Strengthening Threatened Communities Through Adaptation: Insights from Coastal Mozambique

Strengthening Threatened Communities through Adaptation:

Insights from Coastal Mozambique

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Institution

Introduction

In their 2014 article, Blythe, Murray and Flaherty explored the plight of communities living in the coastal Mozambique to study how adaptation is negotiated among the communities. Specifically, the study narrowed down to two fishing communities in the coastal region and how the communities negotiated adaptation between them. The study found that fishers in both communities were adapting by either intensification or diversification. The paper herein, therefore, summarizes the questions being debated by the researchers and the positions that the researchers take after the study.

Research Question

The climate change, overfishing and the liberalization of the global economy are the common current day problems that communities which depend entirely on the fishing face. These multiple challenges have been seen to push the socio-ecological systems into unsustainable limits forcing the populations that depend on such activities to seek adaptation measures (Perry et al., 2010). Blythe et al. (2014) chose to research on the adaptation strategies between the Inhangome and Zahala Beach communities.  The researchers, therefore, structured various variables to aid them in the research which included livelihood stressors, adaptive strategies, household assets and factors that enhance or deter adaptation. The Inhangome and the Zahala Beach communities were chosen for the study because, although fishing is the primary source of income in both communities, the support from the government, techniques of fishing and total assets differ between the two communities.

Research Findings and Position Taken

        Among the multiple challenges that were found common in both communities were the declining fish population, illnesses, crime, drought, and storms. Fishers in both communities were adapting by either intensification or diversification. The rich fishermen with more specialized gears and support from the government intensified their efforts in fishing while the poor fishermen adapted through diversifying to more livelihood options. Influential family networks, professional pride and the establishment of fishers groups were the primary strategies of adaptation. The study finds that poor fishers and fishers who are ‘trapped’ in the industry because they have invested everything in fishing, face the most challenges in the adaptation process. The researchers, therefore, conclude that adaptation in both communities follows a heterogeneous approach and which is affected by multiple factors.