The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has funded a second cohort of 10 ocean innovators with the hop of bringing economic benefits to small-island developing states and least-developed countries.
UNDP’s Ocean Innovation Challenge is part of UNDP’s Ocean Promise to deliver at least 100 ocean innovations by 2030. OIC provides up to USD 250,000 (EUR 250,000) over two years to develop innovative solutions that are transformational, scalable, and replicable. Projects are chosen based on their potential tap into new technologies and approaches to end overfishing and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, contributing to the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal 14.
According to a report produced at the 2022 U.N. Ocean Conference, there are around 60 million people employed part- or full -time in small-scale fisheries, with around 21 percent being women. Around 600 million livelihoods rely on fisheries and aquaculture, showing “a significant need for innovations to improve fisheries management and enforcements of strict compliance to sustainability.”
In recognition of the significant role of small-scale fisheries, fish farmers, and the seafood sector, 2022 was declared by the United National General Assembly, the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture.
“Small-scale fishers don’t have the latest technology, much-needed finance, and access to international markets. UNDP aims to address this gap by identifying innovative approaches to ocean restoration and protection – helping to boost livelihoods and advance the blue economy,” U.N. Assistant Secretary General Haoliang Xu, the director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Program Support, said in a statement.