In the context of national marine resource allocation, what specific policy mechanism ensures 'Adl' (justice) by guaranteeing equitable access and benefit-sharing among diverse stakeholder groups, including small-scale fishers?

The specific policy mechanism ensuring 'Adl' (justice) by guaranteeing equitable access and benefit-sharing among diverse stakeholder groups, including small-scale fishers, in national marine resource allocation is a Rights-Based Fisheries Management (RBFM) system that is explicitly designed with socio-economic equity criteria and includes preferential access provisions for small-scale fishers and local communities.

Rights-Based Fisheries Management (RBFM) is a governance approach where the right to harvest marine resources is allocated as secure, enforceable entitlements to individuals, groups, or communities, departing from an open-access fishing environment. These entitlements can manifest as Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs), which grant a share of the total allowable catch, or as Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries (TURFs), which provide exclusive access to designated fishing areas.

'Adl' (justice) in this context is achieved through the intentional structuring and implementation of these rights. Equitable access for diverse stakeholders, including small-scale fishers, is ensured by:

1. Preferential Access Allocations: This involves reserving specific proportions of fishing quotas or designating exclusive fishing zones exclusively for small-scale fishers and traditional communities. This set-aside prevents their marginalization by larger, more capitalized operations and ensures their continued ability to derive livelihoods from the resource.
2. Community-Based or Co-Management Structures: These empower local communities and fisher organizations, particularly those representing small-scale fishers, by granting them shared authority and responsibility in resource management decisions. This devolution ensures local needs, traditional ecological knowledge, and social considerations directly influence the allocation and management of resources, fostering a more just system. Co-management signifies a collaborative partnership between government and resource users.
3. Transparent and Participatory Allocation Processes: The initial distribution of fishing rights is critical for equity. 'Adl' necessitates that these processes are open, clearly communicated, and involve broad consultation with all stakeholder groups, including small-scale fishers. This ensures that factors such as historical dependence, social equity, and economic vulnerability are considered alongside historical catch data when determining who receives rights.

Benefit-sharing among stakeholders is assured through the inherent design of these equitable rights and associated mechanisms:

1. Value from Secure Entitlements: By holding secure and often long-term fishing rights, small-scale fishers gain a valuable economic asset that provides stable income and a share in the economic returns of the fishery, contributing directly to their well-being.
2. Collective Rights and Community Benefits: In systems where rights are allocated to collective entities like fisher cooperatives or community trusts, the economic benefits generated can be managed and distributed collectively to support local development initiatives, infrastructure, or social services within the fishing community, ensuring broader communal benefit-sharing.
3. Revenue Redistribution Mechanisms: Policies may include provisions for fees, levies, or royalties collected from larger-scale industrial fishing operations, with a portion of these revenues specifically directed to support small-scale fishing communities, enhance their capacity, or contribute to shared resource management funds. This ensures that the overall economic value generated from the marine resource is distributed more broadly and fairly.