Managing coastal areas: A fishing community perspective

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Managing coastal areas A fishing community
perspective

• Chandrika Sharma
• International Collective in Support of
  Fishworkers (ICSF)

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Coastal ecosystems and fisheries

• Coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves and coral
  reefs, perform crucial coastal protection
  functions, protect coastal communities against
  natural disasters and provide rich spawning and
  breeding grounds for fish
• About 75 per cent of fish production in India is
  from coastal waters, with 58 per cent of the
  fisheries resources potential in India within the
  0-50 m depth.
• Well-being and livelihoods of fishing communities
  is linked to the health of the coastal ecosystem.

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Coastal resources Growing pressure

• Fishing communities have traditionally been one
  of the main inhabitants of coastal areas.
  
• Fuelled by pressures of economic globalization,
  coastal and marine areas are being targeted, in
  an unregulated manner, for tourism, urban
  expansion, ports and harbours, waste and sewage
  disposal..
• These activities take a heavy toll on coastal and
  marine ecosystems, directly affecting
  productivity and health of fisheries resources.

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Coastal resources Growing pressure

• This has meant a deteriorating quality of life
  and threat of eviction and/ or loss of access to
  beaches for fishing communities
  
• There are several cases of displacement of
  fishing communities (Sondikud, Orissa,
  Gangavaram, Andhra Pradesh)
  
• Coastal development often disrupts access of
  fishing communities to beaches used for drying
  fish, berthing boats etc. (fishing communities in
  Goa near tourism resorts, Gorai, Maharashtra)

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Coastal resources Growing pressure

• Fishing communities in urban areas, as in Mumbai
  and Chennai, are being squeezed out
  
• Pollution, in particular, is becoming a big
  problem for fishing communities, especially near
  industrial areas in states like Gujarat,
  Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
• Impact is greatest on those traditionally fishing
  in inshore areas using non-mechanized craft,
  including women engaged in gleaning/ collection
  activities

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Coastal resources Growing pressure

• Coasts are, at the receiving end of both land-
  and sea-based activities, such as industry,
  intensive agriculture, irrigation, shipping and
  oil and exploration
• The impacts of unsustainable and polluting
  practices on land and sea finally concentrate
  in the coastal zonethe health of coastal areas
  is a litmus test for the overall health of land
  and sea-based ecosystems.

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Coastal resources Conservation initiatives?

• Conservation and management of coastal and marine
  resources are of benefit to small-scale
  fishworkersseveral such initiatives taken by
  them
• However, top-down conservation initiatives are
  negatively affecting livelihoods of small-scale
  fishworkers (Gahirmatha (Marine) Wildlife
  Sanctuary, Orissa, set up for protection of olive
  ridleys, and mangrove protection in Jambudwip
  island, Sundarbans mangroves, West Bengal)
• Such initiatives are counterproductive, both for
  biodiversity conservation and for livelihoods

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Marine fishing communities

• There are 3,202 marine fishing villages and
  756,212 householdsa total of 3.52 million
  peoplealong mainland Indias coastline of 6002
  km (Marine Fisheries Census, 2005)
• Nearly half of this population (over 1.6 million
  people) is engaged in active fishing and
  fishery-related activities
  
• The fisheries sector contributes significantly to
  the local and national economy, to employment and
  to food security

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Marine fishing communities

• The maximum number of marine fishing villages are
  in Orissa (641), followed by Tamil Nadu (581),
  Andhra Pradesh (498), Maharashtra (406) and West
  Bengal (346)
• Fishing communities tend to be socio-economically
  vulnerable, particularly along the east coast of
  India
  
• Many communities, till today, lack clear titles
  to the land they live and work on or well-defined
  access rights to the waters they have customarily
  fished.

