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In the context of the on-going national reform of the fisheries law framework, the Environmental Justice Foundation, Hen Mpoano and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization organised a roundtable to address the challenges faced by Ghana's small-scale fisheries sector. The report summarises the discussions on how the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security in Ghana will help promote and maintain responsible governance of tenure of fisheries resources.

This report focuses on one particular result from climate change – the negative impact on food security and how this factor contributed to the desperation and anger that manifested itself against the Al-Assad regime in Syria.

The Syrian war has resulted in more than 470,000 deaths. 6.6 million people have been internally displaced and nearly five million people are residing in camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon as well as an estimated 1.2 million seeking refuge in Europe.

Whilst the war was not solely a result of climate change, the intertwining effects of drought, rural to urban migration, and the increasing unrest due to a lack of government measures to avoid water scarcity, unemployment and growing inequality, are clear.

Ghana is currently undergoing a review of its national fisheries law framework, and small-scale fishers, fish traders and processors – represented by the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council and the National Fish Processors and Traders Association – presented a ten-point communiqué to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.

More than 200 villages along Ghana’s coastline rely on fisheries as their primary source of income. However, Ghana's small pelagic fishery, crucial for food security and livelihoods, is on the brink of collapse following decades of over-exploitation. The illegal practice of 'saiko' fishing - the transhipment of fish at sea from industrial trawlers to local canoes - has had a particularly destructive impact on Ghana’s small pelagic fisheries. This briefing looks at the scale of the practice and its impacts on livelihoods, food security and sustainability.

A new international agreement on migration – the UN Global Compact on Migration – is set to be adopted in autumn 2018. It covers a range of issues, from the drivers of migration to access to social services, and offers a chance to improve the governance of migration. However, as a soft-power tool that does not place any binding obligations on states, it cannot replace the unambiguous, legally binding agreement to protect climate refugees that EJF is calling for.