Coastal Fishers are living on the edge: Escaping contrivances & Future approaches

Abstract

The consequences of climate change are already being felt now throughout the world. Bangladesh is more at jeopardy from climate change than almost any other country. Coastal fishing community are more precarious to the sardonic eventualities of climate change. The coastal fishing community of Kuakata coastal belt in Bangladesh are living on the edge of existence due to these impacts. To gather fisher’s perceptions, 100 fishers from the community were interviewed and their responses were recorded. They have identified tropical storms, cyclones, fluctuation in temperature and rainfall as the prime upshots of climate change although their knowledge about climate alteration is very poor but all of them were conscious about the change of weather condition and the impacts of frequent natural inversions linked with climate change. Due to the intense of these events, the fishers & their family experiences the loss of fishing inputs & house, uproot of trees, food scarcity, lack of safe drinking water, shorten fishing trips, mislead of directions in fishing trip due to cloudiness, diseases outbreak, often being indebt, water clogging, physical injury, backpedal of educational schemes and wreck of communication systems. To adapt with these situations the fishers frantically try to improve their physical capitals (house, boat & fishing inputs repairing), natural capital (tree plantation & vegetable culture), harvesting rain water & in long term they are trying to educate their children to leave this risky profession. Based on literature review, the research analysis has come up with some future approaches that can be made to escape from the climatic shocks. These are introduction of climate resilient culture technique, insurance of fishing capital, loan facilities on easy term, educating the community, create awareness on savings, quick responses after disasters, bolstering the coastal infrastructures, introduction of co-management. The study could provide useful reference point to commence proactive, autonomous and planned adaptation both in personal & organizational level.