Themes
Increasing access to natural resources for the poor
| Securing equitable access to, and gaining benefits from, natural resources, is essential for poverty reduction. Within fisheries, whilst access must be controlled for sustainable management, systems can also support poverty reduction and gender equity objectives. On Lake George, ILM supported the development and implementation of a new decentralised and participatory approach to issuing fishing boat licences. The approach increases access to the poor and women, through agreed allocation targets for women and boat crew. |
Rights of access to natural resources
Legal rights of access to natural resources are essential to the poor for improving livelihoods and increasing livelihoods security. Within fisheries, access rights can be established through licensing systems. Issuing fishing boat licences is a source of revenue for local governments, and when the number of licences is limited, licensing systems also provide a management tool for controlling the level of fishing effort.
Within Uganda, lakes George, Edward and Wamala are the only lakes with controlled access, that is, the number of fishing boat licences is limited by law. The policy of the Department of Fisheries Resources (DFR) is to introduce controlled access to all commercial fisheries in the country as a means of controlling rising fishing pressure. This is in accordance with international guidelines set out in the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, to which Uganda is a signatory.
Using lakes George and Edward as a pilot, ILM supported DFR, the local governments and communities in developing a decentralised, participatory licensing system. This system promotes access of women and boat crew, the poorer members of fisheries communities, to boat licenses to benefit more from the resources.
Decentralised, participatory licensing increases transparency and accountability
The new system introduced procedures that ensured transparency, fairness and accountability through participation of all stakeholder groups, communities, local leaders (in 2003-04, through the BMU committees), local government and the Department of Fisheries Resources.
Allocations of boat licences for marginalized groups
The system introduced a poverty focus and gender sensitivity by setting up licence quotas (20% of new licences) for women and boat crew (baria) to assist them in accessing the fishery in a more lucrative way.
Access agreements for other natural resources
Fisheries communities also require access to non-fisheries NRs. These include accessing wetlands, forests and NRs within Protected Areas.
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