PRESS RELEASE
19 January 2010
Fisherfolk hits WWF, Coral Triangle summit
Poor coastalcommunities ignored in design to protect marine environment
The alliance of fisherfolk federation Kilusang Mangingisda KM) criticized the US-based
international NGOs, WWF and Conservation International and the Philippine Government for ignoring the voice and interests of the coastal communities in designing the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) and focusing on developing investment opportunities in the critical coral areas.
“The WWF and the government should involve real people who are dependent on the natural marine environment and not focus on the business opportunities and environment protection only. Under the Fisheries Code, the municipal waters where the coral areas are found are for the preferential use of fisherfolk. If these areas are privatized to business entities under the the guise of conservation, the livelihoods of almost half a million poor Filipino fishers who comprise the
poorest sector will be jeopardized,” said Val Vibal, KM Chairperson.
The Philippine Government and the WWF are organizing the Coral Triangle Summit on January 19
to 20, 2010 with no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap attending. The President’s daughter Ms Luli Arroyo is one of the lead convenors of the summit through her affiliation with the WWF.
Members of the fisheries groups held a protest rally in front of the Summit venue in Makati Shangri-la today. Carrying a traditional banca that is most-commonly used by small artisanal fishers, the groups declared to the summit participants that the Philipines seas are not for sale to corporate business interests.
The CTI Business Summit is expected to outline the business opportunities for key sectors operating in the region encompassing Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste providing a platform for financial support and investment for businesses willing to commit to sustainability and green growth.
Vibal said not a single consultaton was held with the affected communities and yet the WWF claimed to provide targeted support for issues related to climate change, fisheries, tourism and marine protected areas through its Coral Triangle Programme.
“Presently, the poor fishing communities need social protection in the form of housing and
settlement areas, health services, education support and access to land and water resources for economic viability to build a resilient community that can withstand the impact of climate change. The corporate-based approach of the Coral Triangle Initiative will benefit only the market player while increasing the vulnerability and displacement of the poor fishing communities,” Vibal
explained.
The Coral Triangle holds half of the world’s coral reefs, the greatest extent of mangrove forests and where the spawning and juvenile growth areas of the world’s largest tuna fishery are located. An estimated 363 million people live within the coral triangle with 120 million people living along coastal communities – directly dependent on local marine and coastal resources for their income, livelihood and food security. The estimated annual value of the coral reefs, mangroves, and associated natural habitats in the CT totals US $2.3 billion.
“The fisherfolk is delegated as mere “security guards” of marine resources. But unlike those who are guarding the banks where financial resources are kept, fisherfolk families including women and children voluntarily guard the marine resources since their very lives are at stake and daily survival depends upon the condition of marine resources,” said Pablo Rosales, Chairperson of Progresibong Alyansa ng mga Mangingisda-Pilipinas (PANGISDA), a member of KM.
The groups said the CTI project is a typical top-to-bottom business style management where political pressure from the President sets out policy instructions without much sectoral participation.
“National policies like the establishment of large-scale marine protected areas are set
through a series of Executive Orders that pressures local governments and communities to comply despite the fact that projects like this will take away traditional fishing rights of the poor coastal communities,” explained Rosales.
In a statement sent to the media, KM urged the government to push for a more people-centered approach to the problem wherein coastal communities and small fishers are given premium in the planning and implementation stages in sustaining coastal fisheries and adapting to climate change.
The project was officially launched on May 11, 2009 in Manado, Indonesia where members of TDC, KM and SEAFish held a protest for failing to include the fisherfolk representatives in the summit. The Manado immigration officials forced the 11 Filipino fisheries leaders to board the first available flight back to Manila from Jakarta. (END)