ALTERNATIVE POLICIES FOR FOOD INDEPENDENCE OF SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES.

As
members of the advisory boards to the “World Forum of Fisher Peoples”
(WFFP) and the International Redmanglar (RMI), we had the opportunity to
participate in meetings with both associations and observe their
agreement regarding “policy options on food independence,” particularly
in regard to small-scale fisheries (SSF).
A
“Small-scale fishery” is the capture and removal of aquatic species in
marine, coastal, wetland, inland and island waters, where the operations
are performed manually without the use of mechanized systems for
hauling or collecting gear and whose production is primarily intended
for local consumption and improving the quality of family life.
1) PROBLEM SITUATION:
Extractive
activities that massively destroy the planet’s ecosystems are practiced
within a neoliberal political framework that globalizes natural
resources and places them in the service of large multinationals who
direct them towards high consumption societies.
The
path toward neoliberalism went first through a policy of national
“regulations and protectionism” that helped turn into “developed
countries” those countries who practiced it in the nineteenth and early
twentieth century. But now, we the “developing countries” are forced to
accept the neoliberal model, which now condemns and prohibits such
“regulations and protectionism,” and allows transnational companies from
the “developed countries” to loot the land and its resources and
negatively affect food self-sufficiency by impoverishing the people and
systematically destroying the environment. The Convention on
Biodiversity, Desertification, Climate Change, Ramsar, Rio 1992, Rio
2002, 2012, and others demonstrate their futility when multinationals
take over a territory and engage in extractive economic activities, food
production for export such as shrimp farming, intensive agriculture,
monocultures, dams, mining and other megaprojects. The globalizing
neoliberal model affects the Earth and threatens the food
self-sufficiency of all humanity.
1) POLICY OPTION:
Find
a new political way of managing the planet’s biodiversity based on
ecosystem approaches, popular participation and food self-sufficiency.
There are several proposals, including “Radical Ecological Democracy as
an alternative to Globalizing Development” (Ashish Kathari (ashishkathari@vsnl.com)).
It is also important to consider the proposal titled “Good Living in
Harmony with Nature and Human Rights” by the “Andean Coordinator of
Indigenous Organizations” (CAOI), and other proposals that present
alternatives to the current materialistic and inhumane neoliberalism.
2) PROBLEM SITUATION:
The
quality of life and activities of “small-scale fisheries” (SSF) in
mangroves and in coastal and inland waters are key to achieving food
self-sufficiency in fishing communities. Small-scale fisheries must be
recognized, maintained and protected through policies and regulations so
they can develop as key players in society.
2) POLICY OPTION:
The
“FAO Voluntary Guidelines in Regards to the SSF” are being crafted in
consultation with government officials, business leaders, fisherfolk and
SSFs. Once approved should become mandatory.
3) PROBLEM SITUATION:
Fisher-women
are more marginalized than the fisher-men themselves. The great
importance of their work is minimized or ignored in decision-making.
They are fishers, food providers, and caretakers of their families and
the natural resources.
3) POLICY OPTION:
Highlight
and encourage the important role of women in the struggle for food
independence and sustainability of aquatic resources.
4) PROBLEM SITUATION:
The
territories historically administered by the SSFs are now threatened by
industrial fleets that have over-exploited marine resources in waters
under their jurisdiction and in international waters. To achieve this,
they use innovations such as “individual fishing quotas” that end up
privatizing aquatic resources, usually with the support of international
financial institutions, forcing countries in the South to sign onerous
treaties. Even the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS) in Article 62 paragraph 24 states that in regards to the “use
of living resources: the coastal State shall determine its capacity to
harvest the living resources of the exclusive economic zone. BUT, when
the coastal State lacks the capacity to harvest the entire allowable
catch, it shall grant access to the remaining allowable catch to other
States through agreements or other arrangements.” Thus, developing
countries not only lose their food independence but also their national
sovereignty.
4) OPTION POLICY:
Radically
oppose any conventions, treaties or any other mechanism that promotes
the loss of sovereignty and the rights to the food provided by the sea.
5) PROBLEM SITUATION:
The
FAO and some international agreements recommend the declaration of
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to conserve marine biodiversity. These
usually are areas where SSFs and artisanal fishing have already been
able to conserve these resources for generations. While MPAs are
important, the creation of these areas generally does not happen with
the prior, informed and binding consent of fishing communities. When it
occurs at all, the community consultation process on a new MPA is done
hastily and only to fulfill a requirement prior to its formal
declaration. Afterwards, the MPA is likely to be managed by an
international NGO whose first activity is to prohibit fishing in the
newly “protected” area.
5) OPTION POLICY:
The
consent of local communities to the declaration of new MPAs, should be
prior, informed and BINDING. Local communities, indigenous groups,
artisanal fisherfolk and SSFs should also play a leading role in the
management of those areas. Again, and to emphasize its importance, local
communities must demand, in line with the Biodiversity Convention,
their right to that “Prior, informed, and specially, BINDING consent.”
Due
to time constraints we will not address REED, CDM, Sustainable
Development and other topics such as the Green Economy (which can
transform the green of forests and seas into the green of dollars for a
few!)

World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP) / INTERNATIONAL REDMANGLAR