Towards a green economy


successful community management (Berkes 1986). In this fishery, fishers from three neighbouring villages formed a cooperative in 1994. This cooperative organised fishers to cooperate in work to reduce fishing costs and restricted the resources access only to those members.


Alaska Regional Fisheries Association This association, formed by fishers themselves to conserve and rebuild salmon stock in the middle of 1970s, is another successful case of fishery management. By self-imposing a tax of 3 per cent of the value of their catch, the association was able to increase salmon abundance and benefit the fishers (Amend 1989).


Fisheries adjustments in Spain Starting in the mid-1970s, the extension of national fisheries jurisdiction into 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zones forced Spanish distant fishers were forced to depart from various fishing grounds where they had fished for decades, if not centuries. This resulted in a decline in employment by roughly a third over a few decades. However, government-supported unemployment subsidies, training programmes, public investment and transfers to new sectors, such as fish farming, fish processing and coastal tourism, enabled Spanish communities that were reliant on fishing to ensure a continued high standard of living and to avoid any major social crisis, despite a significant decline in fisheries employment (OECD 2000).


The lessons that can be learned from these cases are the following:


■ It is important to find an initial allocation of a quota that is generally understood to be equitable and immune to challenge as far as possible (there might always be controversial cases, however);


■ The allocation criteria should be fixed as quickly as possible, to avoid positioning such as participation in the fishery or investment in boats only to ensure inclusion in the system. The latter aggravates the overexploitation and overcapacity prior to establishing a quota system (bringing loans only);


■ There may be a case for government to help with the provision of funds, to be paid back later, to buy out excessive fishing vessels;


■ Equitable distribution of gains from individual


transferable quotas is important, in order to avoid challenges on the grounds that the quotas make only a few people rich and leave little for the rest of society. Note that these challenges can emerge well after the quota system is established and even if the initial allocation of quotas was deemed acceptable, as gains from a quota regime take some time to emerge;


102


■ There can be very substantial gains from individual quotas, in the form of lower fishing costs and a higher catch value. Not all these gains are due to rebuilding of fish stocks. Some are due to less fishing capacity used, others to longer fishing season and more leisurely fishing; and


■ Under certain circumstances, fishing communities have the potential to maintain resources sustainably (Berkes et al. 2001; Ostrom et al. 1999).


4.6 Financing fisheries reform


As shown earlier, green fisheries require accessing or raising the necessary funds to meet the economic, environmental and social goals in order to: ensure the long-term future of fishing activities and the sustainable use of fishery resources. Financing is required for measures to adapt the fishing fleet; promote the use of appropriate gear; strengthen markets in fishery products; promoting partnerships between researchers and fishers; diversify


and strengthen economic


development in areas affected by the decline in fishing activities; and provide technical assistance and (human) capacity building in developing countries.


Activities aimed at greening the fisheries sector are diverse and would take place at the local, national, regional and global levels. Financing arrangements or options would also have to be tailored to meet the needs at these levels. We must also keep in mind when considering options for financing fisheries reform that ample investment may not be sufficient for greening the fisheries sector if not combined with effective management regimes.


Public investment in fisheries reform Since fisheries are considered by many to be a public resource and the public has much to gain through improved management, significant public investment in this industry can be justified. Public funding for fisheries sustainability includes direct funding from national budgets, contributions from multilateral funds, resources raised from capital markets backed by government guarantee and a share of government taxes, levies or revenues earmarked at a national level for a fisheries fund. A Global Fisheries Fund (GFF), run by the United Nations, along the lines of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), can be set up. Funding from various public sources can be pooled for greening the fisheries sector. A high level forum on international fisheries finance can be established to bring together key decision makers from the public and private financial sector, as well as international financial institutions. It could regularly review funding availability and expenditure and provide recommendations for improvements.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33