R i s k , t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d s e c u r i t y Technical co-operation is also important, as exemplified in the ‘sharp end’ partnership, and also in the University of West Indies – Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (UWICERMES) partnership with the regional NGO Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) in promoting exchanges between fisherfolk through the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations. Empowerment of fisher communities needs to be supported on a regional, national and international basis. Finally, as changing human behaviour is key to developing the blue economy, we should not forget the cultural significance of the ocean, and fishing, for SIDS. To this end, the Commonwealth Association of Museums is developing a travelling exhibition ‘fish, fishing and fishing-dependent communities’ to raise awareness of the blue economy at local community level. The emphasis on partnerships in implementation of the pathway, and the diminishing resource available to the official Commonwealth, leaves Commonwealth organisations and civil society with a critical role to play in promoting the blue economy. This will require strengthening of Commonwealth organisations and improving their participation in Commonwealth decisionmaking through new arrangements in the Secretary-General’s office.4 Endnotes 1 See www.un.org/en/events/islands2014/index.shtml#&panel1-1. 2 There are 45 states in the Caribbean, 37 of which are SIDS. 3 Official Commonwealth activities at the SIDS 2014 are available online at http://thecommonwealth.org/sids2014 Accessed 16 February 2015; and the input to the First Prepcom at www.sids2014.org/content/documents/20Submission%20by%20 the%20Commonwealth%20Secretariat%20to%20the%20First %20PrepCom%20for%20the.pdf Accessed 16 February 2015. 4 Commonwealth organisations are no longer eligible for core funding from the Commonwealth Foundation, and alongside NGOs are, in many Commonwealth SIDS, ineligible for foundation grants (six out of 12 countries in the Caribbean, and seven out of nine in the Pacific). Additional Sponsors Caribbean Studies Association, Environment and Sustainability Strand Commonwealth Association of Museums Samoa Umbrella for Non-Governmental Organisations University of the West Indies, Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2014/15 130 DR NICHOLAS WATTS is education adviser and fisheries programme co-ordinator for the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC) and visiting fellow at the Environmental Policy Research Centre, Freie Universität Berlin, and at the Centre for Comparative and International Research in Education, Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol. DR NEVILLE TROTZ is science advisor and deputy director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (5Cs). MILTON HAUGHTON is director of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM). JANET STRACHAN is adviser and head of Climate Finance of Small States Section, Economic Policy Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat. TERRA SPRAGUE is co-ordinator of the Sharp End Partnership, University of Bristol Research Centre for Comparative and International Research in Education. PROFESSOR ELISABETH HOLLAND is director of the University of the South Pacific – Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PACE-SD). JEAN-PAUL ADAM is Minister of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy, Seychelles, and previously held the position of Foreign Minister from 2010–2015.
CEP template 2012
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