Norway symposium at Pacific Lutheran University,

Tacoma/USA, 12-14 January 2005

Norway – Namibia. Cooperation and education as pathways to peace.

Norway’s Minister of fisheries and coastal affairs, Mr. Svein Ludvigsen

It is a great honour, indeed, to be invited as speaker at this very first celebration in the United States of the Norway Centennial Anniversary

1905 – 2005.

INTRODUCTION

As Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, I am much concerned with resource management and preserving resources for generations to come. Seafood is, as you well know, a major source for healthy proteins.

I am sure you have all heard what wonders a couple of fish and some bread can do.

NORWAY FROM RAGS TO RICHES

Norway has been a sovereign nation for one hundred years. It has experienced a remarkable transformation. One hundred years ago Norway was a very poor nation.

We worked the land and caught the fish with primitive tools and methods. Unemployment was common and starvation could often hit our population.

Visit Norway today and you will find a sophisticated, modern nation. Looking at GDP per capita Norway and the US were, in 2004, actually on an identical level. Among the nations of the world, both countries were ranked as number two with an impressive USD 37,800 per capita.

Today, when we look at our neighbours and to other countries in our region, we basically see prosperous societies and stable democracies. We also see a genuine will to solve differences through cooperation, and we see peace.

When we look to other regions of the world we often see a different picture. We can see political unrest, disrespect of human rights and starvation.

NAMIBIA AND NORWAY

On this occasion I’d like to focus on the cooperation between Namibia and Norway. It is far older than present days Namibia and it dates back to times before SWAPO had emerged as the sole liberation organisation for the Namibian people.

Churches and other religious institutions, trade unions and solidarity movements were pioneers. Gradually Norwegian involvement moved from humanitarian and relief assistance to more regular development programmes involving a variety of government agencies.

OVEREXPLOITATION AND CONTROL OF RESOURCES

Waters under Norwegian jurisdiction cover more than six times our mainland area. The waters off our coast are extremely productive, harbouring a number of commercially important stocks and species.

When we looked at Namibia we saw many similarities. What struck us however, were not the similarities, but rather the differences.

Norway had, based on the United Nations Law of the Sea, obtained control over vast marine resources and how they were harvested.

In contrast, we saw that in Namibia a foreign fleet harvested the resources and took off with the profits as well.

For Norway, fishing has been a major economic activity for hundreds of years.

Gradually our fishermen became too effective. With modern equipment it became easier to locate the fish and to catch it. We were at the brink of overexploiting many of our fish stocks.

Indeed, we almost depleted the North Sea Herring. It took many, many years with a total ban on fishing before this stock recovered.

Monitoring and studies of resources in Namibian waters made it clear that Namibian marine resources faced the same danger. Compared to the situation in the North Sea matters were, however, far worse.

Basically due to the fact that the coastal state – Namibia – lacked the instruments, the experience and the skilled professionals, necessary to safeguard and manage its resources.

FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Long before Norway became involved in developments of Namibian fisheries we had offered our fisheries expertise to other projects. The first bilateral fisheries development project ever, was initiated in 1952, in the Kerala province in the southern part of India. It was initiated by Norway and implemented in close cooperation with Indian authorities. It lasted for 20 years. In many ways this pioneer project represented a new, bold approach in development aid efforts.

For Norwegian authorities it certainly represented a pathway to better understanding of the complexity of development work in foreign regions and in unfamiliar cultures. Since then our development agency – NORAD (the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) – has supported a number of other fisheries projects.

In Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, China and Viet Nam, to mention some.

THE NANSEN PROGRAMME

Since the 1960-ies Norway has had a special international programme to assist other countries and to share our experiences in sustainable management of marine resources.

Since 1975 much of this has been organized in a FAO programme called the Nansen Programme, named after our great explorer and humanist, Dr. Fridtjof Nansen.

DR. FRIDTJOF NANSEN

Dr. Nansen is famous for his achievements regarding exploration of polar regions, and for his humanitarian work. It involved repatriation of prisoners of war after World War I, and organizing relief aid for millions of Russians during the famine of 1921-1922.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.

