Feeding the world while plagued by hunger, 10 million small fishers call on gov’ts to respect their right to livelihood
Ten million small-scale fishers spread in 54 countries from all continents are urging governments to respect and protect their rights as these are continuously being undermined and threatened by state-sanctioned economic development projects that push them further into hunger and poverty.
“Three decades after the birth of the UN sustainability agenda, two decades after green growth became the buzz word, and a now a decade with the blue economy, we see little sign of governments respecting the human rights of fisher peoples,” the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP) said in a statement issued days before the Nov. 21 yearly celebration of World Fisheries Day.
Governments' Covid-19 response aggravates plight of poor fishers
Also, fisher-members of the WFFP said the Covid-19 crisis had worsened their plight as government efforts to address the problem only made their lives more insecure.
“Many small-scale fisher people, whose very survival is at stake, are being squeezed by lack of healthcare, loss of work and livelihoods, and harsh lockdowns,” said the WFFP, a member of the Global Network for the Right to Food and Nutrition.
“Harsh lockdowns are preventing fishers from fishing in many countries; landing sites remain closed, transportation is disrupted, no ice storage and no sellers and markets, and demand for fish has decreased along with working people’s purchasing power,” the WFFP said.
“Small-scale fishers continue to fish for their survival, but are criminalized for exercising their right. Some governments are pushing through policy reforms that further restrict our participation in decision-making and our access to water bodies and coastal lands,” it added.
Nature, small fishers hurt by government-backed development projects
Moreover, the WFFP assailed government-supported environmental and marine-related projects that ironically destroy nature and consequently degrade and shrink the resources available to small fishers.
“Our fishing communities are being hit hard by worsening natural disasters and are being expropriated to make way for big infrastructure and conservation projects in the name of economic development and climate change adaptation,” it said.
Fishers list demands
The fishers said governments would only be able to genuinely respect their rights if the latter would carry out the following:
- Climate reparation, restoration of nature, and restitution of small fishers' rights
- Acknowledgment of the vital role of small fishers in contributing to the eradication of poverty and hunger
- Closely working with small fishers in implementing the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) in the “true spirit in which they were intended”
The WFFP likewise called on the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to continue its support to the Global Strategic Framework for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines “by reaffirming small-scale fishers as the real agents for change.”
The FAO's Committee of Fisheries adopted the SSF Guidelines on June 9, 2014 as a complement to the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
As stated by FAO, the SSF Guidelines are “intended to support the visibility, recognition and enhancement of the already important role of small-scale fisheries and to contribute to global and national efforts towards the eradication of hunger and poverty.”
It also noted that the guidelines “support responsible fisheries and sustainable social and economic development for the benefit of current and future generations, with an emphasis on small-scale fishers and fish workers and related activities and including vulnerable and marginalized people, promoting a human rights-based approach.”
Read the full statement of the WFFP by clicking this link.
Know more about the campaigns of the WFFP. Visit the organization's website here.
