Vulnerability of fishery-based livelihoods to the impacts of climate variability and change: insights from coastal Bangladesh

Abstract

Globally, fisheries support livelihoods of over half a billion people who are exposed to multiple climatic stresses and shocks that affect their capacity to subsist. Yet, only limited research exists on the vulnerability of fisherybased livelihood systems to climate change. We assess the vulnerability of fishery-based livelihoods to the impacts of climate variability and change in two coastal fishing communities in Bangladesh. We use a composite index approach to calculate livelihood vulnerability and qualitative methods to understand how exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity measured by sub-indices produce vulnerability. Our results suggest that exposure to floods and cyclones, sensitivity (such as dependence on small-scale marine fisheries for livelihoods), and lack of adaptive capacity in terms of physical, natural, and financial capital and diverse livelihood strategies construe livelihood vulnerability in different ways depending on the context. The most exposed community is not necessarily the most sensitive or least able to adapt because livelihood vulnerability is a result of combined but unequal influences of biophysical and socio-economic characteristics of communities and households. But within a fishing community, where households are similarly exposed, higher sensitivity and lower adaptive capacity combine to create higher vulnerability. Initiatives to reduce livelihood vulnerability should be correspondingly multifaceted.

Climate Change Impacts in Agricultural Communities in Rural Areas of Coastal Bangladesh: A Tale of Many Stories

“…In the case of successive or multiple natural disasters, all the interviewees indicated it would be impossible to bounce back at all. This finding of the paper is supported by the results of the similar studies on Bangladesh's coastal communities [77]. Low income often hindered the population of these communities to have access to livelihood assets which in turn increased their vulnerability and led to a chronic aggravation of their financial and economic security.…”

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

“…The questionnaire consists of two main sections: (1) personal information and (2) resources and community fisheries and micro-financing. Previous studies, together with local knowledge of the study area, were used to develop indicators [16,23,24,42]. Table 1 shows the literature sources for each indicator that was used in this study.…”

“…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)…”

“…The indicators were categorized into two groups in order to determine community characteristics, including livelihood assets, and to determine the threats and conflicts that affect fishers. To capture the conditions at community and household level that influence sensitivity [24], a total of eight indicators were used to determine community characteristics including livelihoods assets. The eight indicators are; sex, education level, household income from fishing, livelihood activities, assets, fishing gear access, fish processing, and household diet.…”

“…This is especially true if the resources are climate-dependent. Households and communities that highly depend on fisheries for nutrition, income, and employment are more likely to be impacted by climate change [24]. Diversification of income sources can therefore reduce sensitivity and dependency at the household level, particularly for those that are dependent on fluctuating fishery resources.…”