Coastal People Research Articles

Cervical cancer risk factors, knowledge and attitudes towards HPV vaccine among coastal Kenyan women: A prospective cross-sectional survey.

e22515 Background: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of death among women in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) despite being a preventable disease. Currently, there is a global rolling out of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among young girls. However, the knowledge and attitude of Cervical Cancer and the HPV vaccine remain unknown among women in SSA. Methods: We conducted a voluntary cross-sectional survey among adult women attending the cervical and breast cancer screening during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October 2022 at the Coast General Teaching Referral Hospital Regional Cancer Center, Kenya. The demographic, cervical cancer risk factors, knowledge, and attitudes to the HPV vaccine data were collected and analyzed using descriptive analysis. Results: Two hundred and fifty women participated in the survey, of which 48% were native coastal people. Their mean age was 39.3 ±12.4, and the majority (61%) of the participants were married. The most common age onset of sexual intercourse was 21-30 years (50%), followed by 16-20 years (41%), while 7% were virgins, and a quarter (n = 67) reported having multiple sexual partners. Most (90%) of the participants knew screening and early detection of cervical cancer are associated with better survival. Nevertheless, only a third had been screened previously for cervical cancer. Concerning the cause of cervical cancer, half of the patients (n = 126) knew cervical cancer is caused by HPV, and only 45% (n = 111) were aware of the free national HPV vaccination program, with only 5 participants having been vaccinated against HPV. The most commonly sighted reason for not being vaccinated was lack of knowledge of the HPV vaccine's existence (50%), a third was afraid of the vaccine’s side effects, 10% was due to lack of access, and 3%- were due to the vaccine’s age limit. With regards to the willingness to be vaccinated if they had qualified and the HPV vaccine is available for free, only two-thirds were willing to be vaccinated. However, most (90%) would recommend it to young girls. The few who would not recommend the vaccine to young girls were due to fear and lack of knowledge about the vaccine (73%). Conclusions: There is an unmet need for awareness and understanding of the HPV vaccine, and sensitization is needed to improve its uptake. In addition, it will be worth reviewing the age limit of HPV vaccination among Kenyan women as most women are sexually active after 20 years.

The Coastal Future We Want: Implications of Coastal People’s Perceptions on Satoumi Actions and Sustainable Development in Northeastern Taiwan

Satoumi is advocated for coastal sustainability under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), and has provided a basis for countries around the world to formulate national biodiversity strategies and action plans. Given the significant impact of environmental changes and socio-economic decline, relevant policy directions and practices are urgently required to promote the sustainable development of fishing communities in Taiwan. However, local residents and communities are not sufficiently aware of or involved in this concept to facilitate the development of a holistic Satoumi implementation strategy. Therefore, this study integrates the concepts of Satoumi actions and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has adopted a questionnaire survey to investigate the perceptions of 202 fishing community residents in the Gongliao District of New Taipei City and Yilan County towards these concepts. The standpoint and perception of the fishing community residents regarding Satoumi actions and SDGs provided a valuable reference. The results of the perception of Satoumi actions revealed that all of the respondents recognized Satoumi actions. However, the ranking demonstrated the urgency for some actions (e.g., clear marine litter), and measures that have been implemented in Taiwan but still need improvement (e.g., fish stocking practices). Satoumi actions were associated with two key factors that affect the perception of residents at Satoumi: “Empowerment through community-based industry and environmental education”, and “Conservation of crucial biological resources and habitats”. For the SDGs perceptions, the two factors were “Marine socio-economic sustainability” and “The sustainable use of marine ecological resources”. This study also adopted cluster analysis and identified three characteristically different groups of residents: The Conservation Priority Group, Industry–Society Priority Group, and Balanced Development Group. According to the major research findings, policies implemented in coastal areas of Taiwan have aligned with global sustainability trends. However, the attitude of the Industry–Society Priority Group, which has the largest sample size, should be changed to that held by the Balanced Development Group, in order to formulate a strategy for a balanced development that secures existing livelihoods and aligns with expectations on environmental sustainability. This study suggests that methodologies that encourage stakeholder interactions, dialogues, and consensus-building should be utilized to develop strategies for future work. Furthermore, policy tools related to coastal management should be analyzed to establish a comprehensive toolkit for coastal governance. Finally, Satoumi requires public–private collaboration to achieve both biodiversity conservation and transformative change towards more sustainably and equitably social, environmental, and economic coastal development.

