Changing Community Governance in the Coastal Fishing Regions

Abstract

Communities exist despite changing social and environmental conditions. Several communities can sustain their function, governance, and symbol, whereas others are unable to adapt to changes. This study aims to examine how contemporary communities adapt to social, political, and environmental changes with a case study of Uku Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, as a coastal fishing region. A particular emphasis is placed on governance of communities. From the case study’s result, even within these changes, the communities centered on longstanding residents’ associations maintain their function and take a key role in governance in the island, while a different form of governance has also emerged. This can be regarded as a process of adaptation to changes. However, amid progressing administrative reforms like the consolidation of municipalities, communities and governance in the island will seemingly have to face external changes more directly because of their inability to publicly resolve major issues beyond each community or at the island level.KeywordsCommunityGovernanceCoastal fishing regionUku Island