Vulnerability of coastal fishery

communities to climate change in Kerala

state

5-11-2013, Annemarie Groot, Tanya Singh and Kirstin van Riel,

Outline

�Vulnerability to climate change

�Case study: Vulnerability of coastal fishery communities to climate change in Kerala state

�Exercise (tools)

Vulnerability to climate change?

� Vulnerability is the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with adverse effects of climate change (including climate variability and extremes) (IPCC, 2007)

� Primary determinants: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity

Vulnerability to climate change: main

determinants (IPCC, 2007)

� Exposure: exposure of a system

to stimuli that act on a particular

system (temperature increases,

changes in frequency or intensity

of precipitation..)

� Sensitivity: responsiveness of a

system to climate hazards

� Adaptive capacity: refers to the

ability of a system to adjust to CC.

Ability is measured in terms of

resources availability (human,

technical, biophysical and financial

capital) and institutional capacity

Vulnerability indices and indicators (examples)

access to

technology

access to

information

demographics

diversification

in income

generation

temperature

precipitationVulnerability

sensitivityexposure

adaptive

capacityChange

intensity

of

precipitati

on

Age

early warning

system

no. of

income

generating

activities

Infrastructure

Location

of houses

Change in

onset of

the

monsoon

Awareness

raising

Contextual nature of vulnerability

and difficulties of validating

indicators provide challenges to

development of vulnerability

indicators

Approaches: top down - bottom up

� Top down

� Bottom up

(Kerala case study)

Case study: Vulnerability of fisheries and fishery

dependent communities to climate change

� Start to build understanding about vulnerability

� Context: Indo Mareclim

� Research question

What determines the vulnerability of the fisheries sector, in

particular the fishing communities under consideration to

changes in the biophysical system? And how do different actors

within the fisheries sector perceive and respond to the affects

that shape their vulnerability?

Climate change is an add-on stressor

Source: CMFRIClimate Change

Impact on Fishing communities

Overexploitation

Fishery communities are affected by multiple anthropogenic factors (climate change is just one of these

Applied methodology

� Bottom up approach - participatory vulnerability assessment

� Focus on current vulnerability (future vulnerability touched upon)

� Desk study research combined with interviews with stakeholders....

� Study area ....

Stakeholders / interviewees

• Community (n=39):

• Traditional fishermen (canoes and catamarans)

• Traditional motorised

• Trawlers

• Fish vendors

• ‘Middle man’

• Fishermen wives

• State level (n=15):

• Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI)

• State Fisheries Department

• NGO’s

• Students of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean studies (KUFOS) university

Study area: Kerala state - Ernakulam district (Vypin

Island) and Alappey district

General information on fisheries and fishery communities

� Fisheries industry in Kerala has a dominant role in its economic

development. Share of Kerala is 8.2% in India’s total fish production

� Marine fishery sector in Kerala has increased over the years (no.

people)

� Marine fishes dominate total landing include Indian Oils sardines,

India Mackerel, threadfin breams, ribbon fishes, tuna (pelagic fishes)

and perch, sharks, prawns

� Traditional (marine and inland) and mechanized (incl. trawling

boats)(marine). Traditional fishermen mainly involved in pelagic

fisheries, trawlers involved in highly valued export fish (e.g. marine

shrimps)

� Fishermen are active in the traditional (marine and inland) or

mechanized fishery sector, fisher women are mainly involved in post

harvesting activities (processing, peeling)

General information on fisheries and fishery communities

(continuation): coastal zone management, fishery regulation

� Coastal Regulation Zone Notification (CRZ)

� Integrated coastal zone management programme still to be

developed

� Kerala fisheries development and management policy (1993)

� Trawl-ban (mechanized boats), 47 days mid June - end of July,

marine fisheries)

� Welfare and self help programmes to enhance social and

economic security

� No state level Climate Change action plan yet

Outcomes: based on interviews – literature

Exposure to climate change

� Change in monsoon pattern (SW): decrease in frequency and intensity (years before 2013). In 2013, intense rain and air currents