THE PHILOSOPHY

The Nansen Programme carries his name and is true to his spirit. An old Chinese saying is relevant when describing the philosophy governing this programme:

Give a man a fish, and he has enough to eat for one day.

Teach a man to fish, and he has enough to eat for a lifetime.

This mirrors the Norwegian development aid philosophy. A crucial element in the struggle for peace, democracy and prosperity, is to help people to help themselves.

Joint efforts to secure profitable and lasting job opportunities are probably the best way to free people from the grips of poverty.

Aid is often required and necessary. In the long term profitable businesses – be it small, family operations or large companies – are best suited to secure welfare, eliminate poverty, and pave the way for peace and democracy. Education and proper infrastructure are key elements.

During the first phase of the Nansen Programme, from 1975 till 1993, the research vessel named Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, continuously surveyed shelves and slopes of tropical and subtropical regions.

Basically to provide developing countries with relevant information on their fishery resources, including distribution and biomass estimates used to assess harvesting potentials. In the last part of this phase increased focus was put on monitoring already heavily exploited resources.

PHASE II OF THE NANSEN PROGRAMME

In phase II of the Nansen Programme, lasting from 1994 till 2003, a new dimension was added. It now included elements of institutional strengthening in two vital areas – in fisheries research and in fisheries management.

NORWEGIAN AGENCIES

Our development agency – NORAD (the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) has been formally and financially the key player, while our Institute of Marine Research has been responsible for research and scientific developments.

The new focus on institution building added another agency to the list – the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries.

FIVE MAIN GOALS OF NORWEGIAN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

The purpose of Norwegian development cooperation is contribution towards lasting improvements in economic, social and political conditions for the populations in developing countries.

Also, with a special emphasis on ensuring that the assistance supplied benefited the poor.

The five main goals of our development cooperation programmes are presented by our development agency – NORAD – as follows:

1. To fight poverty and contribute to lasting improvements of living standards and quality of life, thus promoting social and economic development and justice nationally, regionally and globally – in such developments, priority will be given to employment, health and education.
2. To contribute towards promoting peace, democracy and human rights.
3. To promote responsible management and utilisation of the global environment and biological diversity.
4. To contribute towards preventing hardship and alleviating distress arising from conflicts and natural disasters.
5. To contribute towards promoting equal rights and opportunities for women and men in all areas of society.

BENEFITS FOR PARTNERS

What has been achieved and what are the benefits for other participating nations?

I will focus on four aspects:

Better research and management, especially of shared fish stocks – including development of an ecosystem approach.

Strengthened cooperation among neighbouring, developing countries to avoid or reduce resource pressure due to overcapacity in the international fishing fleet.

Providing independent information to developing countries on distribution and extension of resources, and finally - education – this last aspect I will revert to later.

NAMIBIA AND THE WHITE PAPER

The Nansen Programme took its research vessel to Namibian waters in January 1990, shortly before Namibia – or South-West Africa as it then was called – became independent.

Norway and SWAPO had established contacts and cooperation before Namibia’s independence. A White Paper on development of Namibian fisheries was prepared at the very end of the 1980-ies.

This paper was a political document and a strategy. It became the foundation for policy making and for adoption of a legal fisheries regime. Initially, priority was given to the establishment of a Namibian 200 miles EEZ (exclusive economic zone). This was, of course, based on the UN Law of the Sea.

INTERNATIONAL OVEREXPLOITATION

In 1990 Namibia had neither a marine nor a maritime tradition. Waters off the Namibian coast were, and still are, very productive. Already in the 50-ies two major fisheries had been established, on the species pilchard and anchovy.

Increasingly resources in Namibian waters became the prey of a large effective fleet from a number of foreign countries. Overexploitation threatened to ruin future fishing possibilities. Job opportunities and huge income generated from these fisheries were lost to foreigners.

Not by choice, of course, but rather due to a lack of experiences and of the necessary legal instruments and management facilities.

