Access agreements, Artisanal fisheries, Governance, Transparency, Sectoral support
Anaïd Panossian
What future for Sustainable Fisheries ...

In view of the global evaluation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) that will be carried out by the Commission in 2021, the author highlights the key points which will need to be assessed from the perspective of the impacts on African coastal communities. The author also suggests essential improvements to be made for the future of SFPAs so that they better respond to the needs of these communities.

What future for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements?

Conservation finance

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Why the $700 billion funding gap for biodiversity is dangerous nonsense: Implications for the oceans and small-scale fisheries

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Why the $700 billion funding gap for biodiversity is dangerous nonsense: Implications for the oceans and small-scale fisheries

Closing the funding gap for biodiversity conservation is one of the critical topics at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), hosted in Colombia in October 2024. The funding gap has been estimated at $700 billion in Goal D of the Kunming-Montreal Agreement, based on a report, “Financing Nature”, published in 2020. Taking the example of fisheries and ocean conservation, this article shows the $700 billion figure is based on highly dubious calculations and assumptions. The author argues the funding gap report is not a serious effort to estimate the needs for supporting conservation efforts. Instead, it is a performative publication marketing opportunities for private investment and market-based mechanisms. Therefore, the $700 billion figure should be rejected by those opposed to the continuing financialisation of conservation.

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How private finance through blue bonds affects local communities: the Seychelles experience

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How private finance through blue bonds affects local communities: the Seychelles experience

Andre Standing, senior consultant at CFFA, discusses with researcher Arınç Onat Kılıç, who has recently published a paper exploring the Seychelles Blue Bond, its impact on local fishing communities and the broader implications of private finance for developing the blue economy.

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Will fishers be sidelined, once again, at the UN Ocean Conference?

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Will fishers be sidelined, once again, at the UN Ocean Conference?

In a joint contribution to an open call for civil society organisations, CFFA and CAOPA raise the alarm about the challenges for small-scale fishers to take part in decision-making processes of international ocean governance and ask for a human-rights-based approach.

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The role of artisanal fishing “exclusive” zones in preferential access to resources

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The role of artisanal fishing “exclusive” zones in preferential access to resources

This article analyses a series of studies jointly commissioned by CAOPA and CFFA on areas reserved to artisanal fisheries in several African countries. The author sheds light on common challenges for protecting small-scale fishers access and the pressing need for better developing co-management in coastal fisheries, and looks into how can the EU support protection of small-scale fishers’ access to resources.

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Gabon’s Odious Debt-for-ocean Swap: The implications for ocean governance

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Gabon’s Odious Debt-for-ocean Swap: The implications for ocean governance

This article covers TNC’s recent debt-for-ocean swap with Gabon, involving US$500 million worth of debt. In exchange, the Gabonese government has committed to protect up to 30% of the oceans. The author looks in detail at the deal (Part 1) and the conservation commitments (Part 2), explores the problems with this deal in terms of debt justice and of ocean governance, and develops its implications for coastal communities.

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An ambitious High Seas Treaty must not come at the expense of coastal fishing communities

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An ambitious High Seas Treaty must not come at the expense of coastal fishing communities

It is the last week of the 5th session of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) and there is an expectation that delegates will agree on a series of topics, including area-based management tools. However, Marine Protected Areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction without further measures to reduce capacity might instensify the fishing effort in EEZs, increasing competition with small-scale fisheries.

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Financing the 30x30 agenda for the Oceans: Debt for Nature swaps should be rejected

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Financing the 30x30 agenda for the Oceans: Debt for Nature swaps should be rejected

Joint statement - In the delivering on 30x30 and financing conservation, debt for nature swaps are gaining momentum. However, debt swaps should be rejected as they lack transparency and give undue power to foreign organisations over the policies of marine resources management of developing and small-island states.

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UN Ocean Conference political declaration: where are the fishers?

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UN Ocean Conference political declaration: where are the fishers?

The final declaration fails to appropriately acknowledge the role and importance of the biggest group of users of the ocean, - the artisanal fishers-, while it encourages private-public partnerships, capital market instruments and other forms of financing, that might end up destroying coastal fishing communities.

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Small-scale fishers call for global leaders to act now on oceans at UN Ocean Conference

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Small-scale fishers call for global leaders to act now on oceans at UN Ocean Conference

JOINT PRESS RELEASE: Small-scale fisheries are small in name only. Half a billion people – 7% of the global population – are at least partly dependent on them for food, employment and income. They are the largest group of ocean users, have contributed the least to the ocean emergency, and are among the most affected by it. Yet their needs, roles and rights are often ignored, and they are generally sidelined or excluded from major policy discussions that directly affect their lives and livelihoods.

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The Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative: How to destroy the oceans responsibly

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The Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative: How to destroy the oceans responsibly

Efforts to make blue economy sustainable have led to increasing calls for better regulations on investments. The European Commission has provided funding for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to launch the Blue Economy Finance Initiative (BEFI). The BEFI has been celebrated in international conferences about blue economy, however, this article highlights the inherent weaknesses of voluntary guidelines in mitigating the threats financial investors pose to the destruction of the planet.

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Debt-for-nature swaps and the oceans: The Belize Blue Bond

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Debt-for-nature swaps and the oceans: The Belize Blue Bond

This second article of our series on financialisation and the blue economy covers TNC’s recent debt-for-ocean swap in Belize, news about TNC’s “audacious plan” of other debt swaps in other countries, the history of debt swaps and how the recent swaps reflect the financialisaton of conservation and finally, why these debt swaps are worrying for small-scale fisheries.

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Understanding the conservation finance industry

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Understanding the conservation finance industry

Financialisation is considered to be the fundamental dynamic that contributes to inequalities in the world, while also a threat to democracy because it transfers the ownership and control of so much to a small group of financial investors and institutions, with the only goal of maximising profits.

A Swiss Bank and a Billion Dollar Tuna Fishing Company in Mozambique

A Swiss Bank and a Billion Dollar Tuna Fishing Company in Mozambique

Here we provide an extended analysis of the highly controversial investment of 850 million dollars in a tuna fishing company in Mozambique, highlighting what this saga means for current debates on domesticating commercial fisheries in Africa, and also about the performance of development aid.