Cyclone Yaas: A Curse to Coastal People of Odisha and West Bengal (India)

Cyclone Yaas: A Curse to Coastal People of Odisha and West Bengal (India)

The evolution of Australian island geographies and the emergence and persistence of Indigenous maritime cultures

Australia was first peopled by maritime voyagers who intentionally crossed from Indonesia using watercraft 65,000 years ago. Despite this, the Holocene archaeological record suggests that many Australian islands were abandoned for several thousand years after separation from the mainland, and only visited again in the last few thousand years. The implication is that coastal peoples reintroduced watercraft into their maritime repertoire only in the recent past. Since first-peopling, sea levels have fluctuated over 120 m, transforming the coastlines and offshore island geographies. In this study, we assess Australia's offshore islands over the range of past sea levels, to discover that most of the Australian coastline has far more islands now than at any time in the human past. Australia's island-rich coastlines emerged with the high sea levels of the late Holocene. The existing island geographies of the Pilbara, the Great Barrier Reef, the Bass Strait and the Rottnest Shelf have no Pleistocene equivalents, meaning coastal peoples encountered new maritime opportunities as modern sea level was established (c. 7 ka). We present regional time series, and detailed paleogeographical maps of these changes, produced by a fully reproducible GIS method. We contextualise this in a review of Australian island archaeology, and demonstrate that key exceptions to this geographical trend are the Kimberley and the Torres Strait – which have evidence for earlier and longer continuous island sequences. These exceptions provided the opportunity for regional persistence of Pleistocene seafaring.

Radial growth in mangrove Xylocarpus granatum J. Koenig is driven by salinity in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh

Albeit the Sundarbans provides protection and livelihood supports to ∼ 7.5 million climate vulnerable coastal people in Bangladesh and India, this sentinel mangrove ecosystem has been threatened by anthropogenic disturbances and rapid environmental changes including sea level rise (SLR). In this context, long-term tree growth data are increasingly essential to understand the effects of environmental changes on mangroves and also to formulate their management plans. In this study, we evaluate the nature and periodicity of growth rings in Xylocarpus granatum, an ecologically important mangrove tree species growing in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. In addition, we analyze the influences of climatic variables (i.e., precipitation and temperature) and river discharge on its radial growth. The results reveal that X. granatum forms distinct growth rings which are marked by a layer of parenchyma band consisting of 1–4 cells. The visual crossdating and the quality of chronology statistics indicate that the growth rings are crossdatable. A site-specific chronology was developed spanning from 1973 to 2020 based on the crossdated samples. The annual nature of X. granatum’s growth rings offer an opportunity to estimate tree age and growth rate. The ring width is influenced by salinity which is regulated mainly by freshwater influx through annual precipitation along with river discharge, particularly in July. This study suggests that growth rings could be used as a proxy in exploring X. granatum’s growth dynamics, especially in relation to environmental changes.

Comparison of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) Models in Face Classification of Papuan and Other Ethnicities

The face of the Papuan people is unique when compared to other ethnic groups in Indonesia, even in Papua itself there are tribes whose differences can also be identified in general, namely coastal people and mountainous people. determined to identify Papuan faces. The faces of Papuans can be identified with the architectural models in Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) such as VGG16, VGG-19, ResNet-50 and MobileNet v1 and Mobilenet v2. The best model is the Mobile Net v1 architectural model for Papuan and Non-Papuan Face Recognition with 0.95 or 95% accuracy.

