ISSN 1020-5292 FAO TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FOR RESPONSIBLE FISHERIES 3UPPL``°ÊÓ FISHERIESFISHERIES MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT 2.2. TheThe ecosystemecosystem approachapproach toto fisheriesfisheries 2.22.2 TheThe humanhuman dimensionsdimensions ofof thethe ecosystemecosystem approachapproach toto fisheriesfisheries Cover photograph: A woman collects salted fish at a fishing village, Pante Raja Barat, Pante Raja subdistrict in Pidie, Indonesia (FAO/A. Berry). FAO TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FOR RESPONSIBLE FISHERIES 3UPPL``°ÊÓ FISHERIES MANAGEMENT Ê2. The ecosystem approach to fisheries 2.2 The human dimensions of the ecosystem approach to fisheries FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome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¥'"0 iii PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT These Guidelines have been finalized by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics and Policy Division (FIE) and Fishery and Aquaculture Management Division (FIM) of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations based on the draft outline developed during the Expert Consultation on the Economic, Social and Institutional Considerations of Applying the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management, Rome, Italy, 6–9 June 2006. The participants in the Expert Consultation were: Angel Alcala, Gabriella Bianchi, Kirsten Bjøru, Juan Carlos Castilla, Anthony Charles, Kevern Cochrane, Cassandra De Young, William Emerson, Nicole Franz, Ndiaga Gueye, Bjørn Hersoug, Antonia Hjort, Alastair Macfarlane, Sebastian Mathew, Patrick McConney, Magnus Ngoile, Alessandra Pomè, Ramiro Sanchez, Juan Carlos Seijo, Merle Sowman, Ussif Sumaila, Jon Sutinen, John Ward and Rolf Willmann. On the basis of a comprehensive background document prepared by Cassandra De Young, Anthony Charles and Antonia Hjort, the Consultation provided its comments and proposed amendments to the text of the background document. This document then served as the basis for the preparation of these Technical Guidelines, for which the Consultation developed a detailed outline and the first draft of which was prepared by Anthony Charles, Cassandra De Young, Patrick McConney and Merle Sowman. Comments on the draft were received from Gabriella Bianchi, Cecile Brugère, Francis Chopin, Patrick Christie, Kevern Cochrane, Nicola Ferri, Ari Gudmundsson, Blaise Kuemlangan, James Muir, Jean-François Pulvenis de Séligny, Neil Ridler, Anniken Skonhoft and Rolf Willmann. Lena Westlund was responsible for the revision of the Guidelines. The Consultation also recommended that a more comprehensive technical paper be prepared as a companion document to the guidelines (FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 489). 1 The Guidelines have been prepared with the support of FishCode, FAO’s umbrella programme for implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. These Guidelines should be read as a supplement to the FAO Technical Guidelines on Fisheries Management (No. 4, FAO, Rome, 1997, 82p.) and 1 De Young, C., Charles, A. and Hjort, A. 2008. Human dimensions of the ecosystem approach to fisheries: an overview of context, concepts, tools and methods. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 489. Rome, FAO. 152p. iv on the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (No. 4, Suppl. 2, FAO, Rome, 2003, 112p.). While both these Guidelines were structured in similar ways, this document follows a different outline in order to allow for emphasis on the social, economic and institutional aspects. However, links to these previous Guidelines have been made explicit throughout the document. These Guidelines have no formal legal status and are intended to provide support for the implementation of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code or CCRF). Furthermore, in order to present the management process in all its complexity and diversity, the wording and structure of these Guidelines do not strictly follow the language and the structure of the Code. Therefore, any eventual differences in the terminology employed should not be understood as an intention to reinterpret the Code. In addition, these Guidelines should be considered as preliminary, to be revised as the EAF concept evolves and as additional practical experience becomes available. v FAO. Fisheries management. 2. The ecosystem approach to fisheries. 2.2 Human dimensions of the ecosystem approach to fisheries. FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries. No. 4, Suppl. 2, Add. 2. Rome, FAO. 2009. 88p. ABSTRACT These Guidelines have been developed in response to requests for further information on the practical adoption and application of the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF), with a special focus on its human dimensions. As implementation of EAF is a human pursuit and takes place in the context of societal goals and aspirations, the human forces at play need to be understood and considered. These are manifest in a variety of ways and include policies, legal frameworks, social structures, cultural values, economic principles, institutional processes and any other relevant form or expression of human behaviour. In summary, the human dimensions play the following four roles in EAF: 1. social, economic and institutional objectives and factors are driving forces behind the need for EAF management; 2. the costs and benefits to individuals and to society of applying the EAF have social, economic and institutional impacts and implications; 3. the application of social, economic and institutional instruments are all crucial for successful implementation of the EAF; and 4. social, economic and institutional factors present in fishery systems can play either supporting or constraining roles in EAF implementation. Although the need for ecosystem-based approaches has reached a point of general acceptance by those involved in fisheries and their management, there remains in some quarters a sense of frustration at the management and policy levels regarding how the EAF should be applied in practice. Some questions that can occur are: “Is there a standard approach to EAF and what are the common paths?”; “What are the EAF information needs?”; “What are the EAF costs and benefits and how are different issues assessed and prioritized? “What mechanisms and approaches exist that would assist in the implementation of EAF?”; “What is adaptive management and how are indicators used in EAF?”; “How can an EAF be sustained in the longer term?”; “Are there special requirements with regard to developing countries and when implementing EAF in a poverty context?”; and “How is EAF implemented in practice – what are the different steps and activities?”. vi These Guidelines supplement the existing guidelines on EAF (FAO, 2003) and attempt to provide further insight into these questions. The first part of the Guidelines discusses an overview of the EAF process and context – the social, economic and institutional driving forces for starting an EAF, the motivations for embarking on an EAF process, the definition of its boundaries and scale, the socioeconomic context relevant to EAF and the sources and processes for collecting and using relevant information for ensuring that the main strategic components are adequately considered in the EAF process. The second part of the Guidelines reviews in more detail some of the key concepts and components relevant to EAF – the use of social, economic and institutional mechanisms and incentives in the EAF process, adaptive management and the use of indicators for dealing with the reality of uncertainty, the longer-term aspects and how to sustain an EAF, and a reflecting on special requirements of developing countries and considerations with regard to implementing EAF in a poverty context. The third part looks into the steps for planning and implementing an EAF in practice. Drawing on the discussions in the earlier chapters and in the EAF Guidelines, the EAF process is reviewed from a practical perspective step by step: (i) initiation and preparation; (ii) identification of issues and policy formulation; (iii) setting of operational objectives and development of a management plan; (iv) EAF implementation; and (v) monitoring and evaluation. vii CONTENTS Preparation of this document iii Abstract v Acronyms and abbreviations x Executive summary xi Background xviii INTRODUCTION 1 Why guidelines on the human dimensions of the EAF? 1 The EAF: history and rationale 3 Institutional foundation 3 Principles and definition 6 Purpose and structure of these Guidelines 10 PART I – OVERVIEW