In November 2018, Kenya, Canada and Japan co-hosted the ‘sustainable blue economy conference’ in Nairobi, sponsored by the UN, the World Bank, the African Union, the European Union and 11 other countries. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements and CANCO —a Kenyan based organisation that works to promote the rights of coastal communities—hosted a side event that discussed what the sustainable blue economy means for small-scale fishers. Remarkably this was the only dedicated meeting that was devoted to small-scale fisheries, and there were no representatives of SFF organisations speaking in the main conference panels.
The discussions at our side event demonstrated confusion about the concepts of the blue economy and blue growth. Certainly much of the marketing for the event presented a positive image, and there were aspects of the final report that were welcome, including pledges by countries to reduce carbon emissions, continue to reduce plastics in the oceans and to support sustainable fisheries. However, there was also a great deal of critical debate on what was being presented by different organisations and heads of states at the conference. There was unease whether this blue growth agenda really benefits small-scale fisheries, including how compatible it is with the implementation of the International Guidelines on Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries. This was also argued by researchers at the Transnational Institute, in their article ‘the illusions of blue growth’, which highlighted that the Nairobi conference was yet another one that failed to engage small-scale fishers, and it put forward a reform agenda that is deeply worrying.
Echoing what TNI is saying, and drawing on the side event discussion in Nairobi, we have written a paper that presents a critique of the blue growth model, and offers the beginnings of an alternative. This alternative rejects the promise of more economic growth, dependence on private financing and market-based systems for conservation, and it takes more seriously the issue of redistribution of wealth. In developing this alternative, we argue that the slogan of blue economy must be re-evaluated; it was flawed when introduced at Rio+20 in 2012, but it has also been corrupted in the years that have passed. We suggest the concept of the ‘blue commons’ instead, and believe this may be a preferable framework for the small-scale fisheries sector.
The organisers of the side event in Nairobi will hold a follow up meeting in Sweden this April, where a rival view to blue growth that promotes the interest of SSF organisations will be given more thought, and the blue commons concept and related policies are further interrogated.