An Interview with Documentary Filmmaker Anne Troake: Reflecting on Anti-sealing Activism and its Impact on Rural Coastal Peoples in Canada

An Interview with Documentary Filmmaker Anne Troake: Reflecting on Anti-sealing Activism and its Impact on Rural Coastal Peoples in Canada

Melayu Islam dan Batak Kristen: Labelisasi Keagamaan Terhadap Identitas Kesukuan di Sumatera Timur pada Awal Abad Ke-20

This article discusses the religious labelling of ethnicity on Malay and Batak identities in East Sumatra in the early 20th century. The labelling refers to the mention of Malay as Islam and Batak as Christian. The labelling of religious identity strengthened along with the start of Dutch East Indies colonization of East Sumatra. The colonization of the Dutch East Indies changed various religious social lives between the inland people who were often called the Bataks with the coastal people called the Malays. Significant changes to the labelling have occurred since the arrival of European zending to the North Tapanuli region and influenced the social life of the Batak people in the inland at the end of the 19th century. Meanwhile, the Malay identity as Islam has become an inseparable unit, even before the colonization of East Sumatra. This article uses the historical method. Heuristics or collection of sources for this article are primary and secondary sources that discuss social situations in the contemporaries. Furthermore, source criticism and interpretation of historical facts will be carried out using theories or concept from the social sciences. the results of the study show that the religious labelling of Malay and Batak identities has two different poles. Malay as an Islamic identity that occurs because of labelling carried out internally. The Malay community identifies itself as Islam which means that Malay is the same as Islam. Meanwhile, Batak identity as a Christian is more likely to emerge due to external consequences. The attitude of the Dutch East Indies colonial politics that wanted to orbit Batak culture has formed various institutions that are mostly filled by zending parties. Therefore, the Batak identity as a Christian is more likely to be carried out by people outside the Christian religion, even though the person who does it is a Batak ethnic but having Islam as his/her religion.

GEOPOLITICS OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES ON THE CAMEROONIAN COASTS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PRECARIOUS MECHANISM OF CUSTOMS SERVICES BY THE GERMAN COLONIAL ORDER: (1884-1916)

The notion of customs is not foreign to African civilization. Long before Western penetration on the Cameroonian coasts, traditional societies practiced it there according to their socio-cultural and economic considerations. Struck by the natural wealth that was exposed by the pre-colonial coastal peoples on the trading posts, this very quickly aroused the race and the greed of the European powers on the Cameroonian coasts. Portuguese, Dutch, English, Spanish, French and Germans clashed over their economic interests on the Cameroonian coasts. It is in this perspective that Germany, which annexed Kamerun on July 12, 1884, quickly set up a customs service. Because she knew that customs regulated trade and was consideredone of the real catalysts of modern economies in this sense, it is thanks to it that a country can ensure its commercial development as well as the protection of its industries in times of crisis. From primary, secondary and iconographic sources, our reflection will show how the German colonial machine had set up a customs service not to develop their new colony but rather to exploit it economically.

Plant foods: Important nutrients for the people of prehistoric Prince Rupert Harbour

We have made measurements of the stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) of the carbonate in the bones of humans from three ancient archaeological sites at Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia, Canada. The value of δ13C for carbonate in these samples shows that a large part of the energy supply (elemental carbon) of these people was derived from terrestrial plants. Berries are known to have been consumed in large amounts by the people native to this region. Tubers and other root-derived foods are also known to have been present in the diet of British Columbia coastal people. We show that these plant-based foods would have constituted 60 ± 10 % of the energy content of the diet.

Challenges and opportunities for achieving Sustainable Development Goals through restoration of Indonesia's mangroves.

Indonesia, the most mangrove-rich nation in the world, has proposed the most globally ambitious mangrove rehabilitation target (600,000 ha) of any nation, to be achieved by 2024 to support multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 1-3, 6, 13 and 14). Yet, mangrove restoration and rehabilitation across the world have often suffered low success rates and been applied at small scales. Here, we identify 193,367 ha (estimated costs at US$0.29-1.74 billion) that have the potential to align with the national mangrove rehabilitation programme. Despite being only 30% of the national target, our robust assessment considered biogeomorphology, 20 years of land-use and land-cover change and state forest land status, all key factors moderating mangrove restoration success which have often been neglected in Indonesia. Increasing subnational government representation in mangrove governance as well as improving monitoring and evaluation will increase the likelihood of achieving the mangrove rehabilitation targets and reduce risks of failure. Rehabilitating and conserving mangroves in Indonesia could benefit 74 million coastal people and can potentially contribute to the national land-sector emissions reduction of up to 16%.

