Striving to mainstream and integrate gender in small-scale fisheries of Southeast Asia: SEAFDEC initiatives on gender through the years

Abstract

The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Canter (SEAFDEC) is an autonomous inter-governmental body established in 1967 with the vision of “Sustainable management and development of fisheries and aquaculture to contribute to food security, poverty alleviation and livelihood of people in the Southeast Asian region.” Moreover, SEAFDEC is supporting the ASEAN Member States (AMSs) to implement the Resolution and Plan of Action on Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security for the ASEAN Region Towards 2030 (RES&POA-2030) (SEAFDEC, 2020b), which serves as a policy framework and includes priority actions to support the sustainable development of fisheries and enhancing the contribution of fisheries to food security and better livelihood of people in the region. The RES&POA-2030 recognizes the importance of and addresses the cross-cutting issues in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, including small-scale fisheries, labor in fisheries, safety at sea, and gender equality. Focusing on gender, women’s roles are not well recognized particularly in the small-scale fisheries sector of the Southeast Asian region. In this regard, SEAFDEC strived in the development and implementation of programs, projects, and activities that engage both women and men in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation processes.