Vulnerability in African small-scale fishing communities

Mills, David J.; Béné, Christophe; Ovie, S.I.; Tafida, Ahmadu Abubakar; Sinaba, Famory; Kodio, Aly; Russell, A.J.M.; Andrew, Neil L.; Morand, Pierre; Lemoalle, Jacques

doi:10.1002/jid.1638

Cited by 67 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Rather, livelihood stressors arise from socioeconomic (e.g., disease, theft, and food insecurity) and ecological (e.g., severe storms or drought) sources. These results build on the work of Mills et al (2011), who demonstrate that fishing communities in Mali and Nigeria rank vulnerabilities related to basic human needs as more critical than vulnerabilities relating to the fishery.…”

Section: Livelihood Stressorssupporting

confidence: 59%

“…Many of the factors that inhibit adaptation in our two research communities (e.g., limited assets, competition over declining resources, and pervasive poverty) are indicators of problems that run deeper. Therefore, our results suggest that nonsectoral interventions that build human and social capital may be more effective in strengthening the livelihoods of coastal communities than those targeting fishing assets alone (Mills et al 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 78%

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Strengthening Threatened Communities through Adaptation: Insights from Coastal Mozambique

Blythe¹,

Murray²,

Flaherty³

2014

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Change is a defining characteristic of coastal social-ecological systems, yet the magnitude and speed of contemporary change is challenging the adaptive capacity of even the most robust coastal communities. In the context of multiple drivers of change, it has become increasingly important to identify how threatened communities adapt to livelihood stressors. We investigate how adaptation is negotiated in two coastal fishing communities by documenting livelihood stressors, household assets, adaptive strategies, and factors that facilitate or inhibit adaptation. Declining catch is the most common stressor being experienced in both communities, however, socioeconomic, e.g., disease or theft, and ecological, e.g., severe storms and drought, changes are also creating livelihood stress. We find that specialized fishers' with higher investment in fishing gear and government support are adapting by intensifying their fishing efforts, whereas poorer fishers with more livelihood options are adapting through diversification. Adaptation is facilitated by fishers' groups, occupational pride, and family networks. It is inhibited by limited assets, competition over declining resources, and pervasive poverty. Our data suggest that adaptation is a heterogeneous process that is influenced by multiple factors. Understanding the complexity of fishers' responses to livelihood stressors is critical for fostering adaptive capacity in coastal communities, for strengthening fisheries management, and for improving the livelihoods of fishing dependent communities.

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Section: Livelihood Stressorssupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 78%

Strengthening Threatened Communities through Adaptation: Insights from Coastal Mozambique

Blythe¹,

Murray²,

Flaherty³

2014

E&S

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“…of men that were interviewed No. of women that were interviewed [41,43] Education Education level of the interviewee [44] Household income from fishing Average daily catch (kg/day) × fish price ($1.50/kg) [22,41,45,46] Livelihood Activities Dependence on fisheries, fish gear making, aquaculture [24,41,45,[47][48][49] Assets Fishing gear, boats, fishing permit, crop field, livestock (cattle, goats, chicken) [9,22,40,41,50] Fishing gear access Places where fishers go to access fishing gear [42,51] Fish processing (post-harvest losses)…”

Section: Sexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Sensitivity of Small-Scale Fishery Groups to Climate Change in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Climate change continues to pose threats to fisheries and fishery-dependent communities globally. Vulnerability to climate change is a function of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Sensitivity is largely determined by the differences in socio-economic conditions among communities, and conflicts over resources often exacerbate this sensitivity. This study aims to understand factors affecting the sensitivity to climate change. The objectives are twofold: first, to develop indicators affecting sensitivity and to determine how they affect sensitivity, second, to compare sensitivity of two small-scale fishing groups (fishing camps and fishing villages). The study used twelve indicators, which are categorized into two; the community characteristics and assets, and threats and conflicts. Results show that fishing camps are less sensitive to climate change than fishing villages since they have more varied livelihood sources, such as crop farming. This allows for more sources of income. Both groups experience conflict with other lake users and wildlife attacks, which amplify their sensitivity through the reduction of fishing grounds and the damaging of fishing gear. It also shows that both climate and non-climate factors affect sensitivity, and understanding this can help to increase adaptive capacity. The findings allow for formulation of policy recommendations to help strengthen the livelihoods of small-scale fisheries.

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“…Moreover, increasing prices for fuel have led to reduced fishing days (Tuler et al 2008;Bunce et al 2010b). These impacts are exacerbated for marginalized coastal people, including migrant and subsistence fishers, who typically do not have access to credit (Mills et al 2011;Blythe et al 2014). In some areas, declining prices for marine products are reducing fishers' income and driving increasing fishing pressure (Bennett et al 2014b).…”

Section: Economicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Resilience scholars suggest that organizational and institutional learning, diversity of livelihoods and knowledge, access to assets and adaptive co-management processes decrease vulnerability Cinner et al 2009;Bennett et al 2014a). Mills et al (2011) propose that non-sectoral interventions, such as improved community sanitation, might have the greatest effect on reducing vulnerability for the most people. However, it will often be necessary to recognize and make trade-offs in order to identify ''least-harm'' adaptations that will lead to the most beneficial outcomes.…”

Section: Identifying and Prioritizing Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communities and change in the anthropocene: understanding social-ecological vulnerability and planning adaptations to multiple interacting exposures

et al. 2015

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The majority of vulnerability and adaptation scholarship, policies and programs focus exclusively on climate change or global environmental change. Yet, individuals, communities and sectors experience a broad array of multi-scalar and multi-temporal, social, political, economic and environmental changes to which they are vulnerable and must adapt. While extensive theoreticaland increasingly empirical-work suggests the need to explore multiple exposures, a clear conceptual framework which would facilitate analysis of vulnerability and adaptation to multiple interacting socioeconomic and biophysical changes is lacking. This review and synthesis paper aims to fill this gap through presenting a conceptual framework for integrating multiple exposures into vulnerability analysis and adaptation planning. To support applications of the framework and facilitate assessments and comparative analyses of community vulnerability, we develop a comprehensive typology of drivers and exposures experienced by coastal communities. Our results reveal essential elements of a pragmatic approach for localscale vulnerability analysis and for planning appropriate adaptations within the context of multiple interacting exposures. We also identify methodologies for characterizing exposures and impacts, exploring interactions and identifying and prioritizing responses. This review focuses on coastal communities; however, we believe the framework, typology and approach will be useful for understanding vulnerability and planning adaptation to multiple exposures in various social-ecological contexts.

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Vulnerability in African small-scale fishing communities

Cited by 67 publications

References 9 publications

Strengthening Threatened Communities through Adaptation: Insights from Coastal Mozambique

Strengthening Threatened Communities through Adaptation: Insights from Coastal Mozambique

Assessing the Sensitivity of Small-Scale Fishery Groups to Climate Change in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe

Communities and change in the anthropocene: understanding social-ecological vulnerability and planning adaptations to multiple interacting exposures

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