Incorporating Common Pool Resource (CPR) Issues into Fisheries Management Policy In Developing Countries (R.8467)
Fish resources are Common Pool Resources
Fish resources (or fish stocks) are one example of a natural resource which are also Common Pool Resources (CPR). Others include forests, water resources, rangeland and wildlife. All of these CPR share two principal characteristics - subtractability: one person's use will subtract from another; and excludability: it can be difficult and costly to exclude ands control the number of resource users.
A diversity of productive fish resources worldwide
Fish resources are distributed throughout the world and take many shapes and forms - from huge, seasonally-occurring populations of shoaling fish such as herring and mackerel in the North Atlantic and Pacific, which are exploited by industrial fishing fleets, to small localised populations of coral reef fishes which are harvested by island communities in tropical regions. Overall, there are at least 40 major fish resources (annual landings of over 300,000 tonnes per year) exploited on a commercial basis, which contribute significantly to current total global fish landings of over 100 million tonnes per year.
Fish resources as a source of wealth and benefits for economic growth and poverty reduction
From an economic perspective, fisheries can be viewed as any other natural resource, namely as a form of natural capital. From this perspective fisheries are a potential source of sustainable wealth for many coastal and inland countries. This wealth provides the opportunity for such resources to make an ongoing contribution to economic growth and poverty alleviation. The flow of benefits to society from fisheries wealth can be realised and measured in different ways - for example, the current value (first sale) of global fish landings is around US$80 billion, and the world trade in fish and fish products has increased to US$58 billion (export value) - equivalent to an increase in trade value of 45% between 1992 and 2002 - according to the FAO Report 'The State of Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004'. Fisheries exports now generate more foreign exchange revenue for developing countries than any other traded food commodity such as rice, cocoa, coffee and tea. Society can also benefit from fish resources in other ways - for example, the fisheries and aquaculture production sectors worldwide are estimated to provide employment and underpin the livelihoods of about 38 million people, and a further 120 million people in related activities such as fish processing, trade and gear manufacture and supply. Finally, about 76% (100.7 million tones) of world fish production is used for human consumption and fish provides more than 2.6 billion people with at least 20% of their average per capita intake of animal protein.
Fisheries need to be managed
However, although fish resources can be an important source of wealth for many nations, the experience of the past 30 years in particular has shown that fisheries are in general difficult to manage and without management, fisheries always tend to become overexploited. At present, FAO estimates that at least 50% of world fish stocks are fully or overexploited - this means that the potential benefits from fisheries are not being achieved to the fullest extent possible (a major loss to society and to development and poverty alleviation).
Fisheries and other CPR are difficult to manage
But why are fisheries so difficult to manage? A major factor is the CPR nature of fisheries - the features of 'subtractability' and 'excludability' in the case of often large, mobile and unobservable fish resources make the design and implementation of fisheries management systems a very challenging undertaking, especially when there is a limited knowledge and understanding (by policy-makers and other decision-makers) of the range of issues and options associated with the fisheries in question - for example: How big is the resource? Who should be allowed to use it? How should the resource be used (management objectives)? What rules are most appropriate to control exploitation? Who should decide on the rules and their enforcement? How should local level rules relate to national policy and vice-versa?
Current project aims
The aim of this project to identify and promote new knowledge and understanding about the nature, exploitation and management of CPR - specifically fisheries CPR - in developing (or tropical countries).The findings will be communicated principally to national and international policy-makers throughout the world in order to contribute towards improved and more appropriate policy design and implementation for sustainable fisheries in the future.
Project approach and method
The project will synthesise empirical information on fisheries, within the general context of CPR theory and literature, drawn from 18 projects undertaken within the DFID/MRAG Fisheries Management Science Programme (Project Clusters 2 and 7). There is no doubt that the FMSP projects have contributed much new technical knowledge and these research outputs should contribute to the management and development of capture and enhancement fisheries in developing countries in the future. However, there is also a need to identify and analyse the factors that appear to influence management outcomes when dealing with CPR as a basis for lesson-learning and best practice.
Project outputs - knowledge products
The project will produce two main outputs or knowledge products, as follows:- A Review Report entitled: 'Incorporating Common Pool Resource (CPR) Issues into Fisheries Management in Developing Countries: Key Lessons and Best Practice'
- A set of Four Key-Sheets based on the Review Report as follows:
- Key Sheet 1: The Importance of CPR (Fisheries) to the Poor in Developing Countries;
- Key Sheet 2: Factors which affect CPR (Fisheries) Management Performance in Developing Countries: Key Lessons;
- Key Sheet 3: Approaches for Improving CPR (Fisheries) Management Performance in Developing Countries: Best Practice;
- Key Sheet 4: Future Research Priorities for CPR (Fisheries) Management in Developing Countries;
Dissemination of project outputs -knowledge products
The project outputs - the Review Report and Set of Key Sheets - will be placed on two websites - the FMSP Website and the OneFish website.
The knowledge products will be promoted in general through a series of short articles in various international newsletters and journals, and through a flyer sent out to a number of international information networks. In addition, the knowledge products will be promoted through targeted e-mails and letters sent out to policy-makers and their advisers in at least 20 countries throughout the world where fisheries are particularly important for livelihoods, nutrition and poverty reduction, as follows:
Africa: Senegal, Ghana, Chad, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi and Seychelles; Asia: India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia; Pacific and Caribbean: Fisheries Forum Nations; Caricom Nations; South America: Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia;
| Final Technical Reports | View PDF |
| Review Report - Incorporating Common Pool Resource (CPR) Issues into Fisheries Management in Developing Countries: Key Lessons and Best Practice - September 2005 | Download |
| Flyer | Download |
| Summary Article - Press Release | Coming Soon |
| KeySheet 1: The Importance of CPR (Fisheries) to the Poor in Developing Countries. | Coming Soon |
| KeySheet 2: Factors which affect CPR (Fisheries) Management Performance in Developing Countries: Key Lessons. | Coming Soon |
| KeySheet 3:Approaches for Improving CPR (Fisheries) Management Performance in Developing Countries: Best Practice. | Coming Soon |
| KeySheet 4: Future Research Priorities for CPR (Fisheries) Management in Developing Countries. | Coming Soon |
| Contacts | |
| Contact | Dr Arthur Neiland |
| Role | Project Leader |
| Organisation | IDDRA Ltd. |
| Telephone | +44 (0) 2392 658232 |
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