Women’s perspectives of small-scale fisheries and environmental change in Chilika lagoon, India

Abstract

Coastal tourism has been supported by the growth of middle-class tourist markets, promoted by governments who view it as an important avenue for economic growth and backed by environmental organisations who regard it as an alternative, more environmentally sustainable livelihood than capture fisheries. How policymakers and households in coastal areas negotiate the challenges and opportunities associated with growing tourism and declining capture fisheries is increasingly important. Drawing on extended ethnographic fieldwork from the Philippines between 2006 and 2018, this paper examines the transition from fishing to tourism and the consequences for one coastal community. I focus on land tenure as a key variable that shapes the effects and opportunities associated with livelihood transitions from fishing to tourism. While tourism has not been inherently positive or negative, the ability of local households to negotiate the boom and obtain the full benefits out of it is questionable. Many fishers have switched their primary livelihood activity to tourism, including the construction of tourist boats, working as tour guides or providing accommodation. However, the growth of tourism has prompted several attempts to evict the community, including from local elites who aimed to develop resorts on the coast and a recent push by the national administration to 'clean up' tourist sites around the country. I argue that land tenure in coastal communities should be more of a focus for researchers working in small-scale fisheries, as well as for researchers working on land rights.

Climate change adaptation in aquaculture

“…Only two studies use the vulnerability approach to study adaptations in an aquaculture setting (Arimi 2014; Orchard et al 2016). Developed countries (United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada and Spain) lead the majority of such studies to assess aquaculture systems in Asian countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh (Galaz et al 2012; Orchard et al 2015; Khan et al 2018). Publications from the United States incorporate a number of national‐level studies aimed at Pacific islands (Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Timor‐Leste and Vanuatu), looking at the economic impacts of climate change in aquaculture (Rosegrant et al 2016; Dey et al 2016a; Dey et al 2016b).…”

Across Time, Across Space, and Intersecting in Complex Ways: A Framework for Assessing Impacts of Environmental Disruptions on Nature-Dependent Prosumers

“…Relations in paid work: If female NDPs are allowed to work outside the home (which can be determined by additional sociocultural limits; e.g., caste [Khan et al 2018]), they are often segregated into lower-paid, less-skilled jobs and are restricted in accessing markets, key inputs, and assets. This affects their capacity to adapt to disasters and to achieve self-sustaining income (Harper et al 2017).…”

“…Male violence: Reoccurring in our analysis, we find that the permissibility of men to exercise control and to subject the less powerful to threats or actual acts of rape, harassment, beatings, and oppression results in female NDPs disproportionately becoming trapped in exploitative, precarious systems of low-paid and dehumanizing labor, including human trafficking and the sex trade, when disasters occur (Kiss et al 2015; Nellemann, Verma, and Hislop 2011). Male violence also magnifies the hardships of environmental disruptions by limiting women’s access to markets (Khan et al 2018; Steinfield and Holt 2020), particularly when women are most vulnerable, such as postdisaster (Seager 2014).…”

“…In addition to these class/ableism-based inequities, traditional patriarchal elements magnify consumption insecurities for female NDPs, which is not experienced to the same extent by their affluent female or poor male counterparts (Goh 2012; Khan et al 2018). Naturalized gender norms, for example, encourage women to be submissive and selfless, and they push motherhood to be women’s primary identity.…”

“…If single, separated from their families, or rejected by their families (for not following gender norms), they face increased risk of exclusion from consumer markets (e.g., denial of housing, food, or school fees) (Goodman et al 2017; Krause 2020). Outside of the family, norms of violence can cause female migrant NDPs to face (threats of) physical and sexual violence, which can result in debilitating posttraumatic stress disorder (Goodman et al 2017) and/or dissuade them from pursuing employment or entrepreneurial ventures (Horlings and Marschke 2019; Khan et al 2018). Refugee camps and journeys of undocumented, climate-induced migrants are particular (global) spaces where the lives of women, and to a lesser extent, males, are affected by sexual and physical violence due to inadequate justice, enforcement, protection, and access to health systems (Goodman et al 2017; Krause 2020).…”