Saturday, November 30, 2013

How to Involve the Implementation of VG-SSF once adopted

NAFSO joined the e-consultation of the  Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition on Implementing the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries.
The e-consultation will be conducted until 3rd December, 2013.

NAFSO was able to collect views from the membership, the leaders of NAFSO through partner organization, key leading activists through email consultations, national gathering and came up with a following actions to engage in the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines of the Small Scale Fisheries known as VG-SSF.

Following are the key areas of our responses:



ISSUES AND QUESTIONS
1.       Partnering for implementation
The implementation of the SSF Guidelines will require engagement and partnerships across different institutions, organizations and actors as the SSF Guidelines implementation does not only require the involvement by fishers but takes into consideration also the role and needs of those around them. Fishing communities, CSOs, academia, NGOs, governments, regional organizations, donors and international agencies and organizations all need to work together - but different actors may have different roles to play to address issues in relation to fisheries governance, gender, post-harvest, consumer interests, wider societal interests, etc. Please share any experiences, both good or bad as well as lessons learned related to partnerships in the implementation of international instruments

·         How do you see the role of your organization and others in the implementation of the SSF Guidelines?
As an organization work for establish sustainable small scale fisheries in Sri Lanka and  work for protects people’s rights, National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) play major role in advocacy and policy lobbying.
In implementation of SSF guideline (VG-SSF), NAFSO work as mediatory organization for Sri Lankan government, community and other stake holders to take the message to grass root level from the international level and also to work with the people to prepare background to implementation of the guideline.
Building of required people’s pressure for the State to act in people centered manner and bring the marginalized peoples voice to upper level is also among the NAFSO’s role in implementation of the SSF guideline.
Other Stake holders are also should participate to build awareness among wider community in the country to build well educated citizens in the country to pressurize decision makers to implement VG-SSF.
NAFSO will Translate the VG-SSF in to local languages[Sinhala and Tamil] and bring to grass root level through its activists and community leaders. In fact, the available negotiated text also already being translated in to both Sinhala and Tamil languages and discussed among NAFSO membership and received the feedback.
Aware the Organizations work with sectors other than fisheries. E.g. Women, Farmers, workers union etc.
Build required pressure with the people, for adopting required policies for implementing VG-SSF by the government.
·         How can partnerships be fostered and strengthened to include the ‘voices of the marginalized
·         To make proper connection with marginalized people in the society, partnerships must be properly educated.
·         Prepare educational materials on VG-SSF, which can understand by people with lowest educational level/illiterate. (visuals/simple cartoons)
·         Issue based campaigns with the people together with relevant organizations such as Women related, Human rights, environment, labor etc.
What will be required at local, national, regional and global levels to ensure effective and efficient partnerships?
·         For effective and efficient partnership, better build an organizational network working on the subject with partners of local, National and international level and provide proper guidance on VG-SSF. In some cases, we may need to build up links and network on various issues, such as groups work on access rights, post harvest, women rights, disaster mitigation, rights of the IDPs etc.
·         Need national level Committed leadership to internalize the important subjects and articulate with clear understanding.
·         Adopt effective communication methodologies.
·         Share of relevant information regularly as they coming from regional and international levels,
Critical Analysis on the partnerships and wider awareness on how VG-SSF affect to the people life. E.g. for food security etc
Need a team devoted to work on VG-SSF implementation and bring it to other sectors/groups/communities.
Improved media relationship                                                                                            
State and Non-state actors must work together with mutual understanding.
2.      Information and communication – promoting experience sharing and collaboration
Continuous learning and sharing of experiences will be of utmost importance for effective implementation. Available lessons learnt, best practices and tools should be used and reinventing the wheel avoided, but at the same time the local context may differ to such a degree that specific tools and solutions must be developed. Monitoring of progress will be important to keep track of what is working (and what is not) and participatory monitoring and evaluation systems and relevant statistics can help making information available and shared.
                                             
