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Fishers’ perceptions of climate change, impacts on their livelihoods and adaptation strategies in environmental change hotspots: a case of Lake Wamala, Uganda

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Abstract

Fisheries resources support livelihoods of fishing communities but are threatened by over-exploitation, habitat degradation, pollution, invasive species and climate change. Unlike the other threats, climate change has received limited consideration and reducing its risks requires appropriate adaptation strategies. This study used quantitative and qualitative methods to generate knowledge on fishers’ perceptions of climate change, changes in climate variables and their impacts on livelihoods, adaptation strategies, constraints to adaptation and required interventions to promote adaptation strategies that would enable fishers to build resilience to sustain their livelihoods. We found that fishers were aware of changes in climate conditions manifested by unpredictable seasons, floods and droughts. Fishing remained the main livelihood activity. However, the dominance of fishes had changed from Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) to the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell). Floods and droughts were associated with damage to gears, boats, landing sites and changes in fish catches and sizes, income from fishing and fish consumption. The fishers adapted by increasing time on fishing grounds and changing target species and fishing gear among other things. Some innovative fishers diversified to high-value crops and livestock. This increased their income beyond what was solely earned from fishing which provided an incentive for some of them to quit fishing. Livelihood diversification was enhanced by use of communications technology, membership of social groups, increasing fishing days and fishing experience. Adaptation was, however, constrained by limited credit, awareness and access to land, which require interventions such as improving access to credit, irrigation facilities, appropriate planting materials and awareness raising. We identified adaptation strategies, which if promoted and their constraints addressed, could increase resilience of fishers to the influence of climate change and sustain their livelihoods.

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Notes

  1. In this study, innovators refer to fishers or former fishers who had diversified to growing crops and rearing livestock, consequently improving their income and food security beyond what they earned from fishing alone. The innovators were identified through consultations with local leaders. The crops and livestock they had acquired are referred to as their innovations.

  2. Illegal gillnets were those with mesh sizes below the minimum mesh size (114.3 mm) currently recommended on small lakes such as Lake Wamala in Uganda. Illegal hooks were those with numbers smaller than the minimum (number 9) currently recommended on small lakes in Uganda.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the Director of Research and staff of the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI), Uganda for logistical support. Field data collection was made possible with support from The Rockefeller Foundation and the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II, funded by the World Bank through the Government of Uganda. We are grateful to anonymous reviewers for their useful comments. We are thankful to William Critchely and Matt Hamilton who voluntarily proofread the text to improve the English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda

    Laban Musinguzi, Jackson Efitre, Fredrick Muyodi, Mark Olokotum & Sharon Namboowa

  2. National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI), P.O. Box 343, Jinja, Uganda

    Laban Musinguzi, Konstantine Odongkara, Richard Ogutu-Ohwayo, Vianny Natugonza & Shamim Naigaga

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  1. Laban Musinguzi
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  2. Jackson Efitre
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Correspondence to Laban Musinguzi.

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Musinguzi, L., Efitre, J., Odongkara, K. et al. Fishers’ perceptions of climate change, impacts on their livelihoods and adaptation strategies in environmental change hotspots: a case of Lake Wamala, Uganda. Environ Dev Sustain 18, 1255–1273 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-015-9690-6

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