---

The second element of Canada’s strategy is to assist developing countries with the protection of their ocean environment, an essential feature of sustainable development. Developing countries, which have jurisdictional and management responsibilities for their EEZ’s, rely on this environment for trade, shipping and tourism.

Goals and Objectives

The overall goals and objectives of the strategy are to foster and promote sustainable ocean management and development in developing countries with the objectives of enabling the ocean sector to contribute significantly to their sustainable development.

• Promote a system of regional and global linkages and partnerships to advance the effective delivery of ODA;
• Help countries and regions become self-sufficient in the management and development of EEZs and other maritime areas under their jurisdiction;
• Establish priorities for ocean programs by activity and by region on the basis of regional needs, development status, absorptive capacity, indigenous capabilities and Canada’s ability to help; and
• Establishment a networking mechanism to promote regular dialogue between CIDA and other public and private organizations, including universities, involved in ocean management and development.

• Continuity. The strategy builds on previous CIDA experience in ocean sector programs and, in particular, those that have successfully advanced Canada's ODA goals;
• Financial feasibility. Projected costs are realistic in relation to present and projected budgetary limits; and
• Increased emphasis on sustainability. This strategy contains significant new elements that contribute to sustainable development of the world’s oceans.

1. establishing a framework for sustainable ocean development, policy and law;
2. developing knowledge bases in fisheries and marine sciences;
3. management of the uses of the ocean and co-ordination and management of coastal zones, shipping and the environment;
4. fisheries management and development; and
5. aquaculture/mariculture development.

Implementation of the UNCLOS and the UNCED’s Agenda 21 poses monumental challenges to developing coastal states, both in the realization of new opportunities and the management of new responsibilities. For most of these states, the first item on the agenda must be the formulation of national ocean policies and strategies that identify the nature and level of assistance required.

Developing knowledge bases in fisheries and marine sciences

Effective ocean management must be supported by adequate scientific data and information on resource bases, rates of utilization and threats to the environment. In most developing countries, this information is lacking. This constitutes the most critical ocean management problem. This problem can only be solved through institutional building, human resource development and improved infrastructures.

Management of the uses of the ocean and co-ordination and management of coastal zones, shipping and the environment

A holistic approach to management of ocean activities and uses requires close co-ordination in several key areas:

• Integrated coastal zone management, an activity which calls for co-ordination among national agencies responsible for coastal and ocean management;
• Management of shipping (vessel traffic management) and pollution (both spills and ocean dumping), which require both national and international co-ordination and establishment of international standards; and
• Protection of the ocean environment, which requires close international co-operation in research, in the setting of standards and in the establishment of agreements on the rules to be applied.

Fisheries management and development

Historically, Canada’s ODA in this sector, like that of bilateral assistance agencies of other countries, has focused on fisheries development. That approach met with some success but it now has been overtaken by a fish stock depletion crisis of virtually world-wide proportions. Current conditions in the fishery, coupled with ODA funding reductions, suggest the need for greater emphasis on assistance in the area of building knowledge. In effect, there needs to be a shift from the “hardware” to the “software” of the ocean, concentrating on those elements that support sustainability and the conservation of stocks. Such an approach will require increased support for:

• Training in resource assessment to determine sustainable levels of exploitation of stocks;
• Training in fisheries management; and
• Provision of infrastructure services to support the above.

In a trend that echoes the distant past of land-based food production, aquaculture/mariculture is transforming the fishing industry from one of capture fisheries to one of farming and harvesting.

Today, aquaculture/mariculture is a major source of fish production, registering an annual growth rate of 9.4% over the past decade. Developing countries account for most of this production, with low-income, food-deficit countries contributing a significant share.

Aquaculture/mariculture practices vary widely in terms of species, use of the environment and techniques employed. The contribution of development assistance in this area is constrained by the differences between aquaculture/mariculture systems managed for sustenance and those managed for profit. However, there is potential for Canadian inputs to a broad range of countries in this area where payoffs, over time, could exceed those of capture fisheries.

Regional focus

There are four geographical areas in which the need for assistance continues to be critical and which could greatly benefit from Canadian inputs.

Africa

Africa’s coastal states face many ocean-management problems. Increasing demand for food is resulting in greater exploitation of fisheries and, in many cases, overfishing. Most fishing is conducted on a free-entry basis. In addition, these countries’ ocean and coastal zones are vulnerable to many sources of pollution, both land and ocean-based.

