Aligning fisheries aid with international development targets and goals

Abstract

Official development assistance (ODA) is intended to spur progress and increase security among recipient countries. Billions in ODA have been allocated to fisheries to support nutrition and livelihoods worldwide. Yet, from 2010 to 2015, fisheries allocations decreased by > 30%, while grants for non-fisheries sectors increased by > 13%. Globally, grants for climate change adaptation and mitigation fell for fisheries, while rapidly increasing in sectors like agriculture and forestry. In Oceania, a region highly dependent on fisheries for food security and particularly vulnerable to climate change, disbursements fell by 44%. Grants for fisheries research, education and training fell in absolute numbers, and as a proportion of total ODA to fisheries. These findings are out of alignment with recent international commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals (2015), The Future We Want (2012), and relevant Aichi Targets (2010). Risk aversion among donors; redirection of climate finance into other sectors; and allocation decisions based on factors unrelated to fisheries are identified as contributing to observed findings. Increasing the volume of fisheries-related ODA and better aligning it with international commitments could bring substantial co-benefits and contribute to the sustainable use of marine ecosystems, support sustainable trade and economic opportunities, increase adaptive capacity, and foster human well-being.