The Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) programme is a regional initiative funded by the European Union (EU) and Sweden to support the sustainable management and development of fisheries for food security and economic growth in the Pacific.
Working in 15 Pacific Island Countries*, the programme is addressing critical issues such as the increasing depletion of coastal fisheries resources; threats to marine biodiversity, including the negative impacts of climate change and natural disasters (SDG 13 Climate Action) ; the uneven contribution of oceanic fisheries to national economic development (SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth); improved education and training (SDG 13 Climate Action) and mainstreaming a gender and human rights-based approach in the fisheries sector (SDG 5 Gender Equality and SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities).
The PEUMP programme promotes the sustainable management of marine resources** (SDG14) through a holistic and multi-sectoral approach contributing to social, economic and environmental development in the Pacific region with a focus on biodiversity protection. PEUMP also promotes equitable benefits for all Pacific countries whilst recognising their diversity of resources, needs, challenges and opportunities.
Several key Pacific regional agencies are partnering-up to implement the PEUMP programme (SDG17). The Pacific Community (SPC), the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the University of the South Pacific (USP) are working together and in close collaboration with national authorities and Non-Government Organisations such as the Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Network, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Pacific Islands Tuna Industry Association (PITIA) to address countries’ needs and expectations.
Putting People First
Applying a gender, social inclusion lens and using a human rights-based approach is key for all PEUMP implementing agencies across their programming. In response to SDG 10, partners are trained to act sensitively, identify opportunities to tackle poverty reduction, ensure an inclusive and fair share of benefits that leave no one behind, while supporting countries on the ground to strengthen the social dimension of their work. This is achieved through increased national gender and fisheries analysis, training at regional/national/communal levels, capacity building of key stakeholders, awareness activities, collection of sex-disaggregated data or targeted support of specific fisheries sectors that bear the potential of benefiting all for a prosperous and inclusive blue economy in the Pacific that puts people first.
PEUMP is working towards SDG5 in the fisheries context by ensuring that sex-disaggregated data is collected across the programme, promoting women in marine science and research, empowering more women to participate in coastal fisheries management decision-making and creating more equal and decent employment opportunities in the tuna industry.
More gender and fisheries analysis is being conducted to inform policy and programming while also highlighting women’s roles towards food security along the food supply chains.
*Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu
**SDGs – The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals