IIED at the PROBLUE 3rd Global Engagement Forum 2026
Together with the World Bank and Stanford Centre for Ocean Solutions, IIED is co-convening the third PROBLUE Global Engagement Forum, taking place prior to the 11th Our Ocean Conference.
Fishing community in Ghana (Wietse Jongsma on Unsplash)
Small-scale fisheries play a crucial role in global food security, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. They account for more than 90% of the world's capture fishers and fish workers, contribute at least 40% of the global fish catch, and support the livelihoods of around 500 million people worldwide.
Yet despite their importance, small-scale fisheries face numerous challenges, ranging from the overexploitation of fisheries resources and climate change to exclusion from the very decisions that shape their future.
Global commitments and practical tools exist to support sustainable small-scale fisheries, but progress on implementation is uneven and untapped opportunities to improve small-scale fisheries remain.
The third PROBLUE Global Engagement Forum (PGEF), organised by the World Bank in partnership with the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions and IIED in Mombasa,
Kenya, will bring together representatives from small-scale fishing communities, governments, inter-governmental organisations, non-governmental and civil society organisations, academia and donor institutions.
The invitation-only event will examine how development partners and the international community can better support sustainable small-scale fisheries.
Together, participants at the PGEF will:
- Elevate community voices – providing small-scale fisheries representatives with a dedicated space to share knowledge, surface good practices and propose how to co-develop solutions
- Advance inclusive fisheries governance – promoting participatory, multi-dimensional management approaches aligned with global commitments, and
- Drive meaningful action – translating dialogue into actions that protect both people and ocean ecosystems.
Contact
Annabelle Bladon ([email protected]), senior researcher in IIED’s Shaping Sustainable Markets research group
