Beyond Growth – creating an equitable and sustainable world for all

Research spotlight: Beyond Growth – Exploring the wellbeing economy for fisheries.

We live on a blue planet with oceans and seas covering more than 70% of the Earth’s surface. Oceans also serve as the foundation for much of the world’s economy, supporting sectors such as tourism, fisheries and international transport, while regulating the climate, and supporting livelihoods and cultural identities.

As an expert on worker welfare in the fisheries sector, particularly its governance and the role of governments and corporations to safeguard human rights, Associate Professor in Ethical and Sustainable Fisheries, Dr Ingrid Kelling, is keenly aware of how inequity and injustice within food systems continues to undermine global progress towards a more sustainable future.

Current ocean policies are largely equity-blind, insufficiently developed or poorly implemented, which leads to exploitation – of fisheries resources and humans. Existing top-down governance ignores local contexts and social justice, and global supply chains are dominated by a few transnational corporations whose primary responsibility is to investors, not local people.

A ‘beyond growth’ wellbeing economy can be seen as one that is equitable and fosters respect for community development. Policies are framed in terms of human and ecological wellbeing, with an emphasis on balance, diversity and sustaining livelihoods.

To achieve food justice, a powerful tool to achieving broader social justice, the transformation of large-scale corporations and government structures are key to advancing systemic change to support a wellbeing economy for the future.

6 ways to supporting a wellbeing economy:

I. Less is more. Our system is based on satisfying our needs as consumers, but we can choose products that value people and the planet and produces things we actually need, rather than want.

II. Equity drives decisions. When equity drives decisions in the blue economy it leads to human flourishment and environmental regeneration at the heart of fisheries and aquaculture production, limiting polluting and repurposing loss and waste.

III. Partnering for change. Globally, the fisheries sector employs 120 million people with 97% in developing countries and 90% work in small-scale fisheries. Working together, the international community and organisations can valorise small-scale rather than industrial, for-profit production.

IV. Sharing decision-making power. Participative decision-making processes that include worker voices can be integrated into all types of food governance.

V. Alternative ownership structures. Organisations becoming employee, community, social, cooperative and steward-owned, incentivising employees on social and environmental performance rather than profit and growth.

VI. Investing in the future. All stakeholders, even those “not in the room” (nature, community, non-human animals, future generations and more) need to be part of decisions.