Final evaluation of the Sustainable Oceans Project

In 2017, Sida approached the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) and asked if they could develop a project that filled the human rights gap in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 “Life below water”. DIHR took the challenge, and selected two sectors: fisheries and aquaculture, and two case countries: Chile and Bangladesh. They developed a Theory of Change saying that if they could document human rights impacts in fisheries and aquaculture and convene multi-stakeholder dialogues, and if they could provide adequate tools and practices, then human rights impacts would be addressed in selected national and global dialogues, policies and strategies for sustainable development and responsible business. 

This evaluation has found that the Sustainable Oceans project has done what it set out to do, and reached its expected goals. Human rights impacts in fisheries and aquaculture have been documented in Chile, Bangladesh, Honduras, Ghana and a number of other places. Dialogues have been convened between key actors within human rights, governments, the United Nations (UN), fisheries management, environmental and natural resource management, coastal authorities, industry, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, trade unions and organisations at local, national, regional and global level. The Sustainable Oceans project has made useful sector-relevant resources and tools.