The project investigated the implementation of hybrid global governance in the Thai seafood supply chain focusing on labour standards.
The Thai seafood supply chain has been significantly reformed in recent years in response to multiple EU, civil society and private sector initiatives. The reform process attempts to solve the vicious circle between environmental sustainability versus labour conditions: as fish catches diminish boats are forced to venture ever further out to sea driving up costs which may need to be recovered by relying on exploitable migrant fishworkers. The outcome of the reform process is a combination of formally binding laws, supply chain standards and operational codes in a complex hybrid global governance approach to sustainable fisheries. How multiple initiatives under different domestic and international regulations, standards and best practices will function in practical regulation remains unclear however.
Due to the current situation that Thai government is working on legislation to roll back many of the reforms for both fishing management and employment standards for workers in fishing. International researchers have raised their concern, with an action of open letter to Thai government. This open letter is signed by 27 international researchers who are experts in fisheries and fisheries labour from 24 universities and policy institutes worldwide.
Link to open letter in Thai: open-letter-thailand-government-thai.pdf
Link to open letter in English: open-letter-thailand-government.pdf
This project investigated the implementation of hybrid global governance in the Thai seafood supply chain focusing on labour standards. Drawing on long-running research experience of the sector, the project used semi-structured interviews, observations and action research to unpack the still unfolding reform processes. Thailand forms a crucial case in new approaches to global sustainability governance as social and environmental criteria become interlinked. This can help us understand how an international sector beset by long-running challenges may transform in the future.
Alin Kadfak, Researcher, Division of Rural Development, SLU
Peter Vandergeest, Professor, Department of Geography, York University, Toronto, Canada
Read more on Peter Vandergeest´s presentation web page
Miriam Wilhelm, Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, the Netherlands
Read more on Miriam Wilhelm´s presentation web page
2020-2022
Formas Dnr 2019-00451
Alin Kadfak, Researcher, Division of Rural Development, SLU, +4618671000, +46735562441