Date of Publication

2007

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies

Subject Categories

Aquaculture and Fisheries

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Political Science

Abstract/Summary

Historically, societal actors have penetrated the policy process in order to respond to the weakness of the state. Other drivers include shifts in theorizing on development and the responses of the state and of societal actors to these developments. Globally, the trend has been in the direction of societal actors, particularly NGOs involved in service delivery in the context of the project. This provided these actors the opportunity to prove that they are efficient service providers as well as conduits for relief and welfare. According to David Korten, NGOs took part in several shifts in strategic orientation where they expanded the scope of their repertoire to include policy advocacy. Signifying a movement away from involvement in small scale project management, NGOs are now increasingly linking their constituents to the policy process. The NGOs in communitybased coastal resource management (CB-CRM) have likewise moved into this direction. In this dissertation, the emergence of the NGOs for Fisheries Reform (NFR) from a coalition of four NGOs engaged in CB-CRM is anchored on the context of structured state and society relations. Using concepts of the constructivist framework, this dissertation attempts to show how the NFR responded to the openings created by the state during different junctures of the Philippine development process. Also anchored on the history of the fisherfolks' struggle for representation in fisheries policy, the relationship of the NFR and the state is also based on the former's conscious decision to intervene directly in the policy process. Using the concepts of identity, agency, structure and meanings, this dissertation underlines the normative and ideational dimension of the policy advocacy process. In the context of a power struggle, the NFR and the state's relationship is likened to a communication structure of identities. The frames construction process is developed by the NFR as a mechanism for linking the fisherfolk agenda on preferential access, delineation of municipal waters and fisherfolk settlements to the state. Involved in influencing normative, discursive and structural change, the NFR chose to intervene beyond the policy formation process at the legislative arena towards policy execution at the executive level, where it acts as a “guardian” of the 1998 Fisheries Code, a monitor of its provisions and a programmatic demand maker. The role of NFR in normative change is manifested in its monitoring role. It pushes the state to implement the norms that underline the provisions on preferential access through contestation and programmatic demand making. In terms of discursive change, the NFR’s influence is found most extensively in the issue of the fisherfolk settlements and challenged in as far as the issues of access to municipal waters and land and water use zoning are concerned. These issues find the business interests enmeshed with that of the state’s. Advocacy has its ills also and often the challenge of co-optation and appropriation blurs the line that should distinguish the advocacy actor from the state. The relative influence of the NFR in the discourse and debates on the fisherfolk settlements must be compared against the gains made in the forestry sector. This concern makes a provocative agenda of research in the future.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Accession Number

CDTG004289

Shelf Location

Archives, The Learning Commons, 12F Henry Sy Sr. Hall

Physical Description

iv, 228 leaves ; 28 cm.

Keywords

Non-governmental organizations; Social action; Fishery policy; Fisheries -- Economic aspects

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