Pre-industrial ecology and foraging behavior of swordfish Xiphias gladius in the eastern North Pacific

The historical ecology and foraging behavior of many apex marine predators are poorly known. This includes highly mobile pelagic species such as billfish (Xiphiidae and Istiophoridae), which have long held cultural significance for coastal peoples. In California’s Santa Barbara Channel Region, Chumash people have hunted billfish for >2000 yr, providing a deep historical record of these species. We present bulk tissue δ13C and δ15N data for 15 Late Holocene archaeological swordfish Xiphias gladius and 1 striped marlin Kajikia audax previously identified to species through collagen fingerprinting. When compared to data sets of modern northeastern Pacific and archaeological Gulf of Maine swordfish, we identified significant overlap in the isotopic values of modern and archaeological swordfish from the Pacific, indicating that pre-industrial swordfish were reliant on food webs of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and the California Current System. We also identified differences in the isotopic composition of swordfish captured by island vs. mainland communities, with swordfish remains from mainland sites having lower and more variable δ13C values, potentially indicating different source populations. The isotopic range of swordfish from California archaeological sites was much broader than those from the Gulf of Maine, suggesting a wider range of habitats used by Pacific swordfish. Our results provide important pre-industrial data for an apex marine predator.

Effects of COVID-19 on coastal livelihoods in the central region of Ghana

The COVID-19 outbreak effects and related state responses, especially mobility restriction interventions, contributed to disruption in livelihoods in the coastal communities in Ghana. This paper uses an ethnographic approach to analyse the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and coping strategies adopted by small-scale fishers, fish traders and processors. We argued that focusing solely on the livelihoods of formal sector workers is problematic because it fails to consider the dynamics of informal coastal workers. Findings indicate that fishers, fish traders and processors experienced various effects on food, income, police harassment, and coping strategies, including migration, resorting to reusable face masks and food-compromising practices. Infectious diseases such as COVID-19 impact coastal people and their livelihoods. Therefore, implementing social protection measures to mitigate the effects of pandemics on livelihoods should be better coordinated and well-targeted to reach the most vulnerable. Findings from this study offer pointers to position preparedness and response efforts to future outbreaks in a similar context.

A virtual paradise? Platform algorithms, coastal change, and the production of nature in the Philippines

Across parts of Southeast Asia, coastal governance strategies have drawn on ‘ecotourism’ initiatives for ‘sustainable development’ by constructing captivating imaginaries of coastal places and people as sites of touristic production and consumption. Increasingly, representations of exotic and pristine coastal natures are reproduced virtually in support of this campaign through Web 2.0 platforms and their underlying algorithms. As ecotourism expands in the region, growing networks of social media users coproduce and consume abstract virtual natures with profound consequences for coastal peoples and ecosystems. In particular, Instagram, a popular photo sharing social media platform, has become central to reifying and distorting complex coastal realities. Drawing on a case from El Nido, Palawan Island, the Philippines, our paper examines how the virtual representation of coastal places and people on Instagram accelerate coastal transformations. Our results reveal how the political economy of coastal governance and the platform capitalism of social media converge to accelerate ecotourism in ways that realign virtual ideals and material realities. As virtual imaginaries shape coastal realities, new forms of exclusion and misrepresentation of people and places drive the displacement of local fishers, violence against activists, and coastal degradation. Bringing together research exploring (mass) ecotourism, platform capitalism and virtualism, we argue that greater scholarly attention should be placed on how new digital actors and platform algorithms influence how coastal peoples and places are imagined, consumed and subject to violence over time.

