To the Esteemed Leaders of the G20 Nations,Subject: A Cry for Justice and Livelihood – The Plight of South Africa’s Indigenous Coastal CommunitiesMy name is Chief Charles Jordaan, leader of the Aikonese Cochoqua—an indigenous coastal community rooted in the Western Cape of South Africa. I write to you not just as a village chief, but as a voice for countless coastal families whose ancestral livelihoods are being eroded by systemic exclusion, administrative neglect, and a disregard for our rights as First People of this land and sea.Our communities are custodians of coastal knowledge, traditions, and marine stewardship that date back centuries. Yet today, under policies such as South Africa’s Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA), we face economic marginalization and social extinction. Our cooperatives—some with over 100 members—are denied Total Allowable Catch (TAC) quotas or are allocated only symbolic access to species like Kelp and minor WCRL (West Coast Rock Lobster) quotas, far below subsistence levels. These allocations are not based on our needs or rights, but on outdated, inequitable frameworks that continue to sideline indigenous people.We have exhausted every domestic avenue to be heard—from public participation to direct engagements with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)—but the systemic neglect persists. The bureaucratic machinery moves without consideration of our communities’ sustainability, cultural identity, or future.We now call on the G20—champions of global development and social equity—to acknowledge this injustice and raise the issue of indigenous fishing rights in international discourse. Global goals for sustainable development cannot be met while indigenous communities like ours are excluded from the very resources that sustained us for generations.We ask that you:- Recognize the injustices faced by indigenous coastal communities in South Africa.- Encourage South African authorities to review the MLRA and quota allocation systems with full inclusion and recognition of indigenous rights and customary use.- Promote the participation of indigenous voices in marine governance and international environmental agreements.- Support sustainable, community-led solutions for marine resource access and economic development.We are not asking for handouts. We are asking for justice, equity, and the right to fish in the waters that have nourished us long before the modern state existed.We remain committed to the sustainable and respectful use of marine resources—but we can no longer endure the slow suffocation of our cultures and communities by systemic neglect.With dignity and hope,
Wondershare EdrawMind