NAMIBIA TODAY

Today, fisheries account for about 10% of Namibia’s GDP and GDP per capita has, in 2004, reached USD 7,200 - ranking Namibia as number 97 of 231 countries were relevant data is available.

Fish and fish products have become a major export article. In 2002, the value of the Namibian seafood export reached nearly 600 million USD, representing about 30% of the value of all Namibian exports.

In 2002 more than 260 fishing vessels had been registered under Namibian flag offering jobs to about 7,000 persons of which 80% were Namibians. Another 8,000 Namibians work in fish processing plants.

One final piece of statistics – the total annual volume of fish caught in Namibian waters amount to about 650,000 tons.

THE BLESSINGS OF EDUCATION

The Namibian fishing sector has developed from scratch in 1990, to a huge and important industry some 14 years later.

This development fully illustrates the relevance of the Nansen Programme philosophy and of the Chinese proverb I quoted earlier on:

teach a man to fish, and he has enough to eat for a lifetime.

A key element of the Namibia assistance project has been to educate Namibians in all relevant fields - in fishing operations, in research and education, in legal aspects and in coast guard services.

Today Namibians have taken on the sole responsibility in each of these areas.

Through cooperation with SADC – South African Development Community – Namibia and Norway jointly offer education programmes at the University of Namibia for fisheries management personnel in other SADC countries.

Since its establishment in 1996, about 600 students have been educated at the Namibian Fisheries and Maritime Institute (NAMFI).

However, even today only a small percentage of officers in the fishing fleet are Namibians, and the need for continuous focus on education is obvious.

FUNDS

Since 1990 Norway has allocated about 55 million USD to various development measures in Namibia, in addition to services offered from the research vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen.

In 2002 a new, Norwegian funded coast guard vessel – the “Nathaniel Maxuilili” – was delivered from a Norwegian shipyard.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Through the United Nations Law of the Sea, and the work of international bodies and conferences on sustainable development, countries of the world have accepted major obligations to safeguard renewable resources and the marine environment.

Many countries and regions could benefit from international assistance in improving its control and management of marine resources. Such needs may also be triggered by natural disasters, such as we recently saw in South East Asia.

Norway would welcome an initiative from a relevant international body, for example from the FAO, to establish a special international task force.

Such a task force should provide assistance to establish or rebuild infrastructure, to institution building and to organise management rules and procedures in the marine sector.

THE SOUTH EAST ASIA TSUNAMI

I have focused on the importance of transferring knowledge and to focus on education.At times the world experiences situations when immediate action becomes necessary.

This is when our long term strategies and plans need to be supplemented with another dimension – with swift reactions to fight starvation and diseases and to aid those that have lost everything.Their loved ones, their homes, their source of income – everything !

Modern information technology brings the world into our living rooms.We have all witnessed the devastating and tragic effects of the tsunami that recently hit South East Asia.

This disaster left more than 80 Norwegians dead or reported missing.In modern times, our society has hardly ever experience a similar tragedy.

Suffering and pain should not be measured or presented in numbers. Still, compared to the vast number of dead and missing local inhabitants, our losses can be seen as moderate.

And our society – our infrastructure, our industries and not to forget, our homes – are all intact.

In South East Asia most of the immediate needs have been covered and slowly life can resume a more regular pace. The rebuilding of villages and industries have started.Now it is important for the international community to keep in mind that the work at hand will require our participation for years to come.

Also, that we, in our eager to support the tsunami victims, manage to remember others that need our attention and assistance.

PATHWAY TO PEACE

A governing principle behind Norway’s development efforts has been the fight against poverty as an important avenue to peace and democracy.

To support business developments and to transfer knowledge – and not just funds – have been key elements.

History has shown us numerous examples on how improvements obtained through direct involvement, hard work and sacrifices tend to be more valuable, rewarding and lasting than improvements or gifts simply granted by others.

To the victims of the tsunami, the international community has been supplying food and medicine to cover immediate needs, now we must move on to the essence of the old Chinese proverb, – we must teach people to fish…

Thank you for your attention