173
9 Poverty in Lake Victorian Fisheries – Understanding Governability
In the event of inspection, many BMU members actively pursue a stance that
demonstrates that BMUs are actually operational and effective in conducting their
duties. They typically acknowledge but a few problems, those regarding a lack of
proper equipment and confrontations with outsiders who do not wish to listen to the
rule of law. In reality, however, these responses are merely a way of dodging inquests
by the authorities. For example, if one is confronted with questions related to the
existence of banned gear on beaches under an individual’s jurisdiction, a person
would categorically answer in the negative. For instance a beach seine owner or
fi sher would knowingly deny existence of beach seining in their fi shing village.
Concluding Remarks
In this chapter we have discussed poverty and poverty alleviation as a ‘wicked’
problem to which severe governability issues are attached. Poverty is a composite
concept whose understanding, boundaries and qualities are dependent on who is
in charge of de fi ning it. We believe that it makes more sense to locate the poverty
problem within both the system-to-be governed and the governing system, and to
examine carefully how the interaction between the two is structured institutionally and how it works as a communicative process. Somehow, the governability of
poverty will hinge upon the degree to which this process helps to create consensus
with regard to the values, images and norms between those who belong to and
represent both systems at different scales – i.e. local, regional, national and even
global, if one considers the role that international NGOs play in communities
along Lake Victoria.
In this particular case, the BMUs are most likely to be part of the answer.
However, as complex and dynamic governing systems operating at the community
level, they also have their own governability problem that requires careful assessment if poverty alleviation strategies are going to succeed in a way that makes a
positive difference in people’s lives.
References
Alkire, S. (2008). Multidimensional poverty measures. Oxford Poverty & Human Development
Initiative. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/Alkire_Multidimensional_Poverty.ppt
Alkire, S., & Foster, J. (2008). Counting and multidimensional poverty measurement . Oxford
Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), Working Article Number 7. Retrieved from
http://mora.rente.nhh.no/projects/EqualityExchange/Portals/0/articles/Alkire_Foster_
CountingMultidimensional_Poverty.pdf
Béné, C. (2003). When fi shery rhymes with poverty: A fi rst step beyond the old paradigm on
poverty in small-scale fi sheries. World Development, 31(6), 949–975.
Béné, C. (2004). Fisheries management and poverty. In A. E. Neiland, & C. Béné (Eds.), Poverty
and small-scale fi sheries in West Africa (pp. 61–82). Dordrecht: FAO/Kluwer Academic.
9 Poverty in Lake Victorian Fisheries – Understanding Governability
In the event of inspection, many BMU members actively pursue a stance that
demonstrates that BMUs are actually operational and effective in conducting their
duties. They typically acknowledge but a few problems, those regarding a lack of
proper equipment and confrontations with outsiders who do not wish to listen to the
rule of law. In reality, however, these responses are merely a way of dodging inquests
by the authorities. For example, if one is confronted with questions related to the
existence of banned gear on beaches under an individual’s jurisdiction, a person
would categorically answer in the negative. For instance a beach seine owner or
fi sher would knowingly deny existence of beach seining in their fi shing village.
Concluding Remarks
In this chapter we have discussed poverty and poverty alleviation as a ‘wicked’
problem to which severe governability issues are attached. Poverty is a composite
concept whose understanding, boundaries and qualities are dependent on who is
in charge of de fi ning it. We believe that it makes more sense to locate the poverty
problem within both the system-to-be governed and the governing system, and to
examine carefully how the interaction between the two is structured institutionally and how it works as a communicative process. Somehow, the governability of
poverty will hinge upon the degree to which this process helps to create consensus
with regard to the values, images and norms between those who belong to and
represent both systems at different scales – i.e. local, regional, national and even
global, if one considers the role that international NGOs play in communities
along Lake Victoria.
In this particular case, the BMUs are most likely to be part of the answer.
However, as complex and dynamic governing systems operating at the community
level, they also have their own governability problem that requires careful assessment if poverty alleviation strategies are going to succeed in a way that makes a
positive difference in people’s lives.
References
Alkire, S. (2008). Multidimensional poverty measures. Oxford Poverty & Human Development
Initiative. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/Alkire_Multidimensional_Poverty.ppt
Alkire, S., & Foster, J. (2008). Counting and multidimensional poverty measurement . Oxford
Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), Working Article Number 7. Retrieved from
http://mora.rente.nhh.no/projects/EqualityExchange/Portals/0/articles/Alkire_Foster_
CountingMultidimensional_Poverty.pdf
Béné, C. (2003). When fi shery rhymes with poverty: A fi rst step beyond the old paradigm on
poverty in small-scale fi sheries. World Development, 31(6), 949–975.
Béné, C. (2004). Fisheries management and poverty. In A. E. Neiland, & C. Béné (Eds.), Poverty
and small-scale fi sheries in West Africa (pp. 61–82). Dordrecht: FAO/Kluwer Academic.