The World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), representing over 10 mn small-scale fisher people, including Indigenous People, from coastal and inland regions in 54 countries, has called upon governments to ensure regeneration of the natural environments that have been destroyed in the name of the ‘blue economy’ and to resist the carbon trading schemes and dangerous geoenginering which is back on the top of the agenda at the Sharm-el-Sheikh COP27 climate summit.
Asking to continue to be part of the solution to the climate catastrophe, WFFP pointed out that the livelihoods of small-scale fisher people, who provide affordable and nutritious foods though localised value chains, build on low carbon emission practices and as such can be part of a solution to the biggest threat of our times.
In a Statement made on 14 November, WFFP cautioned against putting blind faith in carbon trading mechanisms, coupled with ocean geoengineering projects. “This is particularly alarming considering the Supervisory Body to the Climate Summit admits that ‘the marine biological impacts [of ocean alkanization] are largely unknown’ and ‘impacts [of ocean fertilization] on marine biology and food web structure are not well known’”, the Statement noted.
“We insist on the roll-back of conservation schemes that encroach on our human rights. Importantly, we reiterate that we are the custodians of the vast territories and their resources which are so important to preserve in order not to worsen the climate catastrophe.
We call upon governments to restore our rights to lost territories and to repair coastal and aquatic environments where these have been destroyed or damaged.” it added.
Pointing to the UN Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries and the UN Guidelines on the responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests as crucial instruments which bring the human element back into combatting the climate catastrophe, the Statement called upon the governments who have gathered in Sharm-el-Sheikh to shift gear, increase public funding – especially from rich countries, who have contributed the most to the climate catastrophe – and work working peoples to bring to the fore the real solutions.
The full text of the Statement is available at: