Adapting towards climate change impacts: Strategies for small-scale fishermen in Malaysia

- Temperatures, extreme rainfall and sea level rise in Malaysia are keep changing.
- Fishermen have felt and experienced these changes.
- Such changes impinge the socio-economic aspects of the fishermen.
- Fishermen adaptive capacity towards the changing climate is proven inadequate.
- A total of six adaptation strategies towards climate change have been highlighted.

As with the global scenario, a number of climate change 'symptoms' are being detected in Malaysia. Local scholars have looked into the problems of rising temperature, rising sea level, extreme rainfall and extreme winds, which are causing coastal and mangrove erosion and degradation of marine resources. In turn, these issues are affecting the small-scale fishermen who rely heavily on weather stability to conduct their social and economic routines. This paper analyses six adaptation strategies, namely, reducing the risks associated with fishing routines, strengthening social relationships, managing fishermen's climate change knowledge, facilitating the community's learning of alternative skills, involving fishermen in climate change adaptation planning, and enhancing fishermen's access to credit. These suggestions are hoped to provide basis for concerned parties to develop adaptation strategies that are in line with small-scale fishermen's needs, abilities and interests.