart subsidies, and when concessionary loan funds may be preferable to loan guarantees.

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) make an important contribution to nutrition, food security, sustainable livelihoods, and poverty alleviation in the Philippines. The Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) with support from the Asia and Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) and FAO implemented a project from 2020 to 2021 to analyse and improve the availability of financial services to SSF in the Philippines. This circular describes the steps taken by the project implementing agencies and partners in the development of a credit and insurance programme for small-scale fisheries. The document summarizes the project’s achievements and includes information about its outputs, such as training materials, a list of stakeholders and the established network. The project identified the main stakeholders involved in the financial service provision to SSF. The team then surveyed and analysed the current supply of financial and insurance services as well as the demand for such services by fishers and fisherfolk organizations. Based on the survey results, ACPC developed training materials, which follow a train-the-trainer approach. Trainings were conducted in November 2021 for representatives from government organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), financial institutions (both public, private and microfinance institutions) and fisherfolk organizations. The trainings covered business development services for the SSF and the processes used by financial institutions to supply financial services to SSF. ACPC and APRACA established a network of stakeholders interested in exchanging experiences and increasing financial service provision to SSF. The PhilNet SSF network was launched on 29 November 2021. Eighteen institutions participated in 2021 in the network, demonstrating a wide interest in engaging on the subject. Several financial sector stakeholders involved in the project have made efforts to increase their financial services provision to SSF. The project laid the groundwork for further improving financial and insurance services provision to SSF in the Philippines.

This report aims to accelerate climate change adaptation implementation in fisheries management throughout the world. It showcases how flexibility can be introduced in the fisheries management cycle in order to foster adaptation, strengthen the resilience of fisheries, reduce their vulnerability to climate change, and enable managers to respond in a timely manner to the projected changes in the dynamics of marine resources and ecosystems. The publication includes a set of good practices for climate-adaptive fisheries management that have proven their effectiveness and can be adapted to different contexts, providing a range of options for stakeholders including the fishing industry, fishery managers, policymakers and others involved in decision-making. These good practices were linked to one or more of the three common climate-related impacts on fisheries resources: distributional change; productivity change; and species composition change. Therefore, these three impacts can serve as practical entry points to guide decision-makers in identifying good practice adaptation measures suitable for their local contexts. These good practices are based upon transferable experiences and lessons learned from the thirteen case studies across the globe and hopefully will contribute to greater uptake and implementation of climate-adaptive fisheries management measures on the ground.

The aim of this report is to present evidence towards how Information and Communication Technologies for Small-scale Fisheries (ICT4SSF) might enable and support the implementation of the FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). We present case studies of ICT4SSF initiatives in different use areas to identify key themes and reflect on successes and failures. There are very few baselines against which to compare fisher wellbeing and access before and after ICT initiatives, and this gap is an important finding in this report. Thus far, success has only been assessed qualitatively and relatively, in terms of uptake, sustainability and local legitimacy. Still, some ICT4SSF initiatives presented in this document are closely aligned with the Principles for Digital Development and the objectives of the SSF Guidelines. These initiatives highlighted that when ICTs are locally led or developed, or co-designed with end users and marginalised groups, or strengthened already existing networks and technologies, the potential for positive impact is much higher. However, there is much less evidence of proactive confrontation of inequality through data ownership. Further, there are very few examples of developing mechanisms for fishers and fish workers to hold, access or own their data, or legal mechanisms to recognise their ownership, or protect them against misuse or manipulation.