Artisanal fisheries, Governance, Transparency, Sectoral support, Access arrangements
Anaïd Panossian
What future for Sustainable Fisheries ...

In view of the global evaluation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) that will be carried out by the Commission in 2021, the author highlights the key points which will need to be assessed from the perspective of the impacts on African coastal communities. The author also suggests essential improvements to be made for the future of SFPAs so that they better respond to the needs of these communities.

What future for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements?

Private Investments

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The Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative: How to destroy the oceans responsibly

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The Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative: How to destroy the oceans responsibly

Efforts to make blue economy sustainable have led to increasing calls for better regulations on investments. The European Commission has provided funding for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to launch the Blue Economy Finance Initiative (BEFI). The BEFI has been celebrated in international conferences about blue economy, however, this article highlights the inherent weaknesses of voluntary guidelines in mitigating the threats financial investors pose to the destruction of the planet.

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Debt-for-nature swaps and the oceans: The Belize Blue Bond

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Debt-for-nature swaps and the oceans: The Belize Blue Bond

This second article of our series on financialisation and the blue economy covers TNC’s recent debt-for-ocean swap in Belize, news about TNC’s “audacious plan” of other debt swaps in other countries, the history of debt swaps and how the recent swaps reflect the financialisaton of conservation and finally, why these debt swaps are worrying for small-scale fisheries.

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Understanding the conservation finance industry

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Understanding the conservation finance industry

Financialisation is considered to be the fundamental dynamic that contributes to inequalities in the world, while also a threat to democracy because it transfers the ownership and control of so much to a small group of financial investors and institutions, with the only goal of maximising profits.

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African artisanal fisheries at the forefront of the fight against predatory and opaque industrial fishing companies

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African artisanal fisheries at the forefront of the fight against predatory and opaque industrial fishing companies

With few exceptions, the activities of these companies conceal corrupt practices that allow vessels to fish as they please without respecting ecosystem management and conservation measures, threatening the survival of local communities.

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Small scale fisheries at risk: Madagascar signs destructive fishing agreements with Chinese investors

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Small scale fisheries at risk: Madagascar signs destructive fishing agreements with Chinese investors

While negotiations between the European Union and Madagascar for a tuna fishing agreement are dragging on, Madagascar's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has signed two private agreement protocols inviting around 30 vessels to fish in Malagasy waters.

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Investment and transparency in EU-Africa fisheries relations: what about joint ventures?

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Investment and transparency in EU-Africa fisheries relations: what about joint ventures?

In this joint position, CAOPA and CFFA request that, in the framework of the future EU–Africa partnership, which focuses on sustainable investments and the promotion of good governance in fisheries, a set of principles be defined to ensure that fisheries joint ventures operate in a transparent manner, do not compete with local artisanal fisheries, and are in line with the objectives of sustainable fisheries development in the third country concerned.