FAO and the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation partner to strengthen the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in the region
©FAO/Harsha Vadlamani
The Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) signed a Letter of Agreement to host a regional capacity-building workshop in September 2025 to support the development of National Plans of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries (NPOAs-SSF) in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.
Part of FAO’s ongoing efforts to promote the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), the workshop will bring together government officials, small-scale fisheries representatives, academia, and civil society. The goal is to build technical capacity and strengthen participatory policy processes.
The training will follow FAO’s structured NPOA-SSF development process and focus on the SSF Guidelines’ five key thematic areas: governance of tenure and resource management; social development, employment and decent work; value chains, post-harvest and trade; gender equality; and disaster risks and climate change.
The workshop will include presentations and discussions on legal and policy diagnostics currently under review by BOBP-IGO, training on participatory planning approaches, and small-scale fisheries profiling using data and methodologies from the Illuminating Hidden Harvests (IHH) study, tailored to the Bay of Bengal context. The workshop also aims to increase national-level action through the co-development of high-level roadmaps for NPOA-SSF development.
The initiative builds on the momentum generated by the High-Level Meeting on Mainstreaming the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries in Small-Scale Fisheries, held in the Maldives in February 2025, which endorsed the need for national plans of actions for small-scale fisheries and regional cooperation under the BOBLME project. This was also one of the next steps agreed at the Regional small-scale fisheries (SSF) workshop in Asia, held at Bangkok in March 2025.
Advancing commitment at UNOC
On 12 June 2025, FAO joined the Government of Maldives and other partners at a UN Ocean Conference side event, “Delivering Sustainable and Equitable Ocean Governance: Multi-Stakeholder Approaches to Small-Scale Fisheries and Marine Protected Areas”, to highlight national and regional efforts to strengthen governance for small-scale fisheries (SSF).
During the event, Dr. Manuel Barange, Assistant Director-General and Director of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, reiterated FAO’s commitment to supporting countries in applying the SSF Guidelines. He emphasized the importance of inclusive national policy frameworks and highlighted the National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries (NPOA-SSF) as a key tool for implementation. “FAO is working closely with countries and partners to provide technical guidance, capacity building, and knowledge sharing to support NPOA-SSF development,” he said.
On social media, BOBP-IGO reaffirmed its commitment to supporting countries in developing NPOAs-SSF through inclusive and informed dialogue, noting that “this is a key step towards empowering small-scale fisheries communities and enhancing governance structures”
The collaboration between FAO and BOBP-IGO marks a significant step forward in advancing equitable governance and improving the livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities in the region.
Learn more: