Site selection and carrying capacity in Mediterranean ... - FAO Sipam

95 GFCM:XXXV/2011/Dma.9
In the past decades, several attempts have been made to analyze the legal and institutional frameworks
of aquaculture whether by general approaches 19 or thematic reviews. The present review is primary
focused on legislation related to aquaculture planning and aquaculture site allocation processes, as
well as with the environmental aspects linked to monitoring, compliance and EIA, in relation to
marine and brackish water aquaculture in the GFMC area.
Background and primary research on aquaculture’s institutional settings allows identification of issues
that may be used as indicators to assess the legal framework (Table 9). The comparative analysis
developed in this review considers the following criteria which are not intended to be exhaustive;
moreover, there are other topics that should be addressed (for example, alignment between
aquaculture and environmental policies) although they are beyond the scope of the present
contribution.
Table 9 - Indicators for the assessment of the legal framework
Indicator Rationale and context Unit (how is it measured)
Status of
aquaculture
regulation
Authorities
involved in the
licensing process
Validity of the
aquaculture license
Duration of the
administrative
procedure to get a
license
Planning for
aquaculture
Areas under public
domain
- It defines the position of aquaculture
in the national legal framework.
- It provides legal certainty for the
development of aquaculture
- It establishes the degree of flexibility
of aquaculture rules.
- It reflects the degree of complexity of
the process 20
- It determines the timeframe of the
activity for aquaculture operators
- It determines the timeline for
investment and returns.
- It sets the period of time between the
presentation of the proposal by
aquaculture promoters and the
authorization to start building facilities
and running operations
- It indicates the priority of aquaculture
in the political agenda
- It establishes the strategic position of
aquaculture in the economic activity of
the country
- It reveals a medium/long term view
for the development of the activity
- It defines zones where implantation of
aquaculture activities requires specific
provisions and procedures by the
State, besides the general ones for
19 Notwithstanding the studies by Van Houtte (2001) and Van Houtte et al (1989).
95
Legal instruments: law,
regulatory norms (legally
binding commands with a lower
level in the normative system
that a law, as decrees,
regulations, orders, etc.)
Number of public
bodies/agencies/departments
Years
Months
Yes/No
Geographical areas:
- Maritime waters
20 Obviously this indicator does not measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. A model with a high number of
authorities involved in aquaculture licensing but with a well managed coordination system could be more effective and
efficient than other with two authorities involved but without coordination between them.