Mitigating Impacts of Natural Hazards on Fishery Ecosystems

Abstract

<em>Abstract.</em>—Coastal ecosystems sustain the livelihoods of coastal communities around the world and fisheries-dependent communities in particular. But these ecosystems are subject to intense and growing population and development pressure. Future prospects are bleak for many of these ecosystems and the communities that depend upon them. Moreover, with relentless development intensification, these communities are becoming increasingly vulnerable to coastal hazards, especially in the face of global warming and sea-level rise. The consequences of living in hazard-prone coastal areas has been exposed by graphic television coverage of the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005. It is imperative that we learn to mitigate hazard impacts and build more sustainable and hazard-resilient coastal communities. This chapter presents case studies of recovery experiences in Indonesia and the Maldives in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami and recovery experiences related to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Particular attention is focused on how fishing communities were impacted, are recovering, and what is being done to build the resilience of these communities. More specifically, what should and can be done to mitigate future hazard impacts? Personal observations and interviews with planners, academics, and others involved in recovery efforts inform this analysis. Notwithstanding significant cultural and contextual differences between these case studies, lessons can be learned from these experiences to improve future coastal policy, planning, and decision-making processes. These lessons, together with insights from diverse literatures, including coastal management, natural hazards planning, collaborative planning, sustainable communities, sustainable livelihoods, ecological economics, and comanagement, are synthesized to develop a conceptual framework and outline principles and operational imperatives to guide action for mitigating hazard impacts and building sustainable, hazard-resilient communities. Such communities are founded upon robust critical infrastructure that is secured by planning and decision-making processes that enable these communities to build layers of resilience to overcome waves of adversity. Sustainability and resilience will remain elusive unless unsustainable practices and community vulnerabilities are confronted by a transformational process of developmental planning.