The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) has hired a forced labor and human trafficking expert to help oversee its certification program standards.
Birgitte Krogh-Poulsen, of Viborg, Denmark, an independent consultant for Poulsen Consulting, has worked for more than 15 years in international development work in Africa and Asia. According to a GAA statement, she specializes in “child protection, elimination of child labor, forced labor and human trafficking, and promotion of education and gender equality.”
Krogh-Poulsen has also worked as chief technical adviser for the International Labor Organization. She will be joining 11 other members of the GAA’s Standards Oversight Committee, which helps draft the organization’s Best Aquaculture Practices program.
“I am very fortunate to be given this opportunity to work with GAA to further promote sustainable practices in aquaculture,” said Krogh-Poulsen. “To me, sustainable practices include environmental as well as social sustainability. Decent labor conditions and upholding of rights are very much part of this agenda. I hope that my experiences from close to 20 years of promoting decent work and human rights will benefit GAA in its daily practice, and I look forward to an exciting new experience.”