Synergistic effects of climate and salinity on radial growth of Excoecaria agallocha L. in the Sundarbans world heritage mangrove ecosystem

The Sundarbans World Heritage ecosystem provides valuable ecosystem goods and services to >7.5 million coastal people in South Asia. This sentinel mangrove ecosystem is threatened by historical anthropogenic disturbances, salinity intrusion and long-term environmental changes including sea level rise. Understanding which factors regulate mangroves’ growth is crucial for taking effective management decisions under global changes. However, a paucity of long-term mangrove tree growth data has limited our ability to quantify and predict the impacts of global changes on mangrove ecosystems. Using long-term growth data archived from the stem discs, this study, therefore, aims to understand how climatic and habitat variables influence radial growth dynamics in Excoecaria agallocha, a hyperdominant mangrove species in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. We find E. agallocha forms a distinct tree-ring boundary characterized by a narrow (2–4 cells wide) band of radially flattened fibres. The crossdatable tree-rings enabled us to develop two ecological zone-specific (low and high saline zone) chronologies (1972–2020) covering the entire salinity stress gradient present in the Sundarbans. Our analyses show: (I) radial growth rate in E. agallocha is significantly lower in the high saline zone, (II) monsoonal precipitation enhances radial growth, (III) large-scale climate drivers, such as sea surface temperature (SST) of the equatorial Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influence tree growth through modifying the local precipitation in varying seasons, and (IV) local habitat variables, such as soil salinity and siltation have combined effects on radial growth of trees although soil salinity exhibits stronger negative effect. Our results highlight the importance of integrating both climate and local habitat variables with tree-ring data for a better understanding of tree growth dynamics under changing environment.

Cyclone-Induced Disaster Loss Reduction by Social Media: A Case Study on Cyclone Amphan in Koyra Upazila, Khulna District, Bangladesh

This study aims to examine the role of social media use in reducing household cyclone-induced disaster loss by obtaining warning and preparedness information. Data were collected following the aftermath of cyclone Amphan in affected households of the Koyra sub-district, Khulna district of Bangladesh using random sampling. Data from 150 households using only traditional media and 150 from those using both social and traditional media were collected through semi-structured questionnaires. Using propensity score matching, it was found that households using both social media and traditional media were able to reduce loss by more than 47,494.31 Bangladeshi Taka compared to households using traditional media. Moreover, households using both media received more important timely information than households using only traditional media. This helped them to work more efficiently and timely, such as cutting ripe crops from fields and keeping them in a safe place, taking domestic animals and poultry to the nearest safe places, putting higher fences using necessary material around ponds to prevent fish being washed away, and so on, to reduce cyclone-induce disaster loss. For obtaining information, problems coastal people faced included less internet bandwidth, the absence of a unified Facebook page and a common YouTube channel, and rumors. Possible solutions for these problems, stated by the respondents, were government-managed free internet before cyclones, a single Facebook page and a single YouTube channel for this purpose. Thus, this research shows social media as a good tool for reducing cyclone-induced disaster loss in Bangladesh coastal areas.

Shipwrecks: Their impact on the behavioural patterns of sailors and on littoral societies during the age of sail in the western Indian Ocean, circa 800–1600

This article begins by investigating the construction techniques of medieval Indian ships to explore the extent to which the building methods were responsible for shipwrecks. Then, the article attends to the impacts of a shipwreck on the minds or behaviour of sailors. A link is drawn between various superstitious beliefs and certain irrational behaviour among sailors in the Indian Ocean and shipwrecks. The dreaded nature of a voyage would often create panic among sailors, which led them to various superstitious beliefs. However, a voyage would also attract many with the promise of adventure. The article also discusses how the atmosphere in the ship played the role of a catalyst in shaping the behaviour of the mariners. Finally, the article explores the ramifications of shipwrecks in littoral societies across the western Indian Ocean. During the medieval period, merchants from different regions and countries whose livelihood depended on the maritime trade settled in port towns. Moreover, littoral people relied on the supply of products from across the oceans for their livelihoods. Therefore, the smooth conduct of shipping was necessary for these coastal people. This article examines how a shipwreck would impact sectors of the littoral society in general and sailors in particular. Although the paucity of sources sets limits on the extent to which these aspects can be reconstructed, a number of contemporary traveller accounts shed light on the situation.

