Partnership Dialogue 5 addresses two distinct but interrelated targets of SDG 14: increasing the economic benefits to small island developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism (14.7); and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets (14.b). A discussion on these topics must include consideration of a range of linked but distinct issues. Oceans provide a wide array of benefits to LDCs and SIDS including—but not limited to—small-scale, artisanal fisheries. Likewise, small-scale artisanal fishers are a fundamental part of SIDS and coastal LDC societies, but they can also be found in developed and other developing countries.1 Estimates suggest that workers involved in small-scale fisheries comprise over 90 percent of people employed globally in capture fisheries and related activities, and produce approximately half of the global catch.
An effective examination of these issues will require a holistic, integrated approach that takes into account not only the diversity inherent in the topics but also the close links to other SDGs. The unifying theme is livelihoods—primarily from fishing but also from aquaculture, tourism and other ecosystem services. The livelihoods focus of the dialogue means that the discussion can be informed by other SDGs, in particular SDG 1 (eradicate poverty), SDG 2 (end hunger), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production), and SDG 13 (combat climate change). There are also close links to the other targets of SDG 14.