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Marine fishing communities

• Marine fishing communities in India are known to
  be highly skilled, having fished for generations
  along the coast
  
• The fishing craft and gear have evolved over time
  and have, traditionally been in tune with local
  geographical/ ecological features
  
• The coastal area is as much a lived space as an
  occupational space, encompassing both the land
  and the sea
  

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Marine fishing communities

• In several areas fishing communities have
  well-evolved social and cultural institutions
  organized along caste, kinship or religious lines
  
• These have playedand, in many cases, still
  playa role in regulating resource use,
  conserving resources, resolving conflicts,
  ensuring equitable access to resources and in
  providing a form of social insurance
• These are in evidence, for example, along the
  Coromandel coast, in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh
  and parts of Orissa, and in northern part of
  Kerala (the kadakodi or the court of the sea)

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CRZ Notification 1991

• The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification,
  1991, issued under the provisions of the
  Environment (Protection) Act 1986, was to
  regulate development in a defined coastal strip
• Notably, the Notification recognized the
  traditional and customary rights of fishing
  communities to their habitat
  
• The CRZ Notification has been poorly implemented,
  and violations have been blatant
  

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CRZ Notification 1991

• Efforts have been made by fishing community and
  other organizations to draw attention to
  violations
  
• Fishing community and environmental groups have
  filed several cases, under this Notification, to
  seek protection of coastal ecosystems and
  habitats, eg. the case by S Jagannath on
  destructive impact of shrimp aquaculture farms in
  the coastal zone
• There are many cases regarding violation of the
  1991 Notification still pending in the courts,
  awaiting decision

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Proposed CMZ Notification Some concerns

• A new Notification is being considered by the
  MoEF, based on the recommendations of the
  Swaminathan Committee, to replace the 1991
  Notification
• Several issues of concern in the recommendations
  of the Swaminathan Committee (letter by the NFF
  to the MoEF in June 2006)
  
• A major concern is that there has been no process
  of public consultation, especially with fishing
  communities and their organizations

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Proposed CMZ Notification Some concerns

• Recommendations of the Committee do not
  explicitly state that violations committed under
  the 1991 Notification must be settled and
  penalized
• The zonation proposed by the Committee,
  particularly CMZ II, may pave the way for
  unsustainable developmental activities on the
  coast, facilitating the diversion of coastal
  lands used by fishing communities for
  development projects
• The shift in focus from regulation to management
  could lead to a dilution the regulatory aspects
  of the 1991 Notification

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Proposed CMZ Notification Some concerns

• There is no explicit recognition traditional and
  customary rights of fishing communities in the
  coastal zone
  
• The expansion of the coastal zone to include
  territorial watersthe area from the shore to 12
  nautical mileswill have major implications for
  livelihoods of fishing communities
• No explicit mention of the need for this area to
  be managed with full participation of fishing
  communities, to protect their rights to fish in
  this area, including in proposed CMZ 1 areas, and
  to ensure that no part of this area shall be
  diverted for any other purpose

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What needs to be done

• Livelihood interests of natural-resources-dependen
  t communities, including fishing communities,
  should be prioritized in coastal area management
  and development
• Fishing communities should be part of
  decision-making processes related to coastal area
  management planning and development, in keeping
  with Article 10.1.2 and 10.1.3 of the 1995 FAO
  Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

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What needs to be done

• Need to explicitly recognize rights of fishing
  communities in the coastal zone, particularly
  
• Their right to housing in coastal areas/existing
  fishing villages, settlements or fishing hamlets,
  with or without legal title deeds
  
• Their right to use coastal lands for occupational
  purpose (landing, selling, salting, smoking,
  curing and drying of fish, parking and
  maintenance work of boats and implements etc.)
  and
• Their right to access sea and marine resources

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What needs to be done

• Need to recognize and support community-based
  management and conservation initiatives, given
  
• in-depth knowledge of communities about coastal
  ecosystems and
  
• existence of fishing community institutions that
  have traditionally played a role in regulating
  resource use
  
• Existing legislation (pollution control,
  regulation of development in coastal zones, etc.)
  should be implemented, and, in particular,
  violations under the CRZ Notification should be
  brought to book.