Featured

Into social depth: Understanding adaptive capacity in Micronesian fishing communities

107 Views
Published
Knowledge of communities’ social adaptive capacity is critical to inform climate adaptation planning and fisheries management. The talk will examine social adaptive capacity in four fishing communities in the Federated States of Micronesia and Guam. We used a framework based on five social adaptive capacity factors (diversity and flexibility, access to assets, learning and knowledge, governance and institutions, and agency) to develop indicators that were relevant to the study sites, A combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses shows: high levels of livelihood flexibility and perceived agency to address climate risks; social networks as most vital community asset; significant utility of traditional knowledge combined with scientific information; and, the need for governments and leadership to develop effective sustainable fisheries governance that prevents further fisheries resource degradation and helps develop alternative sustainable livelihoods for fishers.

Supin Wongbusarakum is Coastal Fisheries Social Scientist with the Pacific Island community (SPC) and is affiliated researcher with the UH Sea Grant. She is committed to improving human well-being while achieving environmental objectives, and ensuring that social safeguards are integrated into all types of resource management and sustainable development, and into fostering climate adaptation and resilience.

Matt Gorstein is Coastal Economics Specialist with The South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium. As an extension economist, he works with teams of applied researchers to conduct projects aimed at investigating the complex relationships between humans and the marine and coastal environment; with the goals of providing the best available science to inform decision makers in the coastal zone, ensuring sustainable economic opportunity for coastal communities, and promoting both socioeconomic and ecological resilience.

This talk is part of Resilient Pacific, a seminar series brought to the public by the Center for Pacific Islands Studies and the Institute for Sustainability and Resilience at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Resilient Pacific features multidisciplinary work showcasing the many ways that Pacific communities develop their capacity to overcome a wide range of challenges. The talks highlight the diverse ways that people demonstrate resilience in forging community empowerment, innovative solutions, and sustainable futures across the Pacific and beyond toward regional and global well-being.
Category
Poland
Commenting disabled.