Socio-ecological vulnerability assessment in coastal communities in the BCLME region

Climate change poses a key threat to marine ecosystems and fisheries resources as well as to communities that depend on these systems for food and livelihoods. This paper reports on a community-based rapid vulnerability assessment (RVA) methodology developed and applied in eight small-scale fishing communities in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem region. This participatory methodology was designed to be applied in a workshop setting and draws on the observations, perceptions and local knowledge of fishers in order to better understand the extent to which their livelihoods are susceptible to various socio-ecological changes and their ability to respond to these changes. The paper highlights selected key findings and aims to demonstrate the type of information that can be elicited from an RVA. Although there were differences between the three countries involved in the study, findings suggest that key stressors are mainly associated with socio-economic and governance issues. Climate-related changes were seen to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Despite differences in spatial and temporal scales of data provided by scientists and fishers, changes in environmental conditions that could be attributed to climate change observed by fishers resonated with available science. Fishers identified a number of adaptation strategies that could address vulnerabilities and enhance resilience but require support from government and other stakeholders. Strengthening local organizations, rebuilding fisheries through local co-management plans, securing access rights, involving fishers in data collection and analysis, developing complementary livelihoods and addressing the broad socio-economic rights of communities were identified as necessary to address vulnerabilities. Participation in these community-level vulnerability assessments enhances understanding, builds capacity, generates knowledge for management, and allows communities to identify locally appropriate adaptation strategies.