Best practices to support and improve the livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture ...

150 Pages·2011·0.78 MB·English

RAP PUBLICATION 2010/21
Best practices to support and improve
the livelihoods of small-scale fisheries
and aquaculture households
xi
RAP PUBLICATION 2010/21
BEST PRACTICES TO SUPPORT AND IMPROVE THE LIVELIHOODS OF
SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE HOUSEHOLDS
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BANGKOK, 2010
i
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply
the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area
or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific
companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that
these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are
not mentioned.
ISBN 978-92-5-106739-0
All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for
educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from
the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this
information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission
of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to:
Chief
Electronic Publishing Policy and Support Branch
Communication Division
FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy
or by e-mail to:
[email protected]
© FAO 2010
For copies please write to:
The Senior Fishery Officer
FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Athit Road
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
For bibliographic purposes, please reference this publication as:
APFIC (2010). Best practices to support and improve livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture
households. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2010/21,
140 pp.
ii
FOREWORD
As part of its strategic plan, the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) has committed itself to work
and support the area of small-scale fisheries in the Asian region. At its 30th Session in Manado (2008)
APFIC undertook to identify areas of best practice and policies to support coastal community livelihood
and also review those aspects that are to be avoided or which negatively impact coastal livelihoods. This
document contains three reviews covering some key aspects related to policy support to livelihoods
resilience and diversification and offers recommendations on approaches and practices which offer the
best opportunity for practically improving livelihoods and building resilience in communities. The reviews
formed the background to the APFIC Regional Consultative workshop “Best practices to support and
improve the livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture households”, convened 13–15 October
2009 in Manila, Philippines. The outcomes of this workshop and the background reviews are a regional
contribution to the ongoing policy dialogue in the region as to how best support small-scale fisheries
and aquaculture livelihoods and to improve their resilience in the face of the emerging challenges of
globalization, economic development, social transitions and climate change.
Hiroyuki Konuma
Assistant Director-General and
Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific
iii
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
FOREWORD..................................................................................................................................................................... iii
1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 THE IMPACT OF SECTORAL AND NON-SECTORAL POLICIES ON FISHERIES AND
AQUACULTURE DEPENDENT LIVELIHOODS IN ASIA
Gayathri Sriskanthan........................................................................................................................................ 5
2.1 Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Introduction............................................................................................................................................... 7
2.3 Livelihood outcomes in the fisheries sector – what outcomes should policies
support?...................................................................................................................................................... 8
2.4 The impact of national policies within the fisheries and aquaculture sector on
livelihoods outcomes............................................................................................................................. 13
2.5 National policies outside the fisheries sector............................................................................... 26
2.6 International and regional policies................................................................................................... 33
2.7 Making policies work for livelihoods............................................................................................... 39
2.8 Recommendations.................................................................................................................................. 46
2.9 References.................................................................................................................................................. 47
3 FACILITATING ACCESS TO RURAL FINANCE/MICROFINANCE SERVICES FOR
SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES
Jocelyn Alma R. Badiola ................................................................................................................................... 53
3.1 Small fisheries and aquaculture development in Southeast Asia........................................ 53
3.2 Importance of microfinance in helping the poor....................................................................... 57
3.3 Rural finance/microfinance policy environment......................................................................... 60
3.4 Microfinance services for small-scale fisheries and aquaculture: approaches
and best practices................................................................................................................................... 68
3.5 Major issues and constraints in microfinance for fishermen.................................................. 82
3.6 Making microfinance work in agriculture and fisheries........................................................... 83
4 MICROFINANCE SERVICES FOR SMALL-SCALE, COASTAL FISHERIES AND
AQUACULTURE IN SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON WOMEN
Dr K.G. Karmakar, G.S. Mehta, Dr S.K. Ghosh and Dr P. Selvaraj.............................................................. 86
4.1 Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 86
4.2 The small-scale, coastal fisheries sector in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ................... 87
4.3 Microfinance in the small-scale fisheries and aquaculture sector in India,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.................................................................................................................... 90
4.4 Role of microfinance in developing the small-scale fisheries and aquaculture
sector ........................................................................................................................................................... 96
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
Page
4.5 Policies relating to microfinance and gender issues in the small-scale fisheries
and aquaculture sector......................................................................................................................... 109
4.6 Role of women in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture development – Indian
examples..................................................................................................................................................... 122
4.7 Microfinance success stories............................................................................................................... 128
4.8 Suggestions for sectoral growth....................................................................................................... 131
4.9 Recommendations.................................................................................................................................. 133
4.10 References.................................................................................................................................................. 139
vi
1 INTRODUCTION
At its 30th Session in Manado (2008), the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) committed itself to
identify areas of best practice and policies to support coastal community livelihood and also review
those aspects that are to be avoided or which negatively impact coastal livelihoods. As part of this
commitment, APFIC convened a Regional Consultative workshop “Best practices to support and improve
the livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture households”, 13–15 October 2009, Manila,
Philippines, to develop guidance applicable to the local context of the region, to bring to the attention
of policy-makers, government, regional organizations and non-governmental organizations. This guidance
covered approaches and practices which offer the best opportunity for really improving livelihoods and
building resilience in communities. This document contains three reviews covering some key aspects
related to policy support to livelihoods resilience and diversification.
