UNCTAD IV Draws Up Roadmap to End Fisheries Subsidies by WTO Ministerial 2017

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) concluded its quadrennial conference on Friday 22 July, signing off on a work programme for its next four-year cycle. During the conference, UNCTAD released a “roadmap” backed by 90 countries and two fellow UN agencies for tackling harmful fisheries subsidies.

The 17-22 July UNCTAD XIV meeting was held in the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi, under the theme “From Decisions to Actions.” The gathering comes less than a year after the UN adopted its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with the approval of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development.

The fisheries roadmap announced last week is set out in a joint statement by UNCTAD, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“Getting 90 countries to sign up to a new initiative in such a short period of time shows both the need for this initiative and the power of UNCTAD in building consensus for meaningful change,” said Kituyi.

Member states expressing support for the roadmap include the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group (ACP), Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. Other supporters listed in the roadmap include the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), as well as several civil society groups.

“This roadmap is a strong and unequivocal plea by all those supporting the joint UNCTAD-FAO-UNEP statement that elimination of harmful fisheries subsidies must be achieved by the next WTO Ministerial Conference in 2017,” said UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Joakim Reiter.

The roadmap highlights the importance of the specific SDG (14) focused on sustainable fisheries and marine management, noting its value in also supporting food security efforts at both the national and global scale.

Along with outlining the past difficulties in agreeing on how to tackle fisheries subsidies – particularly given that some estimates place these at up to US$35 billion – the roadmap notes that there are significant gaps in data regarding this particular type of state aid. The document also makes a distinction between those subsidies that can support development objectives, versus those which cause overfishing and subsequently put at risk the livelihoods of people whose income relies on the fish sector.

These include significantly improved provisions on fisheries subsidy notifications; a clear ban on those subsidies that contribute to overfishing, overcapacity, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; “adequate and appropriate” ways to prevent new subsidies of this nature from being introduced; and special treatment of developing countries, in particular Small Island Developing States.

India Wants S&D Treatment for Fisheries Subsidies in WTO

India along with other WTO members such as South Africa and other African, Caribbean and Pacific group of countries have been seeking effective Special and Differential (S&D) treatment for developing countries and LDCs, keeping in view their developmental needs, poverty reduction, livelihood and food security concerns. Negotiations on fishery subsidies discipline, which was on hold since 2011, restarted just prior to Nairobi Ministerial Meeting held in December, 2015. Since then, members have been showing interest for recommencing negotiations on fishery subsidy discipline.