Achieving poverty reduction through responsible fisheries. Lessons from West and Central Africa.

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper 513

Achieving poverty reduction through responsible fisheries

Edited by
Lena Westlund

Katrien Holvoet

and

Mustapha Kébé
Consultant
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 2008

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© FAO 2008

Westlund, L.; Holvoet, K.; Kébé, M. (eds)
Achieving poverty reduction through responsible fisheries. Lessons from West and Central Africa.
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 513. Rome, FAO. 2008. 168p.No. 522. Rome, FAO. 2008. 145p.

Abstract

Despite massive development efforts, chronic poverty still remains a harsh reality for millions of Africans. The Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (SFLP) examined ways to reduce poverty, and improve livelihoods, in the fisheries sector. In Africa, an estimated ten million men and women are involved in fishing and related activities such as processing and trading. Seven million fishing people live in West Africa and the fisheries sector is a major source of livelihoods in many coastal communities, both inland on lake shores and on the Atlantic coast. In addition to providing employment and income, fisheries plays an important role in local and national economies. The SFLP, a partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and 25 participating countries in West Africa, ran from November 1999 to October 2006. The Programme aimed at enhancing the livelihoods of artisanal fishery communities in coastal and inland lake areas by supporting the development and adoption of appropriate and replicable strategies for responsible and equitable fisheries, and by strengthening human and social capital. New ways of working were explored, vulnerability and social exclusion were addressed as two central concepts of poverty, and emphasis was given to policy changes and institutional capacity building. The SFLP adopted the sustainable livelihoods approach to poverty alleviation and worked to implement the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries to sustain fishery resources. The Programme promoted strategies for poverty alleviation that reinforce peoples’ existing capabilities, are participatory and empowering and take into account the limitations of resource renewability. This technical paper reports on the important lessons generated by the SFLP with regard not only to reconciling poverty reduction and responsible fishing but also showing how the two are mutually dependent and essential for sustainable outcomes. The paper provides a consolidated account of main lessons learned to serve as a source of information and inspiration for further work with small-scale fishing communities, in West and Central Africa, as well as elsewhere.

Part 1 (Download 152 kb)

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT
ABSTRACT
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CONTRIBUTORS
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION

Part 2 (Download 628 kb)

1. The sustainable livelihoods approach: new directions in Westand
Central African small-scale fisheries

INTRODUCTION
THE SLA PRINCIPLES AND FRAMEWORK
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE of SFLP
EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES
REFERENCES

2. Analysing and addressing the multiple dimensions of poverty

INTRODUCTION
POVERTY PROFILING
POVERTY IN WEST AFRICAN SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES COMMUNITIES
POVERTY, VULNERABILITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN THE CONTEXT
OF SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
USING THE ENHANCED KNOWLEDGE OF POVERTY
REFERENCES

3. Reassessing the economic and social contribution of fisheries in developing countries

INTRODUCTION
SFLP VALUATION METHODOLOGY
FISHERIES CONTRIBUTION TO NATIONAL ECONOMIES
BEYOND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS – POVERTY REDUCTION AND FOOD SECURITY
REFERENCES

4. Mainstreaming fisheries in development police

INTRODUCTION
WHY INCLUDE FISHERIES IN PRSPs?
ACHIEVEMENT OF the SFLP: PROCESS AND RESULTS
FROM PRSP TO LIVELIHOOD IMPACT
REFERENCES

5. Institutional innovations in fisheries co-management

INTRODUCTION
SFLP PILOT PROJECTS – RATIONALE AND PROJECT FORMULATION PROCESS
BUILDING AN ENABLING POLICY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK
BUILDING EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONS AND LINKAGES
ENABLING EFFECTIVE AND EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION
INCENTIVES TO PARTICIPATE IN CO-MANAGEMENT, IN THE CONTEXT
OF POVERTY
LESSONS LEARNED FOR FUTURE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT IN POVERTY
REFERENCES

Part 3 (Download 707 kb)

6. Understanding the mobility of fishing people and the challenge of migration
to devolved fisheries management

INTRODUCTION
WHO MIGRATES AND WHY
INTEGRATION WITH RECEIVING COMMUNITIES
INTEGRATION OF MIGRANTS
FISHERIES GOVERNANCE AND MIGRANTS
LESSONS LEARNED FOR THE FUTURE
REFERENCES

7. Microfinance, capacity building and livelihoods diversification

INTRODUCTION
POVERTY AND THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT IN FISHERIES COMMUNITIES
SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES FINANCIAL SERVICES
SFLP MICROFINANCE EXPERIENCE
GENDER AND MICROFINANCE
LESSONS LEARNED for IMPROVING MICROFINANCE IN FISHERIES
REFERENCES

8. Innovations in communication enhance grassroots development

INTRODUCTION
SFLP COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND GLOBAL OUTREACH
COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION APPROACHES FOR THE FUTURE
REFERENCES

9. Responding to HIV and AIDS in fishing communities: case studies
from Benin and Congo

INTRODUCTION
HIV/AIDS IN FISHING COMMUNITIES: VULNERABILITY FACTORS
SFLP WORK IN BENIN AND CONGO
FUTURE PREVENTION, CARE, TREATMENT AND MITIGATION
REFERENCES

10 Mainstreaming gender in fisheries

INTRODUCTION
GENDER IN FISHERIES
SFLP GENDER STRATEGY: ANALYSIS TOOL AND MAINSTREAMING
ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING OF GENDER
ADRESING GENDER ISSUES
THE WAY FORWARD: TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY IN FISHERIES
REFERENCES

11. Combining a focus on poverty reduction with responsible fisheries:
SFLP’s impact on development policy

INTRODUCTION
POVERTY, VULNERABILITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION
GOOD GOVERNANCE AND POLITICAL WILL
CO-MANAGEMENT
ADDRESSING VULNERABILITIES
HIV/AIDS
THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE
REFERENCES

GLOSSARY

Contents