Why were well meaning fishermen from the Philippines were forced to go home?

Letters: Coastal resources management
The Jakarta Post 14 May 09;

We cannot understand why a contingent of well meaning fishermen from the Philippines were forced to go home after having staged a peaceful assembly in solidarity with Indonesian fishers on Malalayang Beach, Manado. Never have our friends who were part of that delegation experienced political harassment!

Whatever happened to the ASEAN slogan "One Caring and Sharing Community"? Tambuyog Development Center, an NGO concerned with the welfare of artisanal fisherfolk in Southeast Asia, is very much concerned about this incident and sees more difficulty in conveying the concerns of artisanal fisherfolk through such undemocratic processes which we have just witnessed.

We have been informed by Riza Damanik, General Secretary of Koalisi Rakyat untuk Keadilan Perikanan (the people's coalition for justice in fishery), about the situation in Manado and have been constantly in touch with our colleagues who are preparing to depart for Manila after being subjected to unnecessary interrogation at Immigration. Artisanal fisherfolk have traditionally exercised management and control over marine areas. This was once called customary rights; others call it territorial use rights.

This reality implies that external intervention agents such as international conservation NGOs must pay due respect to these community institutions, similar to the concept of prior informed consent. With this in mind, coastal communities (or their representatives) must be fully informed of the intention of the Coral Triangle Initiative and should allow them to participate in decision making processes.

We have seen the volunteerism of fisherfolk in guarding marine protected areas. In some cases, such responsibilities are paid for with their own lives. We have observed the prevailing framework of habitat management over and above the needs of coastal communities. How then can the strategies be implemented in the midst of poverty and degradation of coastal resources? We propose a paradigm shift towards community-based coastal resources management wherein the community are the stewards of nature.

We believe that the development of the capacity of local organizations needs technical and financial resources to manage the marine resources themselves. We believe in investing in people: social capital investment above financial opportunities.

To this end, conservation is not the result of the strategy, but is a function of capable, responsible and accountable organization. Without this, coastal communities strategies are bound to fail.

In the advent of what transpired in Manado, it becomes clear to us that this struggle will be very difficult in the coming years!

Ephraim Patrick T. Batungbacal
Quezon City, Philippines