Most coastal African nations are poor and lack the expertise, resources and infrastructure to institute effective ocean management and development programs. As a result, many have joined together in regional groups and institutions to deal co-operatively with the UNCLOS and other marine issues.

African states have identified their major ocean problems as:

• Lack of research capability in marine sciences;
• Inadequate attention and low priority given to environmental concerns;
• Difficulties in training and retaining people skilled in ocean management; and
• Inadequate infrastructures.

The Americas: wider Caribbean region

This region encompasses both island and mainland nations, all of which face significant ocean challenges, particularly but not exclusively, related to the establishment and management of EEZs. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states have all passed enabling legislation for EEZs. However, they have not proceeded with the establishment of EEZ management regimes for marine pollution, shipping, coastal zone management and related ocean activities.

At the top of the priority list is the need for these nations to formulate sustainable ocean development strategies and policies. They also urgently need to formulate and enact legislation for regional marine initiatives and for the strengthening of regional institutions.

CIDA has been helping Caribbean nations meet some of these needs, mainly through its CARICOM Fisheries Resource Assessment and Management Program (CFRAMP). CIDA can also help these countries to strengthen institutions with the objective of increasing their capabilities in sustainable development.

Asia-Pacific

The vastness of the oceans involved has made it necessary to concentrate Canada’s ODA efforts in specific sub-regions, such as the South China Sea and the South Pacific, and to rely heavily on international and regional organizations for program delivery.

CIDA is actively involved in this region through the Canada-South Pacific Ocean and Development Program which, since 1981, has delivered CIDA ocean-related activities in the Pacific. In the same region, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Canada Co-operative Program on Marine Science has been in operation since 1983, and is in its second five-year phase. The program supports regional co-operation by ASEAN nations and by Canada in the application of marine science to marine environmental protection, including investigation of the red tide phenomenon which has caused contamination of shellfish, marine fish kills and human deaths.

As visualized in this oceans strategy, CIDA’s future role in this region will be that of a catalyst for co-operative activity, and will be characterized by a shift from function and project-based programs to more strategic, policy-oriented initiatives. This strategy also recognizes the considerable opportunities that exist in this region for the involvement of Canadian ocean industries.

Central and Eastern Europe

Many of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have oceans interest. Russia has coastlines on the Arctic and Pacific oceans, the Baltic Sea, and the sixth largest EEZ in the world. Poland and the Baltic States also share the Baltic Sea with Russia. Most of these countries have large fishing fleets, some of which operate in distant water fisheries. The capacity of these fleets and their indifference to conservation concerns in the past have been significant factors in the overexploitation of fisheries resources off their coasts and in other parts of the world.

During the socialist and central planning regimes of the past, environmental issues received little attention. This left a serious legacy of pollution in coastal and internal waterways, which has adversely affected the ocean environment. Attention to the environment is now a major concern in CEE countries, in terms of both enhancement and protection.

The Central European Branch of CIDA has not contributed directly to oceans projects but have done so indirectly by means of environmental projects.

Delivery channels

In the fisheries area, CIDA’s bilateral and partnership programs will continue to be crucially important channels for assistance to developing countries and also to countries in transition. However in the wider area of ocean management and development, particularly in EEZs, CIDA will encourage activities in partnership with international and regional organizations. To support this approach, the Agency will develop and strengthen partnerships with entities such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the International Marine Organization (IMO), the South Pacific Forum (SPF), the ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Economic Council (APEC), the Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), the Carribean Community (CARICOM) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

Monitoring and evaluation

Careful monitoring of ocean activities is essential because of their potential environmental, economic, social and political impacts. The classic case in point is fisheries where, in the absence of careful control and management based on monitoring and evaluation, development leads inexorably to over-exploitation. However, the same principle applies to other ocean industries such as shipping, the exploitation of non-living resources and other activities which involve environmental risk.

For these reasons, and consistent with CIDA’s overall ODA policy, monitoring and evaluation will constitute an important element of program delivery in the ocean, marine and fisheries sectors.

