Women make up nearly half of India’s marine fisheries workforce, yet policies to strengthen the country’s blue economy are leaving women behind, reports contributor Priyamvada Kowshik for Mongabay India. India’s draft blue economy policy framework aims to significantly boost the contribution of marine resources to the country’s GDP, and at the same time improve the lives of coastal communities, generate millions of jobs, and preserve marine biodiversity. However, Kowshik writes that fisheries groups and researchers who have studied the draft policy note the “limited prioritization of women’s employment in the blue economy framework.” “A significant portion of women’s livelihoods in coastal regions depends directly on marine ecosystems,” Chime Youdon, head of the Blue Economy and Climate Change cluster at the National Maritime Foundation, a think tank, told Mongabay India. “Their work not only sustains local communities but also makes a tangible contribution to India’s GDP.” Out of the 4 million marine fisherfolk in India, roughly 47% are women. They work largely in the post-harvest processing, as well as marketing and sales. Shaila D’Mello, the president of a small-scale responsible fishers’ union in the western state of Goa, told Mongabay India that illegal overfishing by trawlers is reducing fish populations. Furthermore, open spaces and common areas essential for processing activities like curing or drying fish are becoming increasingly inaccessible, she added. “Government subsidies to small fisherfolks are also drying up or delayed inordinately. We are being forced out of our traditional livelihood,” D’Mello said. “How does [the blue economy framework] plan…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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