CONCEPT NOTE HARMONIZATION OF DOMESTIC FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE POLICIES IN SADC MEMBER STATES WITH THE SADC PROTOCOL ON FISHERIES AND THE POLICY FRAMEWORK AND REFORM STRATEGY FOR FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN AFRICA (PFRS) February 2016 1
PROJECT TITLE Hamornization of domestic fisheries and aquaculture polcies in SADC Member States with the SADC Protocol on Fisheries and the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy forfisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS) EXPECTED OUTCOME(S) Continental and regional instruments like the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS) and the SADC Protocol on Fisheries harmonized in all SADC Member States. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE Fisheries in the SADC region are one of the trans-boundary natural resources whose management requires collaboration among Member States. Fisheries in SADC countries are characterized by differing contexts and socio economic environments, varying from small scale and artisanal fisheries in countries such as Mozambique, Angola, Zambia and Malawi, to the hake and horse mackerel in the Atlantic, and tuna and prawns in the Indian Ocean EEZs of Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles where fisheries have a big commercial importance for their stocks or the fish export industries in Namibia and South Africa. The landlocked countries also have important inland semi-commercial and artisanal fisheries in countries like Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, specifically around Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Kariba, the Zambezi river basin and Okavango Delta. Though still in its infancy, aquaculture in the SADC region has potential and is characterized by diverse systems and culture methods. Freshwater aquaculture is characterised by tilapia, carp and catfish culture in countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Tanzania, and trout culture in countries like South Africa and Lesotho. Mariculture (marine aquaculture) is characterised by seaweed culture in Tanzania, South Africa and Namibia, shellfish species like abalone, oysters and mussels in South Africa and Namibia, and shrimps in Madagascar and Mozambique. In addition to their importance to the economies of many SADC countries in terms of income and creation of employment, fisheries and aquaculture make major, irreplaceable contribution to nutrition and food security in the region. In most of the SADC countries fish is the only affordable source of several essential nutrients and therefore of overwhelming importance for food and nutrition security. The importance of sustainable management and use of natural resources is enshrined in the SADC Treaty (1992, as amended). In 2001, the SADC Heads of State and Government adopted the SADC Protocol on Fisheries, which came to force in 2003. In line with the SADC Treaty (1992), the SADC Protocol on Fisheries (2001) calls for State Parties to work together in the overall management and development of fisheries resources including in law enforcement, in management of shared resources and in protection of aquatic environments. The Summit of African Heads of State and Government in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, June 2014, endorsed the PFRS as a blue print to facilitate transformation of Africa s fisheries and aquaculture for food, livelihoods and wealth. One of the expected outcomes of the PFRS is that Member States are helped to meet their obligations under national and international fisheries, aquaculture and natural resource management instruments. 2
On the other hand, the PFRS aims to facilitate transformation of Africa s fisheries and aquaculture for food, livelihoods and wealth by: 1. Elaborating and making explicit essential guiding principles for good governance of Africa s fisheries for increased coherence and coordination of the sector; 2. Assisting AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Fisheries Bodies (RFBs) to develop realistic fisheries and aquaculture policies by suggesting standards and best practices to the sector s benefits to AU Member States, in terms of food security, employment and income; 3. Helping to facilitate regional collaboration and integration in shared fisheries and aquaculture resources management; 4. Providing appropriate guidance on how to implement reforms for fisheries and aquaculture development; 5. Facilitating ratification and/or adoption of appropriate provisions in international fisheries management instruments; and 6. Facilitating advocacy for increased investment in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The rationale for adopting the above instruments are to arrest the growing depletion of the continental and regional fisheries stocks, the degradation of their habitats and orient national policies towards the promotion of more sustainable behaviours by national actors resulting in the long-term sustainable development of fisheries and the development of environmentally friendly aquaculture. However, these instruments can affect national policies only if states are willing and capable of incorporating international obligations into their national legislations (enactment), ensuring their application (or execution) and enforcement in areas, such as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which fall completely under national jurisdiction. Despite the existence of these instruments major challenges that the instruments by conventional wisdom were intended to address continue to impede the sustainable use of living aquatic resources and aquaculture development on the continent and specifically in the region. This is mainly due to poor levels of harmonization