Conner Bailey

The Political Economy of Marine Fisheries Development in Indonesia

The seas surrounding Indonesia have shaped its history and will continue to play a major part in determining the future course of its development. As an archipelagic nation, Indonesias marine environment is a dominating physical reality. The sea makes up roughly two-thirds of the nations total area. In addition to 2.7 million square kilometers of territorial waters, Indonesias jurisdiction extends over a further 2.1 million square kilometers of ocean as its Exclusive Economic Zone. Among the many resources found in this vast expanse, none--including, I would argue, oil and gas--is more important than fisheries resources. Fish provides more than 60 percent of the animal protein intake of the average IndonesianI and is the only affordable source for the majority of the population. According to the Directorate General of Fisheries (DGF), approximately 1.3 million Indonesians are directly employed as fishers in the marine sector,2 with at least an equal number employed in various supportive roles, including boat building and fish processing, distribution, and marketing.3 In addition, fisheries products are becoming increasingly important as sources of export earnings.

The political economy of fisheries development in the third world

International agencies have contributed significantly to the promotion of capital-intensive fisheries development programs in many Third World nations. Activities of both bilateral and multilateral development assistance agencies are examined and shown to have certain common features, notably production-oriented programs typified by the introduction of powerful new fishing technologies, and the promotion of fishery exports as a means of increasing foreign exchange earnings. The argument is advanced that these programs have been largely detrimental to the best interests of recipient nations because they have ignored both resource limitations and the distributional consequences of such development.Fisheries development programs in the Third World are seen as being shaped by a convergence of institutional and class interests between national and international agencies. The perspective of political economy is used to examine these interests and explain their relation to policy outcomes. Evidence is presented to show that international agencies have contributed to dualistic patterns of industry growth which have skewed development benefits towards a narrow urban elite. Rural small-scale fishers have been increasingly marginalized as a result of their inability to compete over a limited and, in some cases, depleted resource.Fisheries development and resource management need to be seen as complementary aspects of a single process rather than as separate activities. Central to fisheries management is the question of resource allocation between competing users. Suggestions are offered by which international development agencies can play an important role in encouraging resource use patterns which are both biologically sustainable and socially just.

Small-scale industrial producer co-operatives in developing countries

The growing realization in the Third World that impoverished countries cannot rely upon flows of aid from the economically developed world has led to widespread attempts to forge concepts of social and economic organization which draw upon their own resources and talents. It is not only technology that must be appropriate; so must social and economic institutions. This study attempts to explore the role which industrial-producer co-operatives might play in the process of socio-economic development. While the record of industrial-producer co-operatives is not impressive, the reasons for this lack of performance are controversial: is it attributable to the nature of the organizations, or to the socio-economic environment within which they have to operate? The volume attempts to address such questions, on the basis of research which was conducted in detail in four countries - India, Peru, Senegal, and Indonesia, on co-operatives with fewer than 100 members. Readership: economists in development economics; sociologists; particularly those interested in the Third World.