Global warming-induced climate change affects the coastal regions diversely leading to warmer oceans, rise in sea level, aggravating storm patterns, inundations, increasing precipitations and salinization. This study focusses to explore the livelihood as well as the vulnerability status of the marine fishing spatial units in Sindhudurg Coastal and Marine Ecosystem (SCME) area, west coast of India. The focus was to develop a composite index, namely, Sustainable Fisheries Livelihood Index (SFLI) comprising five capitals, which acts as a tool to evaluate the livelihood status of the fishing communities and also a coastal vulnerability (Cumulative Vulnerability Index-CVI) framework from an earlier assessment was used. The livelihood and vulnerability indices were integrated to arrive at a decision-making matrix to identify and propose suitable interventions for appropriate climate adaptation strategies and achieving sustainable fisheries livelihood. In the present study, SCME was found to have a low SFLI value (0.36). Among the three taluks in SCME, Malvan taluk had comparatively higher SFLI (0.46) than Vengurla (0.34) and Devgad (0.29) taluks. Based on cumulative vulnerability indices, the majority of marine fishing spatial units (i.e. 58.3% after combining high and very high CVI ranges) in SCME were found to face severe vulnerability. These spatial units, plotted using CVI versus SFLI in the four quadrants of decision matrix, were analyzed for management interventions with strategies aimed at reducing the vulnerability and improve the adaptive capacity of fishing communities to achieve sustainable livelihoods. Spatial units in Quadrant IV were preferred to have focused climate change adaptation strategies to minimize vulnerability as well as to improve the fisheries livelihood sustainability by enhancing the access to livelihood capital assets. Spatial units in Quadrant I might serve as model units to demonstrate the vulnerability mitigation interventions to achieve stability and sustainability of livelihoods. Appropriate interventions for climate change adaptation such as diversification of fishing, selection of appropriate fishing gears, regulation of fishing effort, diversification of livelihoods and adoption of ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) have been discussed.
Jeevamani, JJJ; Priya, P; Infantina, JA; Abhilash, KR; Behera, DP; Samuel, VD; Soundararajan, R; Purvaja, R; Ramesh, R
An integrated approach to assess coastal vulnerability versus fisheries livelihood sustainability: Strategies for climate change adaptation in Sindhudurg, west coast of India
Environment Development And Sustainability