or implementation of these instruments in the Member countries. It is not surprising therefore, that at its 33 rd Meeting in February 2013 in Swakopmund, Namibia the SADC Technical Committee on Fisheries recommended that efforts should focus at implementing the regional instrument, but harmonization should be the first step. Following adoption of the PFRS in 2014, this mandate was broadened at the 34 th Meeting in April 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the SADC Technical Committee on Fisheries reiterated the need for harmonization of the Protocol, including the PFRS. The meeting mandated the SADC Secretariat together with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to ensure that harmonization is done before end of 2016. The committee reiterated the need collaborate with developing partners like the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the NEPAD Agency (NPCA). It is against this background that a project is proposed in collaboration with AU-IBAR, NPCA and WWF. This project will support the SADC Secretariat to continue implementing the SADC Protocol on Fisheries, while ensuring the Member States also adopt policy options in the PFRS. The project will assess how well the PFRS is harmonized with the SADC Protocol on Fisheries and harmonise the SADC Member States fisheries and aquaculture policies with these two instruments. 3
ABOUT THE PROJECT At its 34 th meeting held in April 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the SADC Technical Committee on Fisheries acknowledged the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between SADC Secretariat and WWF, and tasked WWF to assist the region in harmonization of the fisheries policies. During January 2016, AU-IBAR undertook a Mission to SADC Secretariat where areas of collaboration were identified, and harmonization of policies was one of the projects prioritized for implementation during 2016. During March 2016, AU- IBAR invited SADC Secretariat and other Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Fisheries Bodies (RFBs) to a planning retreat where SADC presented its priorities for the 2016-2017 financial year and these were incorporated into the AU-IBAR Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme of Work, and one such activity is harmonization of fisheries policies in the SADC region. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this project are to: Analyse the challenges and constraints faced in domesticating/implementing the SADC Protocol on Fisheries by 15 SADC Member States (Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania (URT), Zambia and Zimbabwe); Analyse the gaps existing between the PFRS and the SADC Protocol on Fisheries, and propose areas of review in the Protocol, considering that the Protocol was long in existence and might need to be updated in line with the PFRS and other international instruments; Initiate a process in Member States to harmonise the fisheries and aquaculture policies; and Develop a comprehensive concept document for the amendment of the SADC Protocol on Fisheries in line with Article 29. THE PROPOSAL It is envisaged that the project will be implemented in three phases, where the first phase will be for planning the project and agreeing on the common methodology to be utilized, second phase will be the first implementation which will be categorized into the SADC inland states of Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe and the coastal states of Angola, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa and URT. The third phase will focus on second implementation which will initiate harmonization process in these Member States. The final phase will be to share the outcomes and agree on the revisions or amendments to be made on the SADC Protocol on Fisheries in line with the PFRS and other international instruments. Since SADC Secretariat has already mandated WWF to do this activity, it is envisaged that WWF will be contracted to start this work as soon as this proposal is approved by AU-IBAR. 4
Phase 1: Planning Phase (June 2016) SADC Regional harmonization project formulated; and Project roadmap and actual budget finalized. AU-IBAR and WWF to undertake a planning mission with SADC Secretariat in Cape Town, South Africa or Gaborone, Botswana. Budget USD 10 000 Phase 2: Analyses challenges and constraints in domesticating/implementing the SADC Protocol on Fisheries and PFRS (June-August 2016) a) Reports on analyses of constraints in SADC inland and coastal states; b) Monitoring tools for the SADC Protocol on Fisheries developed; and c) Report on the gaps existing in the SADC Protocol on Fisheries with regard to PFRS and other newly developed international instruments. a) Desktop studies on SADC inland and coastal Member States; b) Develop and validate tools for monitoring the level of domestication of the SADC Protocol on Fisheries; c) Conduct monitoring visits to select Member States and regional/transboundary projects; d) Collate information, analyze and draft status reports; and e) Host an AU-IBAR, SADC Secretariat and WWF reporting session in Gaborone, Botswana or Cape Town, South Africa. Budget USD 50 000 Phase 3: Initiation of harmonization in 15 Member States (August-January 2016) a) Proposed revisions in Member States policies; and b) Workshop reports. a) Hosting of national workshops (15) b) Host an AU-IBAR, SADC Secretariat and WWF reporting session in Cape Town, South Africa. Budget USD 190 000 Phase 4: Propose amendments to the SADC Protocol on Fisheries (February-March 2017) 2016) a) Published reports; and b) Concept Document proposing amendments to the SADC Protocol on Fisheries. a) Host meeting of the SADC Technical Committee on Fisheries in Mbabane, Swaziland. Budget USD 50 000 5