Political Economy of Fisheries Reform: Lessons and Applications for Development Assistance

1. Political Economy of Fisheries Reform: Lessons and Applications for Development Assistance Sloans Chimatiro Senior Fisheries Advisor NEPAD Secretariat, Johannesburg, South Africa Steve Cunningham, Director IDDRA Montpelier, France Presented at the Case Study Peer Review Session of the Africa Platform for Development Effectiveness 6th June 2011, Balalaika Hotel Sandton, South Africa

2. Presentation outline Background to the study Methodology Factors which have influenced fisheries aid to Africa Levels of fisheries aid to Africa (1973-2001) Analysis of performance of fisheries aid Challenges to effectiveness of fisheries aid Recommendations

3. Background This study is part of a collaborative global study between NEPAD Agency and the World Bank entitled “The political economy of natural resource use: lessons for fisheries reforms”; and subsidiary study known as “The political economy of fisheries reform: lessons and applications for development assistance”. The studies aim at drawing lessons to inform the architecture of the donor support to African fisheries policy and governance reforms. The studies are based on the hypothesis that: “the key reason for the disconnect between fisheries development aid and impact of fisheries (natural resources) sustainability is that by and large development projects have lacked a solid theoretical underpinning”

4. Methodology Preparation of background paper on Africa, as part of the World Bank’s global study Commissioned four case studies: Ghana (Anglophone, West Africa, less aid); Mozambique (Lusophone, Southern Africa, a lot of aid); Senegal (Francophone, West Africa, a lot of aid); and Uganda (Anglophone, East Africa, a lot of aid) Description of country’s aid structure; fisheries performance in terms of formulation of projects, and development impact Economic theory of overexploitation of fisheries and suggestions for effective involvement of aid

5. Factors which have influenced fisheries aid to Africa Growing scarcity of fish globally has focused interest in Africa The powerful fishing entities in Europe and Asia represents a strong political lobby to sustain their industry “Aid Business” has become more pluralistic, comprising donors, aid agencies, intermediaries in recipient countries

6. Levels of fisheries aid to Africa Using data provided by the World Bank, we found that African fisheries have received substantial aid (US $4.6 billion between 1973-2001)

7. Levels of fisheries aid to Africa

8. Levels of fisheries aid to Africa

9. Levels of fisheries aid to Africa Table 3. Comparison of the status of global and African fisheries and aquaculture fisheries Source: Cunningham and Neiland (2009), adapted from FAO-SOFIA

10. Challenges to effective aid- Key issues Lack of ownership of the process of identifying and formulating projects by the African fisheries institutions, including Ministries of Fisheries and fish-dependent communities. Over the past decades, capacity development was never emphasised in fisheries development aid (recently this has changed). Volume of aid and aid targets have been influenced by the prevailing development narrative with particular focus on infrastructure (e.g. Fishing harbours and fleets). With evidence that choice of targets were consultative; Fisheriespolicy has been influenced by international development narratives for natural resources; with no efforts have to link fisheries to the wider national macro-economic development policies.

11. Challenges to effective aid- Key issues Multiplicity of channels of aid has overwhelmed the capacity of recipient countries to coordinate and make good use of aid The performance of fisheries aid is difficult to discern precisely in all the case-studies. In all four case study countries, the fisheries are in general currently characterised by: overexploitation, both economic and biological, which suggests that the overall contribution of fisheries aid aimed at fisheries development has not been very successful, in many cases, the fisheries are in poor state than before. effective fisheries management systems have been not been established, and the problems associated with regulated open access have emerged including weak economic performance, declining stock levels and social instability.

12. Recommendations Likely use of aid as a source of investment, should include a detailed assessment, at an early stage, of the potential benefits which can be realised on a sustainable basis from a well-managed fisheries sector. Aid-funded projects should be well-designed and provide the future vision and direction for fisheries sectoral development through the clear identification of policy objectives and implementation mechanisms. The prioritisation of fisheries aid programmes and projects should be clearly linked and flow from the sectoral policy framework – objectives and mechanisms. The performance of fisheries aid investments should be carefully monitored, assessed and evaluated: at a project level (i.e. did the project achieve its stated objectives?); and in relation to sectoral policy goals (i.e. did the investment have a positive and desired impact in relation to policy goals?);

13. Recommendations Fisheries aid should be part of this dynamic process, with a need to anticipate and plan ahead for likely investments required over time; The linkage between national macro-economic policy and fisheries policy must be established and understood in order to ensure that fisheries aid is effectively prioritised and used within the overall context of national development. Fisheries aid for improved fisheries management should give proper consideration to the central role of resource rent in fisheries exploitation (both a benefit and an incentive to overexploit under weak management) and addressed using appropriate management approaches (e.g. wealth-based fisheries management). Economic analysis should provide the essential theoretical and empirical framework; The relationship between fisheries reform and fisheries aid should also be well-defined in the future; including the benefit & cost of reform, and the need for aid where appropriate over time given that fisheries reform can take decades rather than just years.

14. Thank You ! Pix: S. Chimatiro www.nepad.orgwww.africanfisheries.org www.stopillegalfishing.com