Annual report 2000

Tumi Tómasson, programme director

Background

The UNU/FTP was established in Iceland in June 1997 following the signing of an agreement between the UNU, the Icelandic Government and the Marine Research Institute (MRI) in Iceland. A programme director was appointed in January 1998 and the first fellows arrived in August 1998. The programme covers diverse disciplines within fisheries, and is carried out as a cooperative venture of four institutions in Iceland, including the Icelandic Fisheries Laboratories, The University of Iceland in Reykjavik and the University of Akureyri in northern Iceland, under the leadership role of the MRI. The UNU/ FTP has a board of directors with the director of the MRI serving as the chairman. Apart from the formal cooperative institutions, the fishing industry in Iceland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UNU itself are also represented on the board. The UNU/FTP thus has strong links to the whole spectrum of the fisheries sector in Iceland, such as government institutions, academic establishments and fisheries companies, as well as direct ties to the UNU itself.

The programme is intended for professional people in various areas of fisheries from the LDC's. Participants and they must have at least a first university degree or equivalent and at least one year of work experience. They are to return to their work after the training, which is viewed as an in-service experience. The programme consists of two distinct parts, a common seven-week introductory course, followed by specialist training. Specialist training is to be offered in seven different fields and is made up of a four to five week specialist course followed by project work and where appropriate, on-the-job training. A total of fifteen full fellowships were available for the 1998-99 biennium and twenty-three for the 2000-2001 biennium.

The main emphasis of the work so far has been

• curriculum development
• forging links with partners in developing countries
• enhancing the profile of the UNU/FTP internationally

The programme is being built up gradually and we view the first five years as a developmental phase. The first programme ran from August 1998 to February 1999. The main emphasis was on specialisation in Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processing (four out of six participants). In 1999 the intake was in June when nine fellows arrived in Iceland. A major specialisation in Fisheries Policy and Planning was added (four fellows), and we also had two fellows specialising in Fishing Gear Technology. A studies committee with experts in each of the seven specialist fields that are/will be developed within the programme works on curriculum development and related issues under the direction of the programme director.

This year the programme started again in mid-August and will finish in mid-February 2001. This is the period we have found to be most suitable for the programme in Iceland.

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Main activities in 2000

The board met four times during the year and the studies committee has held several meetings, either the full committee or parts of it, along with other people specially called in for consultations. The position of a deputy director was increased from 50% to a full post during the latter half of the year.

Curriculum development

This year we are offering a structured specialist course in Marine and Inland Waters, Resource Assessment and Monitoring for the first time. We are also developing a specialisation in Management of Fisheries Companies and Marketing. Two fellows are pioneering this field, one with emphasis on fleet management and the other on management of fish processing companies. Part of their specialist training overlaps with the training in and Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processing respectively. In addition we have done a major revision of the introductory course and the curriculum in Fishing Gear Technology which was offered for the first time in 1999. We expect to offer a specialisation in Aquatic Environmental Sciences in 2001 and are planning to have a common first week with the specialist course on resource assessment. All courses are continually evaluated and revised.

Cooperating countries and the selection of fellows

During the first year all six, and in 1999, six out of nine fellows in the programme came from Africa. Out of the fifteen, three were women. The feasibility study carried out by an international team appointed by the UNU prior to the establishment of the UNU/FTP gave specific guidelines on the selection of fellows but only general comments on the selection of cooperating countries and institutions. Not surprisingly then, there has been much debate within the board of the UNU/FTP on the latter issue, and with the UNU Headquarters. It is important to continue the debate as several countries have expressed a strong interest in the programme, not least because of Iceland's international reputation in fisheries.

One of the strengths of the UNU/FTP is the international character of the Icelandic fisheries. We also want to emphasise the international character of the programme, and while we will continue to follow general UN policy by focussing on Africa, the fellows admitted to the programme will be drawn from a wider geographical area in future. This year seven out of 14 fellows are from sub-Saharan Africa and we have agreed that the proportion of African fellows should not go below 30%. Gender issues have also featured in the discussion and this year six women were admitted to the programme. A summary of the distribution of fellows according to home countries and areas of specialisation is given in Table 1. In the first three years of operation a total of 29 fellows have joined the UNU/FTP in Iceland, including 9 women.

Countries and regions within countries that are dependent on fisheries or have major development potential in fisheries form natural partners for the programme. This year the programme director visited Cuba and two cities on the west coast of Mexico, Guaymaz and Mazatlan that are heavily dependent on fisheries. The deputy director visited Namibia, Angola and Mozambique. In Mozambique he did a survey of training needs of the fisheries sector as part of a development programme supported by the Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA). A person who will play a part in the implementation of the programme was selected for training in the FTP, sponsored by ICEIDA.

Table 1: Fellows in the UNU/FTP in 1998-2000

A member of the studies committee, our expert on the Management of Fisheries Companies and Marketing visited The Gambia and Cape Verde Islands and acquainted himself with the fisheries sector in these countries and interviewed potential candidates. Among those interviewed, two are pioneering the specialist course in this field this year.

Cooperation with international organisations

The FTP has emphasised cooperation with other UN organisations and other international institutions. Our participation in country programmes that are supported by other UN agencies, such as FAO, UNDP or UNESCO can give added value to our input. We therefore try to establish and maintain contacts with the offices of these organisations in cooperating countries. Good contacts have been developed with the headquarters of FAO as well, and in November 1999 we received a visiting lecturer from FAO.

In April the studies committee member expert on Fisheries Policy and Planning received support from the UNU/FTP to run a workshop on the development of the fisheries sector in the Maldives, at the request of the World Bank Institute. We hope this will lead to cooperation in fisheries development projects on the islands, now being contemplated by the WB and other development organisations.

The Third World Fisheries Congress will be held Beijing, China, 31/10-3/11 2000. The congress has the sub-title: Feeding the world with fish in the next millennium: The balance between production and environment. The UNU/FTP is an official sponsor of the congress and the director will give a presentation about the programme at the congress. In addition information about the UNU in general and the UNU/FTP in particular will be given on posters displayed at the congress. A leaflet containing information about the UNU/FTP has been produced and will be distributed.

This year we have had several good visits to the programme. The under Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Nitin Desai visited Iceland and paid a visit to the UNU/FTP. A delegation from Malawi visited to seek support for a second phase of a fisheries development programme in Malawi that has been supported by the WB, the Nordic Development Fund and ICEIDA. In addition we have had officials visit this year from Namibia, Palestine, East Timor, Mozambique, Uganda, Cape Verde and the Philippines. In addition we have had visits from the University of Tromsö, Norway and the North Atlantic Fisheries College in the Shetland Islands.

Conclusion

The current intake is the third since the inception of the programme. The development has been characterised by a gradual increase in the number of participants and areas of specialisation offered. The geographical spread is also increasing. There is a strong demand for the training. The quality of the training and the impact the programme may have will also depend on the number of candidates that come from each country. Admittance of new countries to the programme in the next few years must therefore to some extent be met by an expansion of the programme.