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Business News/ Opinion / A fish called development
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A fish called development

Eliminating harmful fisheries subsidies by 2020 is not only crucial for conserving the ocean; it will also affect our ability to meet other goals

Photo: Mike Di Paola/BloombergPremium
Photo: Mike Di Paola/Bloomberg

The just-adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are expected to herald the start of a new era in global development, one that promises to transform the world in the name of people, the planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. But there is an ocean of difference between promising and doing. And, while global declarations are important—they prioritize financing and channel political will—many of today’s pledges have been made before.

In fact, whether the SDGs succeed will depend on how they influence other international negotiations. An early test concerns a goal for which the Global Ocean Commission actively campaigned: to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development".

When political leaders meet at the 10th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in December, they will have an opportunity to move toward meeting one of that goal’s most important targets: prohibition of subsidies that contribute to over-fishing and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by no later than 2020.

This is not a new ambition; it has been on the WTO’s agenda for many years, and it has been included in other international sustainable development declarations. But, even today, countries spend $30 billion a year on fisheries subsidies, 60% of which directly encourages unsustainable, destructive or even illegal practices. The resulting market distortion is a major factor behind the chronic mismanagement of the world’s fisheries, which the World Bank calculates to have cost the global economy $83 billion in 2012.

In addition to concerns about finances and sustainability, the issue raises urgent questions about equity and justice. Rich economies (in particular Japan, the US, France, and Spain), along with China and South Korea, account for 70% of global fisheries subsidies. These transfers leave thousands of fishing-dependent communities struggling to compete with subsidized rivals and threaten the food security of millions of people as industrial fleets from distant lands deplete their oceanic stocks.

West Africa, where fishing can be a matter of life and death, is being particularly hard hit. Since the 1990s, when foreign vessels, primarily from the European Union (EU) and China, began to fish on an industrial scale off its shores, it has become impossible for many local fishers to make a living or feed their families.

Eliminating harmful fisheries subsidies by 2020 is not only crucial for conserving the ocean; it will also affect our ability to meet other goals, such as our promises to end hunger and achieve food security and to reduce inequality within and among countries.

The credibility of the WTO and the newly adopted SDGs will be on the line in Nairobi. The Global Ocean Commission has put forward a clear three-step programme to eliminate harmful fishing subsidies. All that is needed is for governments finally to agree to put an end to the injustice and waste that they cause.

Fortunately, there are encouraging signs. Nearly 60% of the WTO’s membership supports controlling fisheries subsidies, with support from the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of developing countries—together with the EU’s contribution to improve transparency and reporting—giving new momentum to the effort. Among the initiatives being put forward in advance of the Nairobi meeting is the “NZ +5 proposal". Co-sponsored by New Zealand, Argentina, Iceland, Norway, Peru and Uruguay, it will eliminate fisheries subsidies that affect over-fished stocks and contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

The Global Ocean Commission urges the remaining 40% of the WTO’s members—and especially the biggest players currently blocking this process—to accept the relatively modest proposals on the table. A sustainable future for our planet and its oceans depend on it. ©2015/Project Syndicate

Ezekwesili and Lamy are global ocean commissioners. Figueres is the co-chair of the Global Ocean Commission.

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Published: 04 Oct 2015, 08:16 PM IST
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