National fisheries reform funding opportunities National fiscal incentives can be a powerful source of investments for green fisheries since political economy problems that would normally be encountered in trying to raise funds at the regional and/or global levels can be avoided. Such sources of investment may be most effective when the distribution of fishery resources is fairly well contained within national boundaries. However, given the transboundary nature of many marine species such as tunas that are targeted by many countries, national funding programmes may fail to generate adequate funding to green some fisheries. Two fiscal incentive programmes that can be effective for funding fisheries investment are Environmental Fiscal Reform (EFR) and the redirection of harmful subsidies to green activities. These are:
Environmental Fiscal Reform refers to a range of taxation and pricing measures which can raise revenue while furthering environmental goals (OECD 2005). In the absence of taxation, the financial benefit from exploiting fisheries resources are fully captured by the private sector, without compensation to society at large. Additionally, individual operators have little direct incentive to restrict their catch, since they do not, individually, derive any direct benefits from doing so while others continue to over-exploit. Imposing levies on the volume of catch, in combination with proper management measures – which may include restricting access to fishing grounds – can be effective in both generating revenue to compensate the owners of the resource, (i.e., the country whose fishing stocks are being exploited) as well as create a natural incentive to reduce fishing effort.
Redirection of Subsidies or elimination redirecting existing harmful subsidies in the fisheries sector globally can provide a significant additional source of financing for greening the fisheries sector. Fisheries subsidies have been estimated at some US$ 25- 30 billion annually (Sumaila et al. 2010). Limiting subsidies to those used for management, the so-called, beneficial subsidies, would generate savings of about US$ 19 billion annually, which can be reallocated to finance green fisheries initiatives.
Regional financing arrangements A regional financing facility or mechanism is one in which:
■ the activities it funds are limited to a given region (e.g., the Coral Triangle in the Western Central Pacific or West Africa); and
■ the arrangement’s member countries from within a given region have a substantial role in decision-making (Sharan 2008).
Regional financing of the greening of fisheries is
important for a number of reasons. First, while the issue of fisheries sustainability is a global one, it has strong regional dimensions as well. Obstacles and measures required to adapt depend on regional biological and political landscapes and as such, would not be identical for all regions. The decline of the fish stock and its impacts is unlikely to be confined within any one country, and one country would not be able to address such impacts alone. Thus, regional financing arrangements would strengthen the overall global collective action for greening fisheries. A regional approach also offers proximity benefits such as closer interaction and learning, and lower transaction
costs. A regional financing
arrangement can also attract additional resources within the region as countries feel that they are in charge of decisions. In this regard, Regional Fisheries Funds can be set up in various regions of the world.
Private investment in fisheries reform Venture capital
and private equity – Consumers
are increasingly sensitive to the wider impacts of unsustainable fishing practices as they are with climate change. The result has been consumer pressure for products that are certified as environmentally friendly or consistent with sustainability. Emerging high growth sectors have traditionally been a target for venture capitalists, who invest in entrepreneurial activities and expect high returns for their risks. Markets for sustainable products and services such as eco-tourism and certified seafood can present attractive sources of income for the management of protected areas and their surrounding communities. Enabling productive projects for private sector actors in protected areas, with specific profit sharing agreements, have the potential to be an important potential source of financing.
Public-private partnership While the public and private sectors have important roles to play in generating new sources of funding for greening the fisheries sector, the mechanism of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) where the public sector’s investment is leveraged to attain private sector participation in projects with public good characteristics can be applied in the fisheries sector.
Evaluation of financing options There are a myriad of financing options that have been outlined above ranging from those best implemented at national or global scales and those operated by public or private entities. Given the common property nature over much of the world’s oceans living resources, which is detrimental to the success of private investment, it is unlikely that this avenue can be expected to fill much of the needed investment. That said, where sufficient access rights and regulations exist, this environment has the potential to spawn a great deal of innovative