In a public communication, African artisanal fisheries professional organisations warn on the risk of investing in polluting industries for short-term gains as African governments try to kick start their economies in the aftermath of COVID pandemic
In preparation of a consultative workshop on the implementation of the African Union’s Blue economy strategy for Africa scheduled for 15 October with key stakeholders, including civil society and fisheries actors, the African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Professional Organisations (CAOPA) has released a communication stating that the implementation of this strategy poses fundamental threats to African artisanal fisheries, and the millions who depend on them for their livelihoods and food security.
“The African Union is shying away from the question of how Africa and the international community can chart a path forward that combines poverty reduction and rising standards of living, without destroying the planet.””
CAOPA is worried that African governments, to address the challenge of economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and encouraged by this Blue economy strategy, will prioritise destructive or polluting industries that provide short term economic gains. The strategy incentivises sectors such as industrial fishing, fossil fuels off shore exploitation, and deep sea mining, which provoke lasting damages to marine ecosystems and coastal artisanal fishing communities.
The elaboration of this ‘Blue economy strategy for Africa’ was supported by the EU and Norway, drafted by a group of experts who travelled to 13 African countries in 2019 and the document was reviewed by stakeholders in August 2019 in Nairobi. The result was, according to CAOPA, “a surprisingly incoherent and muddled document” with five main thematic areas. Fisheries are included in the first thematic area, with 3 overall goals, 15 objectives, 91 targets and 177 indicators. “Indicators are mislabelled: 101 of the 177 involve holding meetings and producing more studies and reports,” CAOPA complains.
CAOPA’s document examines this strategy and underscores the key contentious issues for African small-scale fisheries both in the content of the document and in the validation process:
A. Consultation and validation
Whereas the strategy talks about the participation of coastal communities, the process of drafting the strategy failed to include them. Of the 13 countries visited by the experts, there is no evidence of community consultations and almost no fishermen professional organisation had seen the document until it was finalised for the stakeholders’ approval in Nairobi. CAOPA also says that critical comments concerning the threats of blue growth and climate change were shared when they were informed about the process but these were not reflected in the final document which “presents a false impression that blue growth is an unproblematic idea, without political or ideological controversy. […] this is a document that represents the thoughts of a small number of foreign consultants from the EU and selected African academics and bureaucrats.”
B. other AU documents and best practices
The first area of the strategy (fisheries) has the same structure than the Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa – which was also produced with funding from the EU – and it is unclear which of the two documents will take precedence. CAOPA insists on the importance of the 2014 FAO Voluntary Guidelines for securing Small-scale Fisheries, which “in contrast to the blue growth strategies being produced over the past few years—were based on years of consultations and deliberations among fishers and fish workers,” and which are however only mentioned once in the blue economy strategy.
C. the incoherence of blue growth
CAOPA highlights the fact that the blue economy strategy is almost a “list of activities and projects for donor financing” which in itself would mean it is “less a strategic document” than it was meant to be. However, the worse for CAOPA is that the list of “positive activities” for artisanal fisheries might “distract” from the overall direction of the strategy and insists on five points:
1. Blue growth and the competition for scarce resources
The win-win and “consensual process” narrative of the strategy “moves attention away from the fact that the growth of blue economy sectors, including mining, tourism, aquaculture, shipping, and marine conservation, all have complex impacts on costal development and the lives of poorer communities,” which are often displaced or have to compete for scarce resources. CAOPA explains that small-scale fisher communities are the “most vulnerable group in this competitive environment” and insists that the AU strategy should recognise the “inevitable conflicts and vulnerabilities” the blue growth approach produces.
2. Rapid economic growth destroys marine ecosystems
The blue economy strategy mentions the importance of lowering carbon emissions while at the same time, encourages oil and gas exploitation in Africa. While CAOPA acknowledges it is a difficult discussion, it believes the African Union is “shying away” from the question of “how Africa and the international community can chart a path forward that combines poverty reduction and rising standards of living, without destroying the planet.”
3. Inclusive development
The strategy assumptions between the growth of the blue economy sectors and poverty reduction are fallacious as African “economies based heavily on mining, commercial farming and international tourism […] often produce high levels of inequality and exclusion” as enterprises are concentrated among corporations and foreign investors. CAOPA laments that the strategy does not discuss how policies should look like to ensure the wealth created is fairly redistributed.
4. “Wealth-based” approach to fisheries
The strategy recommends the introduction of ‘user rights’ to end open access to fisheries. This would require individual rights to be given to fishers, which means that they can be sold and traded. While this approach aims at ending overfishing, it will also boost private profits and have “devastating impacts” on coastal communities. CAOPA warns that “removing large numbers of fishers is highly problematic if alternative jobs and sources of livelihoods are not available.”
5. Governance challenges
The strategy recognises there might be some but fails to describe them and overlooks some others: first, the challenge of empowering marginalised fishing communities and the lack of transparency in most of decision-making processes, and secondly, the corruption and corporate abuses. Since “trust in African governments to address corruption remains very low across the continent,” CAOPA believes the strategy should include an anti-corruption component.
Banner photo: @hellolightbulb / Unsplash
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