Enhancing Social Resilience of the Coastal Fishing Communities: A Case Study of Hilsa (Tenualosa Ilisha H.) Fishery in Bangladesh

Mohammad Mozumder,Petra Schneider,Mohammad Islam,Md Wahab,Simo Sarkki

doi:10.3390/su10103501

Mohammad Mozumder, Petra Schneider + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103501

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Abstract

Social resilience is an essential aspect of sustainability in environmental management, especially in poor resource-dependent communities. To better understand the dynamics of social resilience, we have conducted a primarily qualitative study of communities dependent on hilsa fishing in two coastal villages in southern Bangladesh. This study applies concepts of social-ecological system (SES), social resilience and co-management in outlining our qualitative data and framing its interpretation. Our findings show that while the establishment of hilsa sanctuary areas has enhanced the previously low ecological sustainability of local small-scale fishing, the management of this program has challenged the social resilience of hilsa fishers by creating new inequalities in the distribution of power and privilege, in terms of the ways in which seasonal fishing bans are enforced and compensation for income loss during the ban periods is distributed. Based on our findings, we suggest specific measures for strengthening social resilience at the local level, including building community networks, developing community infrastructures, updating existing rules and regulations, providing alternative means of generating income for fishers during the crisis periods (e.g. natural disasters and fishing ban periods) and more active sharing of responsibility between stakeholders and government for management of the hilsa fishery. These findings are also applicable to understanding the issues beyond rules and regulations that co-management arrangements need to address in order to be successful and to enhancing the function of co-management arrangements in improving social resilience within resource-dependent communities.

Highlights

Natural resources of the globe face various sustainability challenges, including degradation, unbalanced and unfair use and exploitation [1,2]
Since socio-economic conditions determine the adaptive capacity of the communities, the socio-economic profile of a community should be a good indicator of community resilience
Most of the fishers interviewed qualify as very poor concerning income: 37% earned less 5000 Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) per month and only 20% were above the official poverty line of 10,000 BDT per month

Summary

Introduction

Natural resources of the globe face various sustainability challenges, including degradation, unbalanced and unfair use and exploitation [1,2]. The poor are most affected by these perturbations Including those most dependent on local resources in local decision-making processes–counting the poor and those who lack alternative options to enhance their well-being as significant stakeholders–for example via co-management arrangements, is often considered as a means of addressing the inequity resulting from current resource use patterns [4]. The consequences of such sustainability challenges can be far-reaching. Exploring the links between the status of fish stocks and the social resilience of local communities depending on those stocks is essential, especially in developing countries and resource-dependent communities

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