Sentiments of Fisher People form
Un-ended Technical Consultation on International Guidelines for Small Scale
Fishing Communities.
Sentiments of Fisher People form
Un-ended Technical Consultation on International Guidelines for Small Scale
Fishing Communities.
The first round of Technical Consultation on International
Guidelines on Securing Sustainable Small Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) was
held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations [FAO] in Rome, Italy from 20-24 May 2013
Small-scale fisheries have been firmly on the FAO agenda
since the Global Conference on Securing Sustainable Small Scale Fisheries in
the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication in 2008, in Bangkok,
Thailand, or the Bangkok Conference. WFFP played and important role in this. This
led the Committee of Fisheries (COFI) of FAO to decide at their 29th
session in March 2009, for an international instrument on small-scale fisheries
to complement the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
Four regional conferences were held in Asia, Africa,
Pacific, Caribbean and Latin America by FAO. Twenty
national consultations and two regional consultations were, in turn, conducted
by civil society organizations, led by World Forum of Fisher Peoples’[ WFFP], World
Forum of Fishworkers and Fish harvesters[WFF] and International Collective of
Supportive of Fishworkers[ICSF]. More than 2,300 people participated in these
consultations. These consultations were able to bring the rich experiences of
the fisher folk and their organizations to make the Guidelines more inclusive,
integrated and adhering to a bottom-up approach.
The civil society has been pushing the small scale fisher
communities’ agenda forward since 1984, when FAO convened a global conference
on fisheries: World
Conference on Fisheries Management and Development.
“At that time small-scale fishers and fishworkers were not allowed to
participate in the conference. We are happy to see that today the FAO has taken
up the small scale fisher people’s agenda. We do hope this is a great victory
of Small Scale fishers, who are the most marginalized and vulnerable within the
fisheries sector. Their concerns were then not heard at FAO level and now we
are in the negotiations table, which is our first victory in the process,” said
Andrew Johnston, a fishermen leader, representing Artisanal Fisher folk
Association of South Africa and WFFP.
Chandrika Sharma, the Executive Secretary of International Collective
of Support of Fishworkers,[ICSF], said “The process of developing these
Guidelines has been highly consultative. It has been able to bring the views,
concerns and pressing needs of the fisher folk communities from across the
world.”
As far as the Civil Society groups are concerned, it is a
big achievement that these Guidelines, though voluntary in nature, are to be based
on the human rights approach.
“It is a great victory of small scale fishing communities that
the States are agreeing to adopt a Human Rights approach. The States cannot
easily neglect the human rights of their citizens and we look forward to the
time when the instrument will be finally adopted, hopefully by 31st session
of COFI, June 2014”, Naseegh Jaffer, director
of Msifundise Trust and the co-coordinator of the WFFP shared at the Civil Society Dialogues held at
FAO.
Governance of the tenure and resource management; Social
development, employment and decent work; value chains, post harvest and trade;
gender equality; and, disaster risk and climate change are the main subject
areas of the Guidelines. These are some of the most important aspects of food
security and poverty eradication of the small scale fishing communities.
“We feel some of the contents of the Guidelines and the
decisions we arrived at so far are important for the future of the fishing
communities, their livelihoods and sustainable fisheries. But, while
participating in these negotiations, we felt that some of the governments are more
concerned about industrial fishing and do not pay genuine interests to secure
and sustain small scale fisher people. We urge all States to allow fisher
people to continue their fishing in coastal and inland areas and to not evict
them in the name of development programs such as tourism, Special Economic Zones,
Power generating plants in the context of neo liberal globalization”, says
Rambhau Patil, Chairperson of the National Fish Workers Forum, India and WFFP.
Some discussions were tense as some States were strongly opposed
to recognize and respect the traditional and customary rights of the fisher
people. Recognition of the informal nature of the fisheries was also highly opposed
by some of the States. Fisher leaders represented at the negotiations were
totally disappointed about the opposition and raised their concern about it.
“Customary rights of the fisher people should be respected
by the States. The coastal lands and water bodies, those utilized by the
fishing communities should be preserved with due recognition. But, we did not
see this happen at the negotiations as some of the States totally opposed them”, narrated Narendra R. Patil, General Secretary
of Maharashtra Machchimar Kriti Samiti in India, and WFFP.
Recognition of Indigenous fishers, specifically in developed
countries, was also a big concern of the civil society actors who attended the
negotiations. The Guidelines though global in nature, have a special focus on developing
countries.
