Social construction of climate change and adaptation strategies among Senegalese artisanal fishers: Between empirical knowledge, magico-religious practices and sciences

Abstract

African Atlantic countries are among the most vulnerable to global climate change (CC). Artisanal fishers are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change on the fisheries on which their livelihoods depend. Although we found that most fishers accept that CC is occurring locally, most believe that other environmental problems affecting fisheries are more important than CC. Opinions on the causes of CC vary widely according to the age and education level of fishermen. Most fishermen, mainly the older and less educated ones, attribute CC to divine will or magic-religious causes, while only one fifth link it to human activities. Older fishers were also more likely to apply traditional knowledge and religion to adapt to CC. In contrast, younger fishers were the most reluctant to attribute a reason to CC, but were the most willing to adopt modern technologies or adapt fishing methods to changing conditions. We found that most fishermen used a variety of approaches, including traditional practices, magic-religious practices and modern technologies, to adapt to CC; only a few fishers have adopted a single approach. Policies developed to help fishers adapt to CC should incorporate their sociological and cultural norms to promote policy acceptance, rather than treating non-scientific approaches as completely irrational or assuming that practitioners are fatalistic about the impacts of CC. Useful actions that are acceptable to fishermen in their adaptation to CC should involve a thorough understanding of social and environmental considerations.