
Launching conference of the Coastal Fisheries Initiative - Challenge Fund Ecuador project
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On the April 22, 2021, was held the launching conference of the Coastal Fisheries Initiative - Challenge Fund Ecuador (CFI-CF Ecuador) project virtually and in person. It was attended by seventy-nine people from different sectors, including: NGOs, government, fisheries, trade and tourism, academia, finance, food service as well as agriculture. Sixty-six people attended virtually and thirteen in person at Arcotel's facilities on Santa Cruz Island. Of the attendees, forty were men, thirty-three women and four people who identified themselves by institutional name.
During the event, we had presentations by Juan Carlos Álvarez, resident representative in Ecuador of the World Bank Group (WB), Fabián Carrillo, Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, Norman Wray, Minister President of the Galapagos Government Council, Executive Director of the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) and Willem Ferwerda, CEO of the Commonland Foundation. Presentations on the CFI-CF project were also made by Gabriela Encalada, WB representative, and Jorge Ramirez of the CDF. The consortium's facilitation team conducted activities to learn participants' expectations and impressions of the project.
Jaime Asencio Jr., an artisanal fisherman from the Pelican Bay Shipowners' Association, says that this project benefits his activity and highlights the importance of being advised by the conservation sector of Galapagos to keep the islands preserved.
This project seeks to identify a more sustainable vision for the seafood system in Galapagos that is competitive and economically viable based on local production. It is financed by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the World Bank with technical support from a consortium made up of CDF, Conservation International Ecuador, Presencing Institute and Commonland.