Approaches to strengthening fisheries financing and institutional mechanisms: A cross-country comparison of Cambodia, India, and Indonesia

Using marine resources in a healthy and sustainable manner is at the center of building a blue economy that will make "Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water" achievable. Fisheries and aquaculture sectors alone provide employment for and support the livelihoods of more than 200 million people worldwide, besides providing food and nutrition for billions. Despite this importance, continued human activities that pollute water bodies are negatively affecting their health at an alarming pace. A change from the prevalent practices, particularly relating to fishing, to more sustainable approaches would entail substantial costs across the fisheries value chain. A key challenge is to mobilize the required financial resources to enable this transition. In the recent past, many countries have announced different institutional and financing mechanisms to promote private capital and commit public resources through budgetary allocations. This study undertook a comparative analysis to identify the similarities, differences, and emerging financing frameworks across three countries, Cambodia, India, and Indonesia. The results from the analysis indicated that an institutional design that has a specific focus on the fisheries sector, promoting constructive collaborations with diverse financing institutions and community organizations, is an enabler in this particular sector of the blue economy.