Mauritania reviews implementation progress, prepares for second FiTI validation

NOUAKCHOTT, June 2-11. The FiTI International Secretariat recently conducted a mission to Mauritania to support the country’s National Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) as they prepare for the nation’s second independent validation regarding the country’s progress in implementing the FiTI Standard.

Regular validations of implementing countries are an essential part of the FiTI process and serve as both an opportunity to assess a country’s compliance with the FiTI Standard, and a chance to provide recommendations for further improvement.

Validations help reflect stakeholder opinions, promoting dialogue and learning at the country level and assessing the FiTI’s impact in the country. Moreover, this process safeguards the integrity of the FiTI by holding all FiTI implementing countries to the same global standard.

During Mauritania’s first validation in 2023, covering the implementation period from December 2018 to March 2022, the FiTI International Board found in their final assessment that the nation had made “meaningful progress” towards fisheries transparency. This outcome demonstrated that undeniable progress had been made towards improving transparency in the management of the fishing sector, resulting in – inter alia – the Mauritanian fisheries investment climate being considered more favourable due to less risk of uncertainty caused by lack of prior information.

At the same time, Mauritania’s initial validation also revealed several areas where the nation could improve, and the Compliance Statement of the FiTI International Board issued five corrective actions for Mauritania. If properly addressed, these actions, in addition to maintaining or improving the FiTI transparency requirements, would enable the country to progress toward full compliance with the FiTI. These actions included supporting the longevity and functioning of the National MSG in the country, including representation and funding, as well as efforts to improve communication, outreach with stakeholders and public debates on transparency and fisheries governance.

During this latest mission, FiTI’s Regional Coordinator for Francophone Africa, Mansor Ndour, met with the country’s national authorities, the National MSG as well as other stakeholders to review the progress the country has made on these corrective actions, make the efforts visible, and support planning for the second validation.

After reviewing their progress, the attendees identified priority actions to prepare for the upcoming validation and produced a technical note determining the current status of the corrective actions.

Mauritania’s next validation will commence in July 2024 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.