Social Responsibility Specialist Joins GAA Standards Oversight Committee
Birgitte Krogh-Poulsen is the newest member of the Global Aquaculture Alliance Standards Oversight Committee (SOC), the organization announced in early September.
Krogh-Poulsen is an independent consultant for Poulsen Consulting, with more than 15 years of experience in international development work in Africa and Asia, specializing in child protection, elimination of child labor, forced labor and human trafficking, and promotion of education and gender equality.
She became an independent consultant in 2010, and has also worked as chief technical adviser for the International Labour Organization (ILO), first in Lusaka, Zambia, and then in Bangkok, Thailand. Earlier, she worked for NIRAS Consulting Engineers.
Krogh-Poulsen fills a vacancy on the 12-member SOC, representing academia. SOC members represent a balance of stakeholder interests, with academia, environment and industry each comprising one-third of the committee. The vacancy was left by Dr. Mudnakudu Nandeesha of India, who passed away in late 2012.
The SOC directs the drafting of the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standards by technical committees and reports its recommendations to the GAA board of directors for final standards approval. With assistance from the BAP standards coordinator, the SOC also coordinates revisions and other aspects of standards development and implementation.
“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.”
Krogh-Poulsen has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in political science from Århus University in Denmark. She resides in Viborg, Denmark.
About GAA
The Global Aquaculture Alliance is an international, nonprofit trade association dedicated to advancing environmentally and socially responsible aquaculture. Through the development of its Best Aquaculture Practices certification standards, GAA has become the leading standards-setting organization for aquaculture seafood.