“The impact of sectoral and non-sectoral policies on fisheries and aquaculture dependent livelihoods
in Asia” by Gayathri Sriskanthan
This examines how sectoral and non-sectoral policies can be made to support the livelihoods of poorer
groups dependent on the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Asia. The review seeks to understand some
of the key policy trends and impacts and focusses on areas of best practice as well as areas of concern.
It contains suggestions and recommendations on key areas that could be addressed to improve progress
towards sustainable development and livelihoods goals in the sector.
“Facilitating access to rural finance/microfinance services for small-scale fisheries & aquaculture
in Southeast Asian countries” by Jocelyn Badiola
This looks at the development of microfinance services for small scale coastal fisheries as well as
aquaculture with special attention to women in Southeast Asian countries particularly Cambodia,
Indonesia, Philippines, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam. It looks for ways to make microfinance work in small
scale fisheries and aquaculture in these Southeast Asian Countries. This review collates information from
more recent studies in order to describe the extent of small fisheries and aquaculture development in
Southeast Asia and reviews the development of microfinance policies in Southeast Asia. It discusses the
importance of microfinance for small scale fisheries and aquaculture especially among Asian women and
presents the approaches and best practices, so far, in microfinance for small scale fisheries and
aquaculture. The review also provides information on the extent of outreach in small scale fisheries and
aquaculture and identifies major issues, constraints and opportunities in microfinance for small scale
fisheries and aquaculture.
“Microfinance services for coastal small scale fisheries and aquaculture for South Asia countries
with special attention to women” by K.G. Karmakar, G.S. Mehta, S.K. Ghosh and P. Selvaraj
This covers the approaches and interventions of microfinance services for coastal small fisher people and
aqua culturists, by identifying institutions, the financial services for small-scale fisher people and aqua
culturists such as loans, savings, insurance, etc. with a gender perspective. The success or failures/
limitations of these approaches is considered and the causes attributed to their success or failure and
their primary and secondary beneficiaries are discussed. The review identifies the challenges faced by
banks and other financial institutions providing credit and other services for small-scale fisheries and
aquaculture in order to identify challenges and how to address these challenges. Lending gaps to these
groups and how to improve the provision of services and funds to them are also evaluated. This review
provides specific recommendations for innovative microfinance services, policies, approaches and
delivery mechanisms for poverty eradication and livelihood development that can be considered best
practice recommendations for financial services in the sector.
1
Summary recommendations of the APFIC Regional Consultative Workshop
The principle conclusions and recommendations of the APFIC Regional Consultative Workshop
“Best practices to support and improve the livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture
households” indicate those areas of best practice and policies to support coastal community livelihoods
and provide advice on those aspects that are to be avoided.
Investment in effective resources management and governance, and maintained ecosystem health, is the
major foundation or a prerequisite for supporting and improving livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and
aquaculture households. There is a need for specific policy development that addresses the small scale
sector and the promotion of diversification within it. This should reflect and respect the rights of the
small-scale fisheries, particularly in key areas such land tenure and access.
Policy development following the principles of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and
using the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries and Aquaculture (EAF/EAA) aims at achieving a balance
between ecological well-being, human well-being and good governance. There is a close linkage
between the policy objectives of economic development, providing for food, income and sustaining
livelihoods and fisheries management, conserving biodiversity, habitats and resources.
There is a clear need for diversification of livelihoods in many resource dependent fishing communities
and small-scale aquaculture communities. Incomes are declining and the natural resource base is
increasingly degraded. These dependent communities are seeking increase household income and
reduced uncertainty of livelihood. Diversification is constrained by lack of coherence between national
and local development planning and serious capacity and skills gaps. Local budgetary allocation/
resourcing is rarely directed at natural resources and weak governance undermines many initiatives.
Small-scale fisheries and aquaculture communities marginalized in development as they are often
considered too poor and too difficult to work with. They frequently lack collateral or assets and there may
appear to be limited options to diversify. Despite this there are clear opportunities and plenty of
examples of successful formal and informal diversification initiatives. These are being promoted by
government, NGO/CBO initiated-facilitated, community self-empowerment processes and Regional
Organizations
Informing policy and policy development
Good policies should also focus on improving fisheries management and sustainable development.
Policy preferences by local and national decision makers are still often very growth focused aiming to
increase production, intensify and drive exports, promote aquaculture development. These are often
focused at natural resource extraction rather than conservation or sustainable utilization. Harmonizing
policies within the framework of the Ecosystem Approach to Fishery/Aquaculture management can
provide the proper balance between conservation and development and improve policy coherence.
Emphasis on support for diversification to small-scale sector is frequently driven by reluctance to tackle
issues of the larger-scale sector. Problems arise because the underlying causes of unsustainable fisheries
and fisheries livelihoods are not being addressed (e.g. over-capacity in the more intensive/industrial
fisheries; illegal fishing, lack of effective regulation, market inefficiencies, etc.).
Policies for resource management do exist in many countries, but often weakly implemented. The
impacts of non-implementation are poorly understood, as are the gains possible from effective
implementation. Policies may conflict (e.g. increasing production and export promotion versus protection
of small scale fisheries, maximizing employment and conserving resources). There is often more
emphasis on strategies for resolving conflicts but not on preventing their occurrence. Such short term
“fixes” often result in longer-term systemic problems (e.g. subsidies on fuel, relaxation of fishing
regulations). Long-term “change policies” often result in short-term loss, this may require other supporting
policy to mitigate such impacts.
2