Sherry Pictou representing Mi'kmaq, Bear River First Nations, Canada and the
Co-coordinator of WFFP narrated her
frustrations over the process. “What will happen to the indigenous people and
small scale fisher people in developed countries? We are being excluded and are
not assured of our fishing rights in the developed world. These are our
concerns and we strongly advocate for the rights of indigenous people and small
scale fishers in the developed world.”
Small Scale Fisher leaders emphasized that the small scale
fisher communities depend on coastal and inland water bodies and adjacent lands
mainly for their livelihoods and not for any profit making. If they lose these
water bodies, their life, livelihoods and the future will be destroyed. So,
they advocated to give the fishing communities the recognition that is due them
and on equal footing as other groups like the industrialists, private sector
etc. They also stressed that national policies should reflect and comply with
the international policies.
“So far we are not treated equally important as other
sectors though we are the vulnerable, most marginalized in the fisheries
sector. We need further attention through national processes, including those
on adopting national legislations to empower small scale fishing communities”,
says Margaret Nakato, Chairperson of Katosi Women Organization, Uganda and the Executive
Director of WFF.
There were a number of grass root fisher leaders, representing
national fisheries organizations, who attended the negotiations. Ramida Sarasit
is one woman leader among them, from the Southern Thai Fisher folk Federation,
Thailand and WFFP. Her sentiments were as follows:
“I feel we have not gained much from the Guidelines. Most of
the States, as far as I see, are not ready to respect the rights of small scale
fisher communities. Day by day we are losing our rights, our coastal and inland
water bodies, our livelihoods. We cannot see any progress unless States pay
serious attention and address the root causes of our issues.”
Maria Jose Pacheco, a Brazilian woman representative, shared
the same concerns and feelings. To ensure fishing as human rights, more
strategic interventions and collective efforts with respective States are
called for.
“We need more and more collective actions as civil society.
At the negotiations we are the most organized group at table. We need to
continue this unity even in the future”, said Maria Jose at the civil society
group meeting.
One of the major concerns of many fisher leaders was the
States’ commitment to the Guidelines they are expected to adopt and to
implement voluntarily. There are many international instruments adopted at FAO,
in relation to food producers, the future and sustenance of the resources. The
Right to Food guidelines, the Tenure Guidelines on Land, Fisheries and Forests
and now SSF guidelines that could be adopted in June 2014. The States’
commitment to internalize those Guidelines and adopt national regulations and
legal mechanisms are important steps to make sure these instruments will help
to empower the marginalized and vulnerable communities, in this case small
scale fishing communities.
Cairo Laguna, Chairperson of Nicaraguan National Fisheries
Federation and the president of WFF, increased the hope of the civil society
group at least in the Latin American region. They have vowed to get their
States to take serious account of the Guidelines within fisheries legislation.
“We will not allow our States to lose the momentum. We will
pressure our own States to keep their word and commit to empower small scale
fisher communities while achieving the objectives of the Guidelines.”
This is the hope for future. The Civil Society groups felt
that they all have big role to play back home.
Antonio Onorati of IPC, the International Planning Committee
on Food Sovereignty working in Rome ,
expressed:
“How to get the support from Small Scale Fishers friendly
States and work through them to minimize the opposition coming from some
strongly opposing States are our challenges ahead. We need to strategically
work with them to convince them to take the SSF agenda forward. We should begin
to do our home work.”
The fisher communities’ representatives dispersed with a
hope for the future. They have agreed to do their home work with their own
States to bring the SSF agenda forward, in preparation for the next round of
negotiations, and for concrete and context-specific implementation of the
Guidelines once they are adopted. This is
their journey which began way back in 1984 and which was strengthened through civil
society coalition work.
At the opening session of the technical consultation of the
SSF Guidelines, Zoila Bustamante Cardenas, of CONAPACH, the Chilean National
Fisher folk Federation raised her strong stand and hope for future.
“For us, the process of developing these guidelines
represents an important milestone by adopting an inclusive approach to small
scale fisheries. An approach which places equal emphasis on social development,
the human rights of fishing communities and the responsible governance of the
fisheries on which their food security livelihoods and well being depends.
We welcome the visibility the guidelines give to women and
the serious way in which they address gender issues. The guidelines have also
taken the unprecedented step of addressing as a whole the different aspects of
SSF from the perspective of governance, production, trade, labour and quality
of life. We all are concerned and hope our States care for Small Scale Fisher
People and ensure their rights as Human Beings.”
Herman Kumara,
Convener, NAFSO, Sri Lanka and WFFP.
Special Invitee, WFFP
25 May 2013