·         What best practices with regard to communication would you recommend for SSF Guidelines implementation at local, national, regional and global level?
Case studies related to VG-SSF.
Share People’s Struggles for sustain their lives, livelihoods and basic human rights,
Documentation of successful co- management practices among people practiced for considerable time period.
Small documentaries on success stories after implementation of VG-SSF
Using of web and social media for publicize the VG-SSF-[You Tube, Face Book]
Using of Comic arts, cartoons to bring VG-SSF to various levels of the society.
·         What are your experiences from participatory monitoring and evaluation?
Inter organizational participatory monitoring and evaluation is very difficult while internal monitoring is possible.
However, this is very important to assess the progress and keep the right track of implementation of any international instrument.
Hence, there should be mechanism to monitor the progress of the implementation through cross checking when reporting back and challenge the State reports by non State report/s,
·         How can progress in implementing the SSF Guidelines be measured and reported in a useful way?
To measure:
If VG-SSF implemented, VG-SSF based regulation/ policies will be adopted and be activated by the relevant authorities.
The level of investment, increased percentage of welfare on small scale fisheries will show progress in implementation
The level of understanding of VG-SSF among the State actors, mainly the fisheries officials in national State agencies and regional offices of FAO,
The level of change programs in favor of SSF than before,
When it is reporting back to a COFI or any other relevant forum, there should be a parallel reporting process to the State report from civil society should be considered. There should be mechanism adopted to this which should be integral part of the VG-SSF it self.
 3.      Challenges and opportunities – needs for support and interventions
There will be implementation challenges (e.g. financial, political, institutional, cultural) to address but also opportunities to capitalize on. These may vary from one context to another and also differ between the global, regional, national and local levels. Understanding these challenges and opportunities will be important for identifying and designing support activities. The implementation of the SSF Guidelines will need a mix of different types of interventions, including – but not necessarily limited to – the strengthening of political commitment and awareness raising, changes in policies, revisions of legislation and/or regulations, development of capacity and empowerment, improving and sharing information, and strengthened research and communication.



 What do you think the main implementation challenges are, generally as well as in a specific country context, and how could they be overcome?
·         Political will is the major challenge for Sri Lankan SSF. State strategy is to develop mega scale fisheries while giving less importance to the small scale fisheries sector development or continuation.   
·         Political leaders who work with profit motive instead of food sovereignty/ food security, poverty alleviation, rural development, address issues and development of marginalized people or environmental protection won’t see any importance of VG-SSF too.
·         Until now, our experience is negative once there are instruments which are not legally binding and voluntary in nature. Unfortunately, all the FAO based instruments are voluntary in nature and States are not binding to implement them in national level,
·         Some of the States considering Civil society organizations as who work against the government and not ready to work with the CSOs for social development, food security, poverty alleviation etc.
To Overcome such barriers:
·         Build up a social movement and Campaigning together with community, mass media, researches, Civil society networks and academia etc. to pressurize the government
·         Equip the community leaders, activists in the organizations with knowledge and basic capacities to raise the important aspects of the VG-SSF, may be with the politicians, officials, media and researches etc. This will help to press the policy makers to consider the people’s voice and implement what they agreed at FAO level,
·         Organize some face to face dialogues with the policy makers and the State actors and Community leaders and independent actors,
What are your experiences of addressing these types of challenges and what have been successful or unsuccessful strategies and approaches?
·         We have experienced of preparation of sustainable fisheries policy with the bottom up approach and submitted to the government authorities with the half million signatures of the community. Conducted a series of discussion with the government policy makers to get establish the policy while lobby work with the people to pressurize the government.
·         With the power of the community, building of Sea plane landing site in  Negombo lagoon(25 Km North to Colombo) was stopped even after starting of project work. Awareness and strong leadership was behind the success in the campaign.
·         With the fisher people’s pressure, government had to grant fuel subsidiary for the fishing people after increase of fuel price in 2012 February.
·         In some cases we identified that, it is difficult to unifying people. e.g, Fight against acquisition of lands for development of tourism in Kalpitiya islands and resettlement in Mullikulam (Mannar district -250Km North to Colombo) .
How would interventions vary, depending on the time frame (e.g. what can be done within the next 12 months, in the next 5 years, in the long term) and depending on the existing resources (e.g. small/medium investments or large/transformative investments)?
·         Educate fisher people, Fisheries organizational leadership, within one year. For this material productions to bring the VG-SSF to tips of the people’s hand is utmost important.
·         Preparations of materials, popular manual in local languages is important within the 1st year.
·         And develop agreeable policies together with the people in five years. Based on the VG-SSF, policies should be developed and bottom up approach should be promoted among policy makers. Unless, there is a substantial change of attitudes of the policy makers on SSF matters, there is no an effective implementation of VG-SSF too. So, we are careful about this process within the 5 years after adoption of VG-SSF.
·         In long term, work for include the developed policy matters to government policies together with people and policy makers in the government.
·         There should be national mechanism adopted and a civil team formed to monitor the implementation of the VG-SSF and to guide the policy makers to keep the track.
·         National Fisheries advisory body should be formed to evaluate the progress and guide the State mechanisms to implement VG-SSF.
·         FAO, COFI should be adopt a mechanism to evaluate the progress being made after 5 years of the adoption of VG-SSF and take necessary steps to guide the States to address the issues of SSF in accordance with the VG-SSF.
 


 

 

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