IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON COASTAL FISHERIES COMMUNITIES OF SOUTH-EASTERN BANGLADESH

Abstract

The present study was conducted with coastal communities of south-eastern Bangladesh depends on fish and fisheries for their livelihood. With the objectives to understand the impacts of climate change on fisheries-dependent communities and their adaptation to climate change impacts, yearlong study conducted from January to December 2013 was candied out using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Most of the respondents reported that fisheries resources were affected in terms of less diversity in composition and availability and reduction in size, alternation of habitat and changes in migration route. The intensity of extreme rough sea events has increased as opined by 91.6% of the interviewees, simultaneously decreased the fishing opportunity by 61.6%. Climatic extreme incidents pose various threats to aquaculture system for instance, entrance of pathogen and predator into farm (30%), environmental pollution and water quality problem (25%), flooded with infected water (22%), increase pollution (15%) other (8%). Fish processing industries can use only (23%) of their total capacity due to insufficient supply of raw fish. Another important sector, ice industries were victimized from scarcity of pure water that forced them to produce poor quality ice that in turn increases the production cost. Both physical and social well-being of the fisherfolk is negatively affected and become more vulnerable in terms of increased rough sea episodes as fishers are killed, injured, their properties are wiped out. Respondents perceived that these events affect houses (43.3%), fishing materials (30%), communication (16.70%) and institution (10%). Climate changes impacts on the health status are severe as well which are further compounded by unhygienic environment, lack of consciousness about health and scarcity of pure water that lead to fisherfolk to suffer from immunity degradation, health hazards like diarrhea, cholera and viral disease, eye inflammation (sunken eye, hypoglycemia) or even die. Overall, climate changes and its associate impacts reduce livelihoods and income opportunities for fishermen, labor relevant to fish drying and fish processing industry that further reduced their adaptive capacity. Nevertheless affected communities are creating their own ways to cope with hazardous climatic events. These adaptation strategies include changing fishing ground, intensifying fishing efforts in favorable seasons, changing occupation and migration. However, these strategies are not good enough to lead sustainable livelihood that require intervention from government and civil societies to make resilient fishing community in coastal Bangladesh.