The relentlessde factoprivatization process of Chilika Lake, India

Abstract

In the early 1990s Chilika Lake saw a conflict over aquaculture practices that culminated in a process of de facto privatization of the lake waters and the implementation of illegal shrimp cultivation. An earlier article explored the class dynamics of the conflict and the present paper, based on a 2015 fieldwork revisit, reviews the unfolding of the socioeconomic dynamics underlying the illegal aquaculture activities. Looking at recent developments in the implementation of illegal shrimp cultivation in the lake, it interrogates the underlying balance between coercion and consent, and the implications for the livelihoods and protest politics of the fishing people. The paper draws attention to the reality of occupational displacement, analysing its implications for the viability of the fisher people's oppositional movement. Through doing so, it draws renewed attention to the complexity of state–society relations underlying the dynamics that govern conflict and critically contributes to recent debates on subaltern politics.

The socio-ecological contradictions of land degradation and coastal agriculture in south India

“…Over the years, the Indian government has encouraged shrimp aquaculture as a strategy for economic development in coastal areas and to promote the country's marine-based exports, leading to India becoming the second largest shrimp producer in the world (Govindarajan, 2017, Salunke et al, 2020), although Tamil Nadu has a small share in this (Govardan, 2020). Studies also show that entities interested in expanding shrimp aquaculture in India could range from large corporations to smaller scale traders/industrialists and village-level capitalists (see Adduci, 2020). Globally too, shrimp aquaculture is promoted as a major strategy for climate change adaptation in coastal areas with growing soil salinity (Paprocki and Huq, 2018).…”

Resisting the coastal squeeze through village associations? Comparing environmental, organizational, and political challenges in Philippine seaweed‐growing communities

“…In order to resist coastal squeezes, aquaculture value chains need to be more made inclusive. This is easier said than done given the persistence of local vested political interests and a trend towards exclusive rather than inclusive agribusiness and aquaculture (Adduci, 2020;Andriesse, 2019;German, Bonanno, Foster, & Cotula, 2020). However, without significant improvements, Philippine rural and coastal poverty will persist and socio-spatial inequalities further widen, a bleak prospect in a country with a relatively high population growth compared with neighbouring countries.…”