Transcript Panel 11: Strategies For Preserving Common Pool

13th Symposium on
Development and Social Transformation
Panel 10: Strategies For Preserving
Common Pool Resources
Thursday, April 20th (2:00-3:00pm)
13th Symposium on
Development and Social Transformation
Panel 10: Strategies For Preserving Common Pool
Resources
Fisheries Co-Management In Thailand
Rachel Fleishman
Fisheries Policy in Thailand
Co-management as an
innovative solution
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
Common Property Resources (CPR)
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Four management regimes
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Open-access
Private property
State property
Communal property
Thailand uses mostly
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State property… ‘command-and control’ regulation
“Co-management”… combination of state and community
control
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
Importance of fisheries in Thailand
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Employment
Food… important source of animal protein
Foreign exchange and portion of GDP
Dependence on fisheries in coastal communities
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Represents a high percentage of income
Few alternative employment options
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
Problems in Thai fisheries
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Over-exploitation
 Indications… declining CPUE, lost species and
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habitats, increasing proportion of “trash fish”
Causes… new technology (for catching and
processing), excess fishing capacity, exclusion from
EEZs of other countries
Conflicts between small-scale and commercial
fishers
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
‘State control’ policies
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Main legislation
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Thai Vessels Act (1938)
Act Governing the Right to Fish in Thai Fisheries Waters
(1939)
Fisheries Act (1947)
Types of regulations imposed…Gear restrictions
(seasonal and spatial), licensing, maximum allowable
catch
 Non-regulatory actions…Subsidizing infrastructure
improvements, restoration, non-destructive gear, &
alternative livelihoods.
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
Regulatory failure
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Main goals…
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Increased production (esp. deep sea fishing and
aquaculture)
Sustainable yields
Improved quality of life for fishers & fisher participation
Global competitiveness & development of a domestic
market
Problems with regulatory policy….
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Lack of enforcement capacity
Lack of political will
Lack of input and participation from fisher communities.
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
Co-management
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Definition…. “an arrangement where management responsibility is
shared between the government and fishing communities…. a set of
institutional and organizational arrangements (rights and rules), which
define the cooperation among the fisheries administration and relevant
fishing communities (Neilsen, et al 2004).”
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Role of government… provide the legal/political support for comanagement institutions to function; enforce system of rights
and rules.
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Role of the community… determine system of rights and
rules; monitoring; incorporation of local knowledge into system.
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
Application of co-management in Thailand
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Pilot projects
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Several sponsored by int’l organizations (FAO, UN,
DANIDA) and research institutes (ICLARM, IFM)
Key actors: government agencies, local government
officials, local NGOs, village organizations, academics,
and religious leaders
Baan Ao Lom case… a success?
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Importance of informal community institutions; cultural
solidarity/homogeneity; and ability to exclude outsiders
Exclusion within and outside of the community
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
Co-management impacts
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Benefits
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Better policy through incorporation of local preferences &
knowledge
Investment from community yields longer-term effectiveness
Cost-savings for government
Spin-off benefits in terms of community organizing
Diversification of fisheries policy
Costs
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Transaction costs
Exclusion and inequity
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
Policy recommendations
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Continue to experiment with co-management
Direct careful attention to equity concerns
* Evaluation by a disinterested third party, such as an NGO
* Strengthening national democratic institutions
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Improve enforcement of existing government regulations
and look for ways to coordinate these with community
monitoring efforts
Promote alternative livelihoods in fishing communities;
provide adult education and technical training.
Elimination of subsidies by developed countries on
vessels fishing in developing country waters.
Rachel Fleishman “Fisheries Policy in Thailand”
13th Symposium on
Development and Social Transformation
Panel 10: Strategies For Preserving Common Pool
Resources
Conservation Efforts In Africa: Lessons
From Community-based Conservation
Sharon Pailler
Community Based
Conservation in Africa
Lessons Learned
Africa’s Biodiversity
• Unique, extensive
biodiversity
• 50,000 plant sp
• 1,500 bird sp
• 1,000 mammal sp
• Extreme, rapid
biodiversity loss
• Mostly human activity
Poverty
• Africa’s profound, widespread
poverty
• SSA GNI per capita (excluding S.
Africa), $307
-World Bank 2004
• Role of poverty in biodiversity
loss:
• Unsustainable resource use
• Prioritize objectives other than
conservation
Conservation measures:
Effects on rural poor
• Protected areas
• Cannot use resources
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Food
Shelter
Fuel
Livelihoods
Community Based Conservation
(CBC)
• Emergence: 1980’s
• Address conservation issues AND
community needs
• Using:
• Community participation
• Sustainable resource use
• Economic incentives
Effectiveness
• CBC widely
implemented
• Little progress in either
goal
• Underlying basis of
CBC may not promote
conservation or poverty
alleviation
Potential Reasons
• Preferences for
security and welfare
• Conservation-friendly
economic activity
• Sufficient economic
benefits
• Replace or supplement
Potential Reasons
• External exploitation
• Community
participation
• Perceived vs. actual
participation
Conclusions
• CBC falls short
• Increasing pressure on
biodiversity
• Shortcomings of CBC
provide a lesson for
future efforts
13th Symposium on
Development and Social Transformation
Panel 10: Strategies For Preserving Common Pool
Resources
Climate Change: Science vs. US Public
Policy
Mark Sergott
Climate Change: Science vs. U.S. Public Policy
Mark S. Sergott
Syracuse University
Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs
April 20, 2006
Influential Factors
1) Climatic Problem Recognition
- Presently, no crisis exists (i.e. death, disease, disastrous event).
- Widespread fear or panic is not spreading across the country.
- Absence of climatic warning indicators diminishes the severity of scientific
claims.
Influential Factors
2) Scientific Uncertainties
- Estimating future anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.
- Predicting the frequency of severe weather events.
- Predicting future global trends:
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population growth
industrialization in developing countries
technological advancements
changes in global energy consumption
- Due to these uncertainties, predicting future climatic conditions
is highly speculative.
Influential Factors
3) Financial Costs
- Key government barrier that prevents climate change from making it to the
forefront of the political agenda.
- Concerns to the stability of the national economy.
- Insufficient infrastructure to support the use of alternative fuels.
- Technologies are still developing.
Influential Factors
4) Interest Group Presence
- Many have vested interests in the economy.
- Publicize the testimony of skeptical scientists.
- Competition over legislative attention.
- Disagreements have heightened partisan conflict, which ultimately has lead
to policy gridlock.
What the Scientific Community Needs to Do:
- Gather support from other actors not currently involved in the climate change debate.
- Strengthening governmental relationships with states that have begun taking steps
in coordinating efforts to combat climate change.
- Facilitate dialogues at both the national and regional levels.
- There is hope that environmental education and awareness will lead to reform.
13th Symposium on
Development and Social Transformation
Panel 10: Strategies For Preserving Common
Pool Resources
Thursday, April 20th (2:00-3:00pm)
Rachel Fleishman
Fisheries And Co-Management In Thailand
Sharon Pailler
Conservation Efforts In Africa: Lessons
From Community-based Conservation
Mark Sergott
Climate Change: Science vs. US Public
Policy