Expert Group Meeting on Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible

Governance of Tenure of Land & other Natural Resources, FAO HQ,

Rome[Italy], 24-25 November 2008.

Voluntary Guide Lines & Fisheries; Herman Kumara, General Secretary,

World Forum of Fisher Peoples’ [WFFP]

My presentation has 4 aspects;

• Pin point the Issues related to Coastal Land, access to the sea, and water
bodies in various countries,

• Collective efforts & consultations to over come them,

• Proposals from the civil society organizations of fisheries for the Voluntary
guidelines on responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural
resources,

• Way Forward,

At the very beginning however, I want to emphasis here the Right to Access,
Management and Control of the water bodies and the coastal resources by the
fisher communities are the key elements on Responsible Governance of Tenure of
aquatic resources, water bodies & coastal lands.

Social Movements, have proposed Rights Based Approach to fisheries as the key to
defend and ensure these rights.

Why?

Fisher People and coastal communities are loosing the right to access to water
bodies for their food, livelihoods, and sustain their families, while increasing the
poverty, loosing their jobs, increasing the food insecurity and right to food.

How?

a. Loosing the access to water bodies due to;

• ITQ[Individual Transferable Quota system]- in South Africa, Chili, Canada,

• MPAs [Marine Protected Areas] – in Indonesia,

• Contract System of poor fishers –in Pakistan,

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b. Loosing right to use of coastal lands

• Land grabbing for tourism zones- Sri Lanka, Thailand,

• Post tsunami[Post disaster] regulations which imposed by the governments in

the name of Security, displacing the communities and loosing the customary
rights of the coastal communities-India, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri
Lanka[Tsunami, 26 December 2004] and the Philippines[Hurricane Frank].

• Loosing women’s identity within fisheries when the development programs

are in place.

c. Coastal Aquaculture

• Fisher people and coastal communities loose their land and customary
rights, drinking water, access to the seas, lagoons, and water bodies which
they were depending for centuries.

-Honduras, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh,

d. Coastal Development projects

• Construction of commercial harbours displacing the fisher communities and

coastal dwellers loosing the right to livelihoods,- Sri Lanka, Thailand,

• Golf Courts-Thailand,

• Mining and oil explorations etc.

e. Civil war situations

• High Security Zones/ Restrictions to access to water bodies,

• Land mines- Sri Lanka

f. Privatization of coastal land and water bodies

• Joint Venture fishing operations with MNC in EEZ-Sri Lanka, India, Philippines,

• Tourism Zones-Thailand, Sri Lanka,

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 • Special Economic Zones-India, Sri Lanka

The Civil Society interventions for assert the rights of small scale,
artisanal, indigenous fishing and coastal communities.

In this context, civil society organizations, came up with some proposals for
defend the sustenance of fishing and coastal communities on Rights Based
Approach.

There were series of consultations among social movements, trade unions,

community based groups, NGOs, Academia, researchers and many other
partners in the process, aiming at Asserting the Rights, Defining the
Responsibilities from the perspectives of the small scale, artisanal, indigenous
fishing communities,

 Consultation among ten South Asian & South/ East Asian countries held in
Siem Reap at Cambodia.- May 2007[Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,
Pakistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and Sri
Lanka]

 Consultation among seven Eastern and Southern African Countries held in

Zanzibar, Tanzania. –June 2008[Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa,
Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia]

 Consultation among Six Latin American Countries which was held in Chili.
–August 2008[Chili, Honduras, Gauthamala,

 E Mail Consultation among 30 WFFP member countries, aiming at the FAO

convened Securing Sustainable Small Scale Fisheries Conference [4SSF]
held at Bangkok, Thailand.- [July -September 2008].

 Civil Society Statement of 4SSF preparatory Work Shop, with the

participation of 60 countries with 106 civil society organizations which was
held at Bangkok, Thailand.- October 2008.

Some Key elements of the proposals;

• Privatization:

Measures should be put in place immediately to curb privatization of fisheries

including individual transferable quotas[ITQ], leasing of water bodies,
beaches and habitat and all other forms of privatization – which is

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 devastating fish stocks, limiting access, harming local coastal economic and
concentrating ownership in the hands of few.

• Industrial Fishing

Measures should be put in place immediately prohibiting industrial fishing in

inshore waters, on the grounds that they are damaging fish stocks, habitat,
coastal communities and the livelihoods of small scale artisanal, indigenous
fishers around the world. In off shore waters, the destructive practices of
industrial fishing, including bottom trawling, dumping and discarding have a
direct impact on the livelihoods of small scale fisheries and their coastal
communities, and should be prohibited. Fishing for fishmeal should be
effectively regulated.

• Industrial Aquaculture

State fisheries policies should reject industrial aquaculture, specially mono

culture aquaculture such as salmons and prawns, which continue to
devastate coastal habitat, coastal lands, water bodies, damage wild stocks,
and destroy coastal livelihoods, and support should be given to small scale
traditional aquaculture practices.

• Tourism

Measures should be developed which limit tourism development in places

where it reduces access of small scale, artisanal and indigenous fisheries to
traditional fishing grounds and coastlines.

• Pollution

Measures should be developed to address all forms of pollution that are

degrading the marine and inland aquatic environment and thus progressively
destroying the livelihoods of marine and inland fishing communities.

• Conservation and Access rights

Conservation initiatives including marine protected areas, coastal area

management programs, should respect the rights of coastal communities to
unhindered access to beaches, landing sites, and fishing grounds.

• Gender Equality

All the rights and freedoms that are agreed to as relevant for rights based
approach to fisheries, should apply equally to all men & women of fishing
communities.

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 • Fisheries Governance

The management of inland and marine fishery resources should be devolved

to the local level in the region. Programmes for devolution of fisheries
management should be preceded and accompanied by capacity building
programmes for fishers and fishing community organizations to enhance
negotiating power as well as to build up capacity for responsible fisheries
management.

Decisions affecting the access and use of land and water bodies currently
enjoyed by, or benefit to fishing communities, should be made with full and
effective consultation and involvement of the fisher people and should
proceed only with their full, prior and informed consent.

• Human Rights, not property Rights

A rights based approach to fisheries should recognize the customary rights,

local knowledge, traditional systems and practices, and the right to access
marine and inland resources of small scale, artisanal and indigenous fishing
communities, as well as the right to land for homestead, fishery related and
other livelihood related activities. Furthermore, such an approach should
enhance collective, community –based access and management regimes.

The fishing rights should not be treated as tradable commodity and they
should be seen as an integral part of Human Rights. A Rights Based Approach
to Fisheries Should not lead to the privatization of Fisheries Resources.

Way Forward: Future:

• We expect there should be regional consultations to get the wider

participation of civil society as we experienced in the ICAARD process.

• Fisheries Sector should be given the due consideration at all levels as

fisheries and coastal resources are in danger of extinction.

• More civil society participation should be ensured to get wider perspectives of

the communities and the equal status for the CS should also be an important
element of the same as ICAARD process.

• There should be a mechanism to ensure all these efforts some how

effectively implemented and not just voluntary guidelines to the
governments.

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Thank You all.

Herman Kumara,

FAO, Rome, Italy.

25 November 2008,