Funding agencies challenged to spend on human resources

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

DONOVAN STANBERRY, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, has challenged international funding agencies to rethink their poverty alleviation strategies by matching the money spent on infrastructural investments with, at least, an equal financial emphasis on human resources. This is especially necessary where widespread behavioural change is crucial to success. He warned that with the best of intentions, unless there was a reversal of the traditional approach the desired long-term gains and sustainability would not be achieved.

"When we are talking about fisheries management it's not only about the wonderful scientific things, about fisheries management plan and all of those things, how you manage the sea," the permanent secretary declared.

"A critical part of it has to be about managing the people who are exploiting those resources, and nothing less than a transformation, a complete reorientation of thinking, is going to achieve that purpose," he told Tuesday's opening session of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Fish II programme monitoring and training workshop.

New strategies needed

Delivering the keynote address at the Wyndham hotel where the four-day event is taking place, Stanberry said that in light of the reality that most fisherfolk are poor, there must be a new way of getting them to appreciate the importance of better managing our finite marine resources.

"It is difficult to preach to people and tell them to adopt better practices or sustainable practices, when in fact the levels of poverty are so great in those areas," he argued. "For too long the people who feed us, the people who supply our major source of protein, they labour under conditions which really are less than what is desirable for human beings."

Continuing, he noted that while the provision of basic amenities such as sanitary conveniences, vending areas and other such infrastructural changes had in recent times translated into improved working conditions at local fishing beaches, we were missing the mark in some very important areas.

He charged that despite the fiscal challenges, finding the resources to set up these facilities was the easy part, but he noted that getting them to do simple things often taken for granted was significantly challenging. The greater challenge is to orient our fishermen to take responsibility for these facilities and manage them properly.

To this end, the permanent secretary advised that government is on track with the promulgation of a new fisheries policy that will provide the framework to support conservation and sustainable management of the marine environment.

christopher.serju@gleanerjm.com