www.asianfarmers.org

AFA and PAKISAMA supports the campaign of the residents of the town of Casiguran in Quezon province, Philippines (mostly farmers, fishers, and indigenous peoples) who will be displaced by the creation of a special economic zone in the area.

The Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN), together with the Task Force Anti-APECO, held the first of a series of fora on “Addressing the APECO” in Quezon City, Philippines last June 4, 2010.

The activity convened multi-sectoral partners in support of affected residents of Casiguran, Aurora, largely comprised of farmers, fisher folk and indigenous peoples, who will be displaced by the passage of RA 10083 or the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone (APECO) law.
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CHONG KHNEAS, Cambodia — The crowd waits on the muddy banks of the lake in a throng of motorbikes, trucks, bicycles and people. When the colorful fishing boats slide onto shore, the fish buyers clamber onto the decks of the boast and scramble to unpack the fish within the hulls.

The importance of the Tonle Sap Lake in the Mekong Basin cannot be overstated. It provides a major source of protein for Cambodians, including the more than 1 million people who live around the lake.

Fishing is also the sole source of income for most lake residents, though a number of small business enterprises have also sprouted up — including vegetable gardens, fruit and flower tree plantations and hydroponic farming. For most, fishing is all they have, and it keeps them poor.

In recent years, things have gotten even worse. A multitude of issues currently affects the Tonle Sap Lake — among them dams upstream, deforestation, pesticides and overfishing.

Read the full story at Global Post

(NFR Statement on the Manado Incident)

We, the 12 member organizations of the NGOs for Fisheries Reform (NFR), strongly condemn the suppression of freedom of speech and expression of the artisanal fisherfolks. We criticize the deportation of the 16 representatives in the Philippine fisheries sector from Manado, Indonesia for alleged violations of Indonesian laws last May 12, 2009. They were supposed to hold a parallel meeting of civil society to raise the concerns of artisanal fisherfolks in the global meeting to address climate change during the Inaugural World Ocean Conference and Coral Triangle Initiative Summit. Despite insufficient evidence to prove that they held assembly without permits, the Indonesian immigration officials in Manado detained our 16 colleagues.

We also condemn the relentless harassment by Indonesian authorities of leaders from the Indonesian Forum for Environment (WALHI) who were charged of violating Article 216 of the Indonesian Criminal Code on Public Order. They were alleged to be involved in ‘public disturbance’ in Malalayang Beach together with the 16 Filipinos who were deported. The truth is that they gathered to hear the ‘Manado Declaration’ bearing legitimate calls of the artisanal fisherfolks. We strongly condemn this use of force against peaceful assembly as this runs counter to NFR’s fundamental belief on freedom of speech and expression. The use of force to suppress voices of artisanal fisherfolks inhibits the formation of conducive policy environment, where fisheries reform can be instituted.

Read the full statement at the PhilDHRRA website