USAID pushes for privatization of Central American seas
In the
mid-twentieth century, it was believed that the marine biota was inexhaustible.
In recent years,it was shown that the water resource is finite and large areas
of “fishing grounds” are fully exploited, overexploited or depleted
to the estimated degree of over 400 “dead seas”, particularly in the
Baltic Sea and both coasts of the U.S..
mid-twentieth century, it was believed that the marine biota was inexhaustible.
In recent years,it was shown that the water resource is finite and large areas
of “fishing grounds” are fully exploited, overexploited or depleted
to the estimated degree of over 400 “dead seas”, particularly in the
Baltic Sea and both coasts of the U.S..
Some of the proposed “solutions” to recover marine resources would allow the
Northern Hemisphere industrial fleets to invade their areas for fishing, while
simultaneously sending large fishing fleets and more technology to the
“Southern Cone”, where through direct agreements with rulers, signing
free trade agreements, practice in essence illegal, unreported and unregulated acts
of piracy in exploitation of fish stocks.
The “Tragedy of the Commons” (Hardin, 1968) is evident when
transnational companies gain access to fishing underexploited seas and
introduce more ships and technology to deplete the resource. Some suggest that
small-scale fishermen are guilty of this “tragedy,” but this kind of
reasoning is merely preparing the ground to strip them of their way of life.
Another solution is aquaculture, which in the 70’s flew high withg shrimp
farming, which in less than 40 years wiped out more than half of the natural
breeding of marine species (mangrove ecosystems and associated) crop species
that occupy large tracts of land and / or sea pouring tons of nutrients
(phosphorus and nitrogen …) to the oceans, producing eutrofications, and
along with other problems, caused negative changes in physical and chemical
parameters of the water (acidification, loss of absorption of carbon dioxide
…).
In 2006 the Agency for International Development (USAID) funded an evaluation
of the opportunities and challenges for the conservation of coastal marine
biodiversity in Latin America, the results of which allowed you to drive in
2009 a program of five years (Task Order under the WATER II IQC) on both coasts
of Central America including Belize and Panama, for which they reached an
agreement with the “Central American Integration System” (SICA),
adopting a neoliberal Strategic Objective: “Economic Freedom: Open,
diversified and economic expansion,” whose objectives are to encourage
Mechanisms: ” to Secure Market-Based, Rights-Based Access to Resources”
… the latter is achieved by “Individual Transferable Fishing
Quotas” (ITQs), which means that after a study of populations on a target
catch marine species (lobster, conch, shark, snapper …), we estimate the
“total allowable catch” (TAC), and of this total the Government
initially deals out a percentage to an individual or boat, then the beneficiary
is actually granted shares with all rights attached to a property, which can be
transferred by sale, lease, mortgage, inheritance etc. And with the
“mechanisms” already mentioned, you can grant concessions of
exclusive fishing zones for co-management (public / private, “space
rights”), which are also made under the power of private enterprise. In short:
Governments are like simple initial servicers, where biodiversity and marine
ecosystems are privatized by domestic and / or foreign entities, promoting
self-regulation of the dealers (!) Artisanal fishermen disappear and become
tenants or sub employees of the owners of the CIT, the CIT alone will not meet
its conservation objective and indeed the state loses its sovereignty at sea
and their role of managing fisheries.
USAID, among other sources predict results by 2014 of at least 10 CIT
established and running on the same number of selected commercial species. All
Central American countries are adopting in their legislation the
“mechanisms” to ensure the “rights” of the new owners of
the seas; only 100,000 small-scale fishermen “in an extension of” at
least one Million two hundred thousand have been “affected positively or
negatively on both seas via this program in Central America.
The Congress of Honduras, being characterized as being very
“helpful”, is about to approve the dictates of USAID incorporated
into the new draft “Law on Fisheries and Aquaculture” … Will they
be as “helpful” to the rest of the Central American governments ?
Jorge Varela. Sr. Verde