� Decrease in occurrence of coastal upwelling

� Increased sea surface temperature (SST) (0.2˚- 0.3˚C in past 45 years)

� Increased sea level rise

� Increased salinity

� Increase in heavy storms, coastal flooding and such coastal erosion

ST2

Slide 15

ST2 sometimes kirstin mentions droughts, but emphasis is more on floodsSingh, Tanya, 03-11-2013

Sensitivity to climate change

� High dependency on fisheries sector

� Lack of job alternatives (women are an exception)

� Housing location (very close to the water, thus prone to floods and storms)

High sensitivity

Impact of CC on fish resources and fishing

community

Exposure Impact

Decrease in frequency and intensity of monsoon rainfall1) Before 2013

2) 2013

• Fishermen/women: negative effect on spawning • Officials: change in monsoon can have positive and negative effect on spawning season - production capacity

• Less opportunities to go out fishing –decrease in catch• Decrease in income

Increase in sea surface temperature

• Increase in fast growing, smaller, short lived and low value fish

• Extended distribution of pelagic fish (India mackerel still abundant but migrating to North, oil sardine abundant)

• Sharks and catfish are declining (both fishermen/ officials)(not clearly linked to SST)

• Shift in spawning season (towards cooler periods)

Decrease in occurrence of coastal upwelling (no upwelling in 2013)

• Less pelagic fish in inshore waters

Coastal erosion Houses , roads .. destroyed

Inland fisheries • Eutrophication and mass fish kills• Emerging fish diseases

Trends in fisheries resources based on interviews and

literature findings

Marine fish species Trends based on stakeholders

perception

Source of information Literature findings

Oil Sardine –

Sardinella longiceps

Increased

Increased (since 2000)

Trawler

CMFRI, State Fisheries Department

Increased (i.e. CMFRI, 2013)

Vivekanandan, 2011; Mohamed et

al., 2013)

Indian Mackerel –

Rastrilliger kanagurta

Increased

Decreased since 2000

wives of fishermen

CMFRI, State Fisheries Department

Declining (Mohamed et al., 2013).

Silver moony –

Monodactylus Argenteus

Decreased in quantity and

quality (size)

Gill netters Abundant but showing a negative

growth (Sathianandan et al., 2011)

Tiger prawns - Penaeus monodon Decreased in quality (size) Fisherwoman Decreasing since 1997 (Nair,2011)

Marine shrimp (penaeid prawns) Decreased Mechanized/ Trawler Increase (i.e. CMFRI, 2013)

Threadfin bream (pink perch) Decreased Mechanized/ State Fisheries Dept. Decreased (Sathianandan et al.,

2011)

Tuna Decreased Mechanized X

Cat fishes - Tachysurus sp. Depleted since 1973

Declining

Mechanzed, State Fisheries Dept.

Trawler; FGD

Disappeared since 1997 (Nair,

2011)

Collapsed (Mohamed et al., 2013)

Sharks / Rays / Skates -

Elasmobranchs

‘Vanished’

Declining

No change

Trawler, traditional fishing couple;

motorised

FGD; CMFRI

Trawler / net mender

Declining (Mohamed et al., 2013)

Less abundant (Sathianandan et

al., 2011)

Inland fish species

Pearl spot - Etroplus suratensis Decreased Traditional, small scale fisherman x

Adaptive capacity

� Poor access to financial resources (high interest rates)

� Poor access to education

� Access to networks: Women seems to have better access to networks than men

� Access to information: Tsunami warning system is perceived as being effective

� Roads, bridges are constructed to facilitate evacuation

� Governance, leadership: Coastal Regulation Zone notification is perceived as being partially effective, trawl ban is considered to be effective

Vulnerability

� Traditional fishermen (highest: lack access to facilities, live close to the water, difficult to get loans, no alternative, at high risks during storms)

