Occasional paper 8 : Economic Liberalisation and Gender Dynamics in Traditional Small-Scale Fisheries: Reflections on the proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement
Other Suggested Readings
- Why the WTO is unable to deliver trade benefits to small-scale fishers?
- Occasional Paper 10: Feminist Economics of Trade: Reflections on the Indian Manufacturing Sector
- A call to ASEAN leaders regarding the proposed EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement negotiations
- Occasional Paper 3: ALBA Venezuela’s answer to “free trade”: the Bolivarian alternative for the Americas
- Forum Against Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Press Release
NEW REPORT from Focus on the Global South in collaboration with Intercultural Resources
Economic Liberalisation and Gender Dynamics in Traditional Small-Scale Fisheries: Reflections on the proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement
August 2010
Based on field work in the southern Indian state of Kerala, this paper explores the dynamics within traditional small scale fisheries in the context of the controversial negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and India. The initial sections underscore that the bias in fisheries policies towards an export led model has been at the cost of the environment and fishing communities, especially women.
The authors then argue, by scrutinising key provisions, that the EU-India FTA further deepens this model and therefore is unlikely to ameliorate their condition. On the other hand deregulating rules on imports and foreign investment is likely to increase the pressure on fish resources, fishing grounds and coastal land. Further there is a deep democratic and developmental deficit, with talks being held only between trade bureaucrats, with no meaningful participation either by the Kerala Government or representative bodies of fishing communities. By examining current national and international policies on fisheries and then juxtaposing these policies with current realities on the ground the paper puts forward the case for a re-look at the premises of the FTA, itself.
