Household level adaptive capacity of fishing communities in Western Mindanao, Philippines to the changing climate
Paper Details
Household level adaptive capacity of fishing communities in Western Mindanao, Philippines to the changing climate
Abstract
Climate change has been affecting many coastal communities around the world. With the location of the Philippines in the tropics, the country is vulnerable to the impacts brought by this phenomenon affecting the safety, livelihood and income distribution of the fishing communities in particular. Quantifying adaptive capacity to climate change is critical in reducing the vulnerability of these affected communities. This study was conducted to assess the adaptive capacity in the household level of the different social groups in the fishing communities of the Municipality of Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. Using the interval-level scale generated from the eight indicators of adaptive capacity comprising human agency, capacity to change, occupational mobility, material assets, occupational multiplicity, social capital and infrastructure and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the data revealed differentiation between social groups. The result showed that fishers who are land tenants, members in fishing boats, large household sizes, fishers belonging in the age group of 29 to 36 years old and fishers who finished High School are least prepared for the changes in climate. Findings of this study supports previous findings of the adaptive capacity conducted around the world. These results highlight the most vulnerable sectors of society, which will help guide local policymakers to formulate environmental adaptation plans appropriate for the social groups in a fishing community.
Allison EH, Ellis F. 2001. The livelihoods approach and management of small-scale fisheries. Marine Policy 25, 377-388.
Aphunu A, Nwabeze G. 2012. Fish Farmers’ Perception of Climate change impact on fish production in Delta State, Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Extension 16(2), 1-13.
Brander K. 2010. Impacts of climate change on fisheries. Journal of Marine Systems 79(3-4), 389-402.
Brooks N, Adger N. 2005. The determinants vulnerability and adaptive capacity at the national level and implications for adaptation. Global Environmental Change 15, 151-163.
Cheung WWL, Lam VWY, Sarmiento JL, Kearney K, Watson R, Zeller D, Pauly D. 2010. Large-scale redistribution of maximum fisheries catch potential in the global ocean under climate change. Global Change Biology 16(1), 24-35.
Cinner JE, Huchery C, Hicks CC, Daw TM, Marshall N, Wamukota A, Allison EH. 2015. Changes in adaptive capacity of Kenyan fishing communities. Nature Climate Change 5(9), 872-876.
Climate Change Commission. 2011. National Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2028, 1-128.
Hoegh-Guldberg O, Bruno JF. 2010. The impact of climate change on the world’s marine ecosystems. Science 328(5985), 1523-1528.
Hollowed AB, Kim S, Barange M, Loeng H. 2013. Report of the Pices/Ices Working Group on Forecasting Climate Change Impacts on Fish and Shellfish. Report of the PICES/ICES Working Group on Forecasting Climate Change Impacts on Fish and Shellfish. North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), Sidney, British Columbia, 1-197.
IPCC. 2007. Summary for policymakers. In M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden, C.E. Hanson, editors. Climate change 2007: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 23.
Mcclanahan T, Cinner J, Maina J, Graham N, Daw T, Stead S, Polunin, N. 2008. Conservation action in a changing climate. Conservation Letters 1(2), 53-59.
Pana MCF. 2012. Perceptions and adaptation capacities of fishermen on climate change: the case of Palawan, Philippines. Journal of Applied Sciences in Environmental Sanitation 7(3), 153-160.
Pollnac RB, Crawford B. 2000. Assessing behavioral aspects of coastal resource use. Proyek Pesisir Publications Special Report. Coastal Resources Center Coastal Management Report 2226. Coastal Resorces Center, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island, 1-139.
Poloczanska ES, Brown CJ, Sydeman WJ, Kiessling W, Schoeman DS, Moore PJ, Richardson AJ. 2013. Global imprint of climate change on marine life. Nature Climate Change 3(10), 919-925.
Pretty J, Ward H. 2001. Social capital and the environment. World Development 29, 209-277.
Roy TN. 2012. Economic Analysis of Producers’ Perceptions about Impact of Climate Change on Fisheries in West Bengal. Agricultural Economics Research Review 25(1), 161-166.
Tompkins EL. 2005. Planning for climate change in small islands: Insights from national hurricane preparedness in the Cayman Islands. Global Environmental Change 15, 139-149.
Yhebron J. Lagud, Cesar G. Demayo, 2020. Household level adaptive capacity of fishing communities in Western Mindanao, Philippines to the changing climate. J. Biodiv. Environ. Sci., 17(1), 78-84.
Copyright © 2020 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.