� Mechanized fishermen/trawlers (lower; capacity to extent fishing range towards deeper water)

� Chinese-net fishermen (lower: highly vulnerable during SW monsoon)

�Women of fishermen (lower: take on alternative employment, SHG)

� Youth (lower: might have a better future, due to education and migration)

� Fish vendors (low: more financial capital, affected by price fluctuation)

Recommendations to better dealing with CC impacts

and sustain fisheries resources (coping/adaptation)

� Trawl-ban might need to be adjusted as spawning seasons and distribution

ranges of fishes are said to be changing

� Support development of alternative income generating activities e.g. in

tourism (mal adaptation!)

� Support adaptive fishing and post-harvest practices to sustain fish production

and quality

� Increase awareness about CC among fishing communities and other

stakeholders

� Develop decision support systems for fisheries (prices, ..

� Stop overfishing and adopt Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and

Integrated Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management

Future outlook

� Total amount of rainfall is likely to decrease

� The occurrence of upwelling is likely to become even less frequent (SW wind flow is likely to weaken)

Decrease in amount of (pelagic) fish in the inshore waters

� Traditional fisheries might become a dying tradition

� But, effects of the monsoon/CC on fish production, fishery community remain unclear. Need for research!

Exercise: introduction of tools

Climatic hazard trend analysis

Objective

� To gain insight into past climatic hazards and identify trends in their nature, intensity and impacts

� To develop insight into the impact of the climatic hazards

� To understand past and present coping strategies, incl. their effectiveness

� To identify a first set of adaptation options

Procedure

1.Start with the earliest hazard event anyone can remember, a timeline of the last 20-30 years is developed to identify and discuss large climatic hazard events.

2.Discuss the impacts of the events, community reaction and coping strategies and institutional support.

3.Assess and discuss the effectiveness of the coping/ adaptation strategies (past, present and future)

4.Identify new adaptation strategies that are more effective

Climatic hazard trend analysis (example)

Tool ‘Livelihood Resource Vulnerability Assessment’

(Regmi et al, 2010)

Objective of the tool

� To assess the intensity of impact of climatic hazards on livelihood resources

Process and procedure

� Identify a number of climate induced hazards and relevant resources. Resources can be technical capital (e.g. roads), social/human capital (e.g. networks) or financial. Write the climate induced hazards and relevant resources in a table.

� Participants rate the impact severity of the climatic hazards on the different resources.

� Scores are decided by consensus, use rating system as described in the tool description

Expected outputs

� Insight into those livelihood assets that are heavily affected by climate-induced hazards

Table: Livelihood Resource Vulnerability Assessment

Climate induced hazards

Resources

Increased uncertainty in rain fall

Increased risk of soil erosion

etc.

Fish (marine)3 (High impact on the resource)

Etc.

Fish (back waters)

Etc.

Marketing network

Roads

Etc.

Tool Vulnerability Assessment (Regmi et al, 2010)

� Use of the tool

� To differentiate vulnerability to climatic hazards across different sectors and social groups

� To identify most vulnerable social groups within a community and most vulnerable sectors

Process and procedure

� Preferably, make use of a focus group discussion.

� Climate induced hazards are listed along one side of a grid, as shown hereafter.

� Because of time constraints focus only on social groups (if you have time you could assess different sectors as well). List different social groups (age, gender, types of fishermen/women..) as shown in the table hereafter.

� Participants discuss the vulnerability of each social group to each climatic hazard and consensually agree a rating as below.

�

� Expected output:

� Insights into the most vulnerable people and groups within a community (and/or the most vulnerable sectors), including the reasons why

Table: Vulnerability Assessment

social groups within the community

climate change induced hazardsincreased uncertainty in rain fall

increasedillness inthe family

increasedrisk oferosion

etc.

age differentiation

youth

adults (2)

elderly (3)

gender differentiation

men

women

etc.

Types of fisherman/women

Traditional

Mechanized

etc.

Sectors

Fisheries

Agriculture

Etc.

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