Gender Action Plan (GAP)

Introduction

SEAFDEC adopted Gender Strategy to facilitate gender mainstreaming at all levels of the organization, and serve as an organizational overarching framework to facilitate SEAFDEC’s efforts in integrating gender in its programs, projects, and activities. The SEAFDEC Gender Strategy is also intended to subsequently support the integration of gender perspectives in fisheries and aquaculture in the Member Countries of SEAFDEC.

The SEAFDEC Council also adopted the Resolution on the Future of SEAFDEC, including the Vision, Mission, and Strategies Towards 20305, specifically stating “Strategy 5: Addressing cross-cutting issues, such as labor, gender and climate change, where related to international fisheries.”

Therefore, Blue Horizon: Ocean Relief through Seaweed Aquaculture Project recognizes gender equality and the empowerment of women and youth as essential strategy for achieving its environmental and socioeconomic goals. The project adopts a Gender Action Plan (GAP) that aligns with the GEF Policy and WWF GEF Agency on Gender Equality and is designed to ensure equal participation, benefit sharing, and decision-making power for women, men, and youth in seaweed aquaculture value chains in the Philippines and Viet Nam.

Women play key roles in seaweed cultivation, processing, and household management but face constraints in access to resources, technology, training, and decision-making. Young people and women often have limited influence in community management structures and cooperatives. Addressing these barriers will increase productivity, sustainability, and community resilience.

The Gender Action Plan will serve as a guideline for executing agencies such SEAFDEC Secretariat, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Fisheries (DOF) Viet Nam in the project implementation. This GAP refers to SEAFDEC Gender Strategy1, Guidance to Advance Gender Equality in GEF Projects and Programs2 and WWF Gender Policy3 which outlines the practical steps and necessary actions to apply the principles and mandatory requirements of gender-responsive planning, implementation, and monitoring of GEF programs and projects and WWF policy.