Beyond the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines: Tenure Rights and Informed Consent in Indigenous Fisheries of Nicaragua

Abstract

This contribution seeks to provide an overview of policy actions taken by the government of Nicaragua in relation to critical aspects of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (FAO 2012) as well as the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) (FAO 2015), which are concerned with the governance of Indigenous peoples' customary tenure systems, including the rights to aquatic resources. The chapter devotes attention to the relationship between provisions to land and aquatic rights, assesses the impact of recent programs of land titling on Indigenous collective property rights and access to fisheries, and identifies gaps in the process of implementation in the Rama-Kriol territory. It also explores the implications for the human rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples emerging from the prospective construction of an Interoceanic Canal, a large-scale infrastructure project vigorously endorsed by the Nicaraguan government. This chapter suggests that, in this context, the SSF Guidelines alone hold little practical value in shifting the balance towards protecting the rights of Indigenous fisheries. Therefore, the implementation of the Guidelines should consider their potential synergies in tandem with other instruments in national and international law.