To be effective, CIDA’s monitoring and evaluation of ocean activities must be based on the following prerequisites:

• Establishing clear-cut goals and objectives;
• Identifying environmental and resource constraints;
• Establishing observable, verifiable indicators (OVIs) consistent with these constraints; and
• Devising flexible mechanisms to respond to the findings of monitoring and evaluation.

• Fostering economic growth in developing countries and countries in transition, together with the meeting of basic human needs, including nutritional requirements. CIDA’s recently-published Strategy for Health states that "a plentiful, nutritious and affordable food supply and appropriate dietary practices are essential for the healthy growth and development of children, for safe motherhood and for a productive work force"; and
• Helping developing countries protect their environment and contributing to the addressing of global and regional environmental issues. In its response to a review of foreign policy carried out by a special joint Parliamentary committee in 1994, the Government of Canada set forth a Revised Policy Framework for Development co-operation. This document made environmental protection a priority item and noted that "technical co-operation in ocean management will be pursued as a specific element of this priority area".

Historically, Canada has been a prominent supporter of sustainable development, both at home and on the global scene. Canada’s continued translation of this commitment into concrete action in the oceans of the world will continue to contribute greatly to that cause.

The Federal Government founded the ICOD in 1985 specifically to help developing countries manage and benefit from extension of jurisdiction to 200-nautical miles. The ICOD’s objectives were to initiate, encourage and support co-operation between Canada and developing countries in ocean resource development. The Centre was responsible for:

• Launching and supporting programs for the improved management and utilization of ocean resources;
• Supporting the development of indigenous expertise in developing countries in integrated ocean-use management;
• Enlisting Canadian expertise and institutions in ocean management and development; and
• Supporting research and developing training programs and information systems relevant to ocean resource management and development.

Two main lessons emerged from the ICOD’s experience during its eight years of operation:

• Approaches based on collaboration with regional organizations tended to be productive. This was demonstrated by the ICOD's success in encouraging regional management of fisheries in the Caribbean and the South Pacific.
• In matters of ocean management and development, a holistic approach is crucial to success in ocean matters. In developing its strategy, the ICOD found it necessary and productive to focus not only on fisheries but on the wider spectrum of ocean management. Thus, in addition to fisheries management and development, including mariculture, the ICOD also focused on five ocean issues:

1. Integrated ocean management and development;
2. Coastal development and management;
3. Non-living resource management and development;
4. Marine transportation and port management; and
5. Marine environmental conservation.

The experience of the ICOD in this regard mirrored that of other organizations, including CIDA. International agencies have recognized that many fisheries projects have failed because they focused too sharply on development and not on management. Sound management is, in fact, the essential prerequisite for development, not only in the fisheries but in the whole oceans sector.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) came into force in 1994, and has provided the global community with a new and more equitably balanced-system for regulating virtually every aspect of ocean use and responsibility.

By extending the jurisdiction of coastal states, the UNCLOS broadened the horizon of national ocean policy-making. But the Convention also imposed new responsibilities on these countries for management of ocean activities, environmental protection and co-operation with neighboring states.

Meanwhile, many global institutions have come into being whose mandates relate exclusively or in part to the oceans. They include the Commission for Sustainable Development, which monitors implementation of the UNCED’s recommendations, the Global Program of Action for Combating Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution, the International Seabed Authority, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination on Oceans and Coastal Areas.

The UNCLOS has also applied the concept of "the competent international organization" to designate as implementing bodies the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and other international agencies.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) which convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, produced a global action plan for sustainable development, entitled Agenda 21. All of the Agenda’s 40 chapters are applicable in one way or another to coastal and ocean issues, while one in particular (Chapter 17) is devoted exclusively to oceans.

While the UNCLOS has provided the central legal framework for international and regional co-operation in the oceans, Agenda 21 indicates that the concept of "sustainability" should be the guiding principle and the crucial criterion for environmental planning and management in the oceans and elsewhere. In this way, Agenda 21 links ocean management and development to sustainable development in Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and other ocean areas.

Chapter 17 of the Agenda defines objectives and activities in ocean development and management area, including:

• Integrated management and sustainable development of coastal and marine areas, including EEZs;
• Sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources in high-seas areas;
• Sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources in areas under national jurisdiction;
• The need to deal with critical uncertainties about marine environmental issues and climate change;
• The strengthening of international and regional co-operation and co-ordination; and
• Sustainable development of small island states.