Tag Archives: southeast asia

Essential new tool for projects: Mainstreaming gender into project cycle management in the fisheries sector

New from the Spain-FAO-RFLP!

Women play a significant role in fisheries, yet lack of attention to gender roles and relations can result in policies or programmes failing to improve livelihoods or reduce vulnerability of fishing communities. The largely ‘invisible’ role of women in small-scale fisheries must be addressed if actions aimed at improving the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and their families are to be successful.

‘As part of its efforts to promote gender equity to improve fisheries livelihoods, the Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia (RFLP) which is funded by Spain and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN has developed a field handbook that gives guidance on taking gender into account in all phases of small-scale fisheries development projects.

The handbook provides:

  • An overview of the rationale, concepts and approaches concerning mainstreaming gender equality in development cooperation;
  • An overview of the role of women in the fisheries sector, the problems they face and possible empowerment opportunities;
  • Tools for gender analysis in fisheries development projects and guidance on how to integrate gender aspects at various stages in the project cycle.

‘To download the handbook or to browse a magazine-style electronic version please visit gender mainstreaming manual

The RFLP would love to receive your feedback or comments on the new handbook. Please visit the above link to make contact.

RFLP News: Gender mainstreaming, women’s activities

Vietnam fish market. Photo: RFLP

In the FAO-Spain Regional Fisheries Livelihood Program for South and Southeast Asia, the August Newsletter (download newsletter) contains several stories that highlight support for fishing community development, with strong participation by women.

Gender (p. 6):  Mainstreaming gender in fisheries in the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam

Post Harvest (p.5):

–  Timor Leste fishers to form National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives

–  Meet the champions! Products offering best value potential picked in the Philippines

–  Over 900 Cambodian fishers and vendors trained in hygienic fish processing

Microfinance (p 6): Financial literacy training for fishers

RFLP August 2011 Newsletter

Mainstreaming

The FAO Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia has a very active gender component and has now uploaded some great material on its website (http://www.rflp.org/gender). I particularly liked the report from their November 2010 Siem Reap “Workshop on Best Practices for Gender Mainstreaming in the Fisheries Sector”. It is full of clear and thoughtful material on practices in the field, project insights, explanations of older and new concepts (including reproducing a very useful  table on the differences between ‘women in development’ and ‘gender and development’).

 

FAO-Spain Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Program for S and SEA takes serious look at gender

Great to see a large fisheries project take gender matters very seriously. The FAO RFLP for South and Southeast Asia held a four-day workshop in November 2010 to go into depth on gender and womens issues in fisheries. A short press release is available and I have been told that the report of the workshop and handbook on gender mainstreaming will be available on the website when finalized. Genderaquafish will keep you informed of its release.