From the Editor
Dear Friends,
This issue of Yemaya carries articles from Chile, Brazil, Norway and India, as well as news about recent developments, publications and websites that should be of interest.
The article from Brazil touches on an issue of growing importance for coastal fishing communities across continentsthe increasing competi-tion for coastal lands from other sectors, such as tourism, industry, housing, ports and so on. In this case, the community of Prainha do Canto Verde in the northeastern State of Ceará, Brazil, fought, and won, the right to the coastal lands they have traditionally occupied. Their fight was against the takeover of their lands by a real-estate speculator.
Indeed, there are many such struggles being waged across the world, as beaches are increasingly targeted for tourism and real-estate development, displacing the traditional occupants of these lands. Communities usually find it difficult to challenge the takeoverof their lands by powerful and wealthy opponents. The fact that communities often do not have legal titles to their lands, even though they have well-established traditional rights going back several generations, makes them even more vulnerable. Displacement from their coastal lands invariably means a loss of livelihood, given the imperative of proximity and access to the sea for income-generating activities. Simply put, fishing communities need to be close to the sea if they are to pursue their livelihoods.
There is need for much greater attention to the issue of secure land rights for fishing communities. It is not enough to have rights to fish or to access fish resources. Rights to inhabit lands that provide unhindered access to the sea are as essentialthe other side of the same coin, as it were. Fishery policies and resource management debates must be broadened to bring in issues of access to land and sea within the same framework.
The article from India takes us a little further down this line of argument. It points out that even though fishing has become technology-and capital intensive, and incomes from fishing have increasedat least in some casesparadoxically, the quality of life of fishing communities, and the situation of women in these communities, have not improvedto the same extent. It is common knowledge that fishing communities, in several parts of the world, suffer from lack of access to basic services such as health, water, sewage disposal, education, and so on. The challenge for policymakers is to adopt a holistic perspectivewhen looking at fisheries issues. Development of fisheries shouldbe closely linked to an improvementin the quality of life of fishing communities on land.
As always, we look forward to your comments and contributions for Yemaya. In case you would like to receive an e-mail request two months prior to each issue, requesting for articles, comments, write-ups, and other news of relevance to women in fishing communities, do let us know. You can reach us at icsf@icsf.net
