the evolution of nutrition-sensitivity in fao fisheries frameworks: looking back and looking forward
TRANSCRIPT
The evolution of nutrition-sensitivity in FAOfisheries frameworks:
looking back and looking forwardSimon Funge-Smith, Senior Fishery Officer, FAO
Where did it start? League of Nations
1919 League of Nations established - forerunner ofthe UN
Concerns over global food security
1936 Mixed Committee on the problem of nutrition,second session, June 4th, 1936
• Physiological basis of nutrition• Nutrition in various countries
• Statistics of food production, consumptionand prices• Recognized value of fish in nutrition• Did not recognize fish as key food group item to
track in global statistics
FAO established following WWII
FAO established to tackle threat of post war global food insecurity
Indo-Pacific Fishery Council established• In “ recognition of the importance of fish to food
security (in Asia)”
Start of FAO global fishery dataset• FAO Statistics focus on national and global
production
• Increasing production = more food for everyone
• Fish’s role in the national food security accountconsidered of minor importance (except for PacificSIDS)
1945
1948
1950
1965 FAO establishes its Committee on Fisheries• Addressed international transboundary fisheries
• Resource assessment, intensification of production
Global food/fuel crisis; cod stock collapse
Fishery intensification = fish as a nationaleconomic asset
• Efficient harvesting, maximizing catch of targetspecies
• Not nutritional value and access
Artisanal fisheries (already recognised in Asia)• Tendency to overlook social & food security value of
small-scale fisheries
• Seen as subsistence, non-commercial
• Little contribution to GDP = low monitoring priority
FAO and Fish
1970
Change in thinking about food security andnutrition
World Food Conference - effort to understand globalfood insecurity
• Focus on global accounts of agricultural food production• Food security = a country having enough affordable food
nationally• Emphasis on dietary energy availability• Fish = recognized as high quality food, but valued more as
a commodity
1981 • Food security reintroduces the issue of access• Hunger and famine is not addressed by more food, but
improved distribution, social and economic rights• Sen, Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlements and
Deprivation
• Focus on balanced nutrition• Sufficient calories sufficient healthy diet
1974
More holistic way of looking at foodsecurity and production systems
FAO Fisheries research begins cataloguing impacts• Management concepts for small-scale fisheries:
economic and social aspects
• Recognizes failure of single-stock models in complexfisheries
FAO/WHO International Conference on Nutrition• Attempt to link health and nutrition
Fishery management paradigm starts to shift• Efficient harvesting of a target stock
use system
• Need to consider impacts on non-target species,habitats, fishery segments, other interactions
sustainable
1982
1992
Development of global norms
UN Conference on Environment and Development• Putting environment first• Ecosystem approaches emerge
FAO/WHO “International Conference on Nutrition”, Rome• Defines food security = access to safe and nutritious food• Encouraged research in role of micronutrients in …fish
FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries• Highlighted relationship between fisheries and food security
Kyoto Declaration on the Sustainable Contribution ofFisheries to Food Security
• Emphasized importance of fisheries as a global food source• Principles of sustainable development of fishery resources
related to maintaining food security & nutrition• “Enhance public awareness of the nutritional and health
values of fish and fishery products”
1992
1995
Ecosystem approach to fisheries, small-scale fisheries (SSF), & nutrition
FAO members endorse “ecosystem approach”• “take into account the dependence of artisanal and small-
scale fishing communities on fishing for their life, livelihoods and food security”
• Doesn’t mention nutrition
“Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security”
• notes nutritional qualities of fish and particular role of fish innutritional aspects of food security
• underlines importance of SSF for the world fish supply as half of all fish caught for human consumption comes from SSF
“Human dimension of ecosystem approach to fisheries”• “link biological resources data with that of poverty and
nutrition”
2003
2005
2008
Growing number of valuation studies
2004 WorldFish studies recognize globalimportance of tropical inlandfisheries
2009 “Sunken Billions” economic value of lost rent from marine overfishing
2010 Other marine fisheries valuations• Driven by broader issue of
sustainability and environment• Less emphasis on SSF• Little or no focus on nutrition aspect
Rio+20 “The Future We Want”
2012 Recognized need to address healthyecosystems – link to nutrition
“..stress the crucial role of healthy marineecosystems, sustainable fisheries andsustainable aquaculture for food securityand nutrition and in providing for thelivelihoods of millions of people.”
….but where are inland fisheries?!
• We don’t see it in national aggregatedaccounts
• Some of the poorest countries inthe world are themost dependent upon inland fish
They are here….inland fisheries feed a huge number of rural people
Per capita freshwater fish availability>2kg/capita/year
Low Income Food Deficit Countries (dark blue)Landlocked countries (medium blue)
Recognition of small-scale fisheries andtheir importance to food security andnutrition
FAO/WorldFish/WB Hidden HarvestsDemonstrates importance of small-scale fisheries
FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty EradicationExplicit recognition of the food security andnutrition aspects of fisheries“increase awareness of the nutritional benefits ofeating fish”
2012
2015
Downscaling - moving beyond nationalaccounts
Large sub-national/demographic variation in fishin nutrition
• Aggregated national accounts provide weak basis for policy
Tools used to track human health, diets andwealth tend to be blind to fish
• Over-focus on terrestrial food production(agriculture) and farmed protein sources (livestock)
~2005 onwards FAO promotes routine inclusionof fish in global Agricultural Census
Starting to question role of fish in nutrition
• Adding human well-being into the management offisheries requires a deeper understanding of valueand purpose of fish production systems:• What is the role of a particular sub-sector?
• Who gets the fish?
• Where is the economic benefit going?
• Does this reach across the country, or become focused within dependent communities?
• Is there hidden fish consumption we don’t know about?
• Greater recognition of SSF and their role in nutrition and food security amongst coastal and rural poor populations
Looking forward
Powerful research tools becomingaccessible..• More nuanced questions can be informed by merging and
integrating different datasets• Fisheries data can give landings and species• Household consumption surveys indicate importance of fish in
diets
• Household economic and consumption surveys provide geographic and wealth disaggregated information on food in the home• may or may not include fish
• GIS mapping , remote sensing• populations, water, aquaculture and other spatial data sets
• Case studies and research provides sub-samples onspecific groups
Where next?
Improve and normalize message of fish’s role indiets, livelihoods etc.
Develop evidence base to reinforce role and valuefish in international/national (agricultural) development
• Update of Hidden Harvest• Using global databases on fish/ food consumption,• Nutrient contribution from fish in relation to other
animal-source foods
Session on Fish and Nutrition IUNS-ICN , Tokyo,2021
Develop a fish element “Nutrition-sensitive fish agri-food systems” for toolkit on “Nutrition-sensitiveAgriculture”