Status and drivers of households’ food security status in climate-sensitive coastal areas of Bangladesh: A comparison between the exposed and interior coasts

ABSTRACT Farming in coastal areas has unique challenges as climate change threatens coastal people’s livelihoods and food security. Therefore, household food security remains a major concern, especially in Bangladesh’s climate-sensitive coastal districts. This study compared the food security status and identified the factors influencing households’ food security in the exposed and interior coasts of Bangladesh. A total of 750 households (exposed coast: 375 and interior coast: 375) were surveyed from six coastal areas. The Food Consumption Score (FCS), descriptive statistics, and a set of econometric models were used to achieve the objectives. Around 20% of households in the exposed coast were in the borderline category of FCS. The FCS of the interior coast households was significantly higher than the exposed coast households. The analysis results revealed that a 1 USD increase in the price of rice per kg would decrease the likelihood of being in the food secure category by more than 40%. Households who engaged in homestead gardening had a 4.30% and 9.15% higher likelihood of being in the food secure category in the interior and exposed coasts, respectively. Access to credit increased the likelihood of being in the food secure category by 7.15% in the exposed coast area. Economic status-related factors, such as higher farm and non-farm incomes, also increased the likelihood of being food secure in both coastal areas. To improve the household-level food security in coastal areas, location-specific sustainable farming practices, non-farm employment opportunities, rice price stabilization, agricultural training, and capital availability are warranted.

IMPACT OF SALINITY INTRUSION ON HEALTH OF COASTAL PEOPLE: REFLECTIONS FROM DACOPE UPAZILA OF KHULNA DISTRICT, BANGLADESH

Increasing salinity in ground water, arable lands and many rivers of the southwest coastal area are important consequences of sea level rise as well as climate change. The scarcity of fresh drinking water was the very initial impact of salinity intrusion that possessed multidimensional threats on human existence. Thus, the current study is designed to know the potential problems caused by salinity intrusion and the protective measures and coping mechanisms adopted by coastal people for salinity. To meet the objectives, two southwest coastal villages Joynagar and Parjoynagar of Kamarkhola union at Dacope upazila in Khulna district of Bangladesh were selected purposively as over past few decades along with other southwest coastal areas these two villages were suffering from increasing salinity intrusion. A collection of qualitative techniques including case study, FGDs and KIIs were adopted to gather vivid data. The results of the study found that apart from physical and psychological health salinity intrusion also possessed adverse impact on social health. The very common physical problems include acidity, stomach problem, several skin diseases and psychological problems include hypertension. Besides, there happened social health problem because of the physical and psychological problem. For example, early marriage happened because salinity gradually changed the skin color from light to gray. However, the findings also presented that all preventive measures of community and authority were taken only for securing fresh drinking water instead of taking preventive measures for purifying washing and cooking water that led to several diseases and problems. In conclusion, it can be recommended that increasing freshwater reservoirs can be a suitable solution for salinity intrusion of the coastal areas.

The Sea Swallowed our Houses and Rice Fields: The Vulnerability to Climate Change of Coastal People in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.

Guinea-Bissau remains among the African countries most vulnerable to climate change due to its flat topography and large meandering coastal area invaded by the tides.We present a case study of the island-village of Djobel, showing the dramatic consequences of socio-environmental change. The inhabitants' attempts to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events and sea-level rise and adapt to the new circumstances have been hampered by the seizure of their upland territory by a neighboring village. In the context of a disconnect between state and society, Djobel's inhabitants want the state to guarantee their rights to productive land, water, and safe housing conditions. This case shows the need for legal protection of the rights of poor, marginalized, and underrepresented populations at risk of becoming climate refugees in the fragile context of politically unstable, failed, and often authoritarian states.