enhancing resilience through co-management in the context of climate change: hilsa fishery of...

www.helsinki.fi 02.05.2023 1Biological and Environmental Science / Mohammad Mozumder / DENVI

Enhancing resilience through Co-management in the context of Climate change: Hilsa fishery of Bangladesh

Mohammad Mozumder

www.helsinki.fi 02.05.2023 2Mohammad Mozumder

• Background • Hilsa fishery of Bangladesh• Objectives • Theoretical approach • Research area• Methods• Implications of the research

Overview

www.helsinki.fi 02.05.2023 3 Mohammad Mozumder

• Bangladesh - vulnerable to climate change

• Livelihood- Marine and freshwater riverine fishing .

• Climate change: adverse affect on fresh and marine water fishery.

Background of the Research

www.helsinki.fi 02.05.2023 4Biotieteellinen tiedekunta / Henkilön nimi / Esityksen nimi

• Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha), Family Clupeidae• Anadromous migratory fish (Freshwater rivers, estuaries and the

sea)• Size- Females are larger (55 cm)• Maturity- Males (26-29 cm), Females (31-33 cm).• Spawning- Summer and winter• Fecundity- 0.1 to 2.0 million eggs (25-55 cm)• Food items - Plankton feeder• Fishing gear - Clap-net, gill net (mesh size 10-12.5 cm) and seine

net.

Biology of Hilsa Fish


• Confined to the artisanal sector.

• National fish of Bangladesh, has economic and cultural significance.

• The productivity of the Hilsa fishery has declined sharply due to stressors.

• Hilsa fishers are in danger.

Hilsa fishery


• The Government of Bangladesh- Hilsa Fisheries Management Action Plan in 2003.

• Conservation measures- no catch and compensation

• Conventional “top-down” fisheries management system.

• Less involvement of fishers and other fishery actors.

• What to do?

Hilsa fishery of Bangladesh


• Characterize the causes of vulnerability of fishing communities and strategies to improve resilience.

• Identify the requirements, challenges and opportunities of co-management.

• Assess how co-management could increase resilience and welfare.

Objectives


• Vulnerability- function of exposure and resilience (Badjack, 2008).

• Resilience - function of changes in absorption, self organization and adaptive capacity (Badjack, 2008) .

• Co-management- Partnership between government, resource users and other stakeholders to share the responsibility and authority for managing resources (Bene and Arthur, 2006).

Theoretical approach


Typology of Co-management arrangements

Government Leads

User Group Leads Instructive Management centralized in government

Consultative Government consult users but solely responsible for decision making; controls the process

Cooperative Government and users cooperate as equal partners in decision making

Advisory Users make decisions, based on government advice where necessary, government has a role in endorsing user-group decisions.

Informative User-group based management; government delegates authority for decision making to users who are only responsible for informing government on these decisions

Co-management

Source- Allison and Badjeck, 2004 adapted from; Sen and Raakjaer Nielson, 1996


• Participatory resource management (equitable, effective and sustainable).

• Resource users and community (resource managers).

• Better rules and regulations.

• Increased legitimacy of fisheries rules supported by resource users

Benefits of a Co-management approach


• Experience of co-management in Bangladesh: Small inland water bodies and forestry

• Effects- Limited outputs…• No co-management: Hilsa fishing

operations in the Meghna River system or the Bay of Bengal

• ECOFISH project 2015: Focus on co-management of Hilsa fishery.

Co-management in Bangladesh


• Andharmanick River (Southern Meghna river system)

• Why ?

Research Area


Methods

• Participatory Methods- Focused Group Discussion, Key Informant interview, Community profiling and Mapping (Institutional and power mapping of fishing villages).


• Literature - fisheries co-management and fishing community resilience.

• Understanding of power dynamics in fisheries.

• Suggestions - strengthening the resilience of fishing villages to climate change and other stressors.

• Transfer- Hilsa fisheries management in India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Persian Gulf states (co-management arrangements)

• Improving the welfare and empowerment of the Hilsa fishing communities.

Implications of the Research


Acknowledgements-• Agri4D Young Researchers

meeting 2016• DENVI• Supervisors- Päivi

Haapasaari and James Tobey• ECOFISHBD

Thanks a lot