National Workshop on Environmental and Socioeconomic Monitoring for Stakeholders Awareness and Outreach in Djibouti

The workshop was organised in collaboration between Djiboutian Ministry of Housing, Urbanism and Environment “MHUE” and the Regional Organization for Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden “PERSGA” This National Workshop on "Environmental and Socioeconomic Monitoring for Stakeholders Awareness and outreach in Djibouti" took place at the People's Palace in the city of Djibouti on Sunday, November 15th 2015 under the patronage of His Excellency the Secretary General of MHUE. It comes in the framework of the implementation of component 3 of the SEM project. The workshop was attended by about 40 participants representing different stakeholders in Djibouti.

The workshop provided an effective opportunity for discussions and exchange of views shed the light on the status, difficulties and challenges that the Djiboutian fishermen face, also to discuss the proposed mechanisms to develop solutions for these issues.

The workshop came out with a number of recommendations:

  • prevent dredging by foreign ships
  • stakeholder shall participate in the process of developing fisheries legislations
  • appropriate solutions must be developed for the following issues and challenges that the fishermen face in Djibouti
  • fishing for fun by tourists depriving the Djiboutian fishermen from utilizing these resources
  • overfishing of sea cucumbers at night
  • fishing of juveniles by diving, causing damage to the habitat (coral)
  • the use of fish nets without restrictions
  • the export of fisheries and coral, fishermen have information
  • a phosphate export terminal is being constructed at the port of Djibouti which will increase the risk of ballast water
  • promotion of the communication among the relevant authorities - the Coast Guard, Maritime Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Environment