Bangladesh contains one of the richest and largest inland fisheries in South Asia and the third highest inland capture fisheries in the world and has a long history, which continues to the present, of conflict and cooperation between fishers and other diverse fishing interests over access to a range of fishing environments managed under a variety of leasing and tenurial arrangements. Several fishing communities are of ancient origin and over a long period of time have developed and adapted their indigenous fishing knowledge, including technologies, fishing practices and knowledge of diverse fishing environments to manage fisheries in a variety of environmental and ecological conditions. This thesis provides a detailed ethnographic account of one such community, the Koibortta fishers of Krishnapur village in the northeast flood plain region of Bangladesh, focusing on their management practices and indigenous fishing knowledge in selected inland common property fisheries. It examines, using documentary and oral historical sources, the ways in which they have adapted aspects of their indigenous fishing knowledge to changing economic and environmental circumstances over the past 50 years. It also examines, using case studies of three water bodies, how they were able to gain short-term and insecure access to selected water bodies, partly by drawing on traditional social networks at village and multivillage levels to mobilise fishers in negotiations with leaseholders. / The thesis argues that these social networks and fishers’ capacity to adapt aspects of their fishing knowledge to new circumstances were insufficient to gain long term, secure and direct access to productive water bodies as fishers lacked strong government commitment to their long term security. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the capacity of Krishnapur fishers to manage fish resources equitably and sustainably.

This research investigates the paradox that many coastal communities in developing countries are resource rich but income poor. Another aspect of this paradox is the belief that local communities possess traditional knowledge that respects nature. This belief contrasts the fact that major tropical coastal ecosystems, namely coral reefs and mangroves, are being destroyed at rapid and increasing rates, in many cases by the people whose livelihoods depend on them. These paradoxical circumstances lead to a central question: if the sustainability of coastal resources is vital for the livelihood of local communities, why are these resources being degraded, often to the point of complete destruction? This study explores the motives and consequences of destructive methods of coastal resource utilisation and examines the potential for sustainable livelihoods based on coastal resources currently under threat from destructive use patterns. The analysis is based on a field study conducted in 2006 and 2008 in eleven sites around the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. This area is characterised by great biodiversity, including one of the highest marine biodiversities in the Asia-Pacific region. Coral and mangrove ecosystem resource use was found to be driven by different processes and activities; hence the destructive practices impacting both ecosystems were also different. Blast and poison fishing were the most widespread destructive resource use methods found for coral reefs whereas large-scale habitat conversion was responsible for mangrove ecosystem reduction. In the field both resources were found to be under enormous anthropogenic pressures, with published data suggesting that only 5.8% of Indonesian coral reefs are currently in excellent condition and only 38% of mangrove cover remaining in Sulawesi relative to that of 25 years ago. The dynamics of these coastal resources, and of their destruction, are classic examples of the ’tragedy of the commons’. Research findings further indicate that formal institutions tasked with managing these resources have not been able to promote their effective conservation. An array of competing demands and conflicting interests, coupled with inefficient institutional arrangements and under-investment, have rendered inadequate many resource management efforts, including the externally-imposed concepts, allowing destructive patterns of resource utilization to persist. Local communities are disempowered when confronted with (1) the intricate network of destructive-fishing actors targeting coral reefs, or (2) large company-government bureaucracy collusions allowing mangrove conversion. The existence of this collusive network must be considered in any effort to address problems of effective management. Empirical insights suggest that conservation at local level has to face the challenges of market-driven resource extraction at a global scale. Only when a coastal community manages to overcome the dilemma in managing common-pool resource, conservation measures can be implemented and a degree of sustainability attained. Findings from this research have important implications for the discourses on coastal resource policy and research. This research advances the discussions to the area where the core of conflict of interests among stakeholders took place, and yet has rarely been addressed previously. The synthesis from this study provides a strong basis to understand the nature of asymmetric relations amongst the resource stakeholders, and therefore will help in generating effective policies for a fairer coastal resource management regime.

This research investigates the paradox that many coastal communities in developing countries are resource rich but income poor. Another aspect of this paradox is the belief that local communities possess traditional knowledge that respects nature. This belief contrasts the fact that major tropical coastal ecosystems, namely coral reefs and mangroves, are being destroyed at rapid and increasing rates, in many cases by the people whose livelihoods depend on them. These paradoxical circumstances lead to a central question: if the sustainability of coastal resources is vital for the livelihood of local communities, why are these resources being degraded, often to the point of complete destruction? This study explores the motives and consequences of destructive methods of coastal resource utilisation and examines the potential for sustainable livelihoods based on coastal resources currently under threat from destructive use patterns. The analysis is based on a field study conducted in 2006 and 2008 in eleven sites around the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. This area is characterised by great biodiversity, including one of the highest marine biodiversities in the Asia-Pacific region. Coral and mangrove ecosystem resource use was found to be driven by different processes and activities; hence the destructive practices impacting both ecosystems were also different. Blast and poison fishing were the most widespread destructive resource use methods found for coral reefs whereas large-scale habitat conversion was responsible for mangrove ecosystem reduction. In the field both resources were found to be under enormous anthropogenic pressures, with published data suggesting that only 5.8% of Indonesian coral reefs are currently in excellent condition and only 38% of mangrove cover remaining in Sulawesi relative to that of 25 years ago. The dynamics of these coastal resources, and of their destruction, are classic examples of the ’tragedy of the commons’. Research findings further indicate that formal institutions tasked with managing these resources have not been able to promote their effective conservation. An array of competing demands and conflicting interests, coupled with inefficient institutional arrangements and under-investment, have rendered inadequate many resource management efforts, including the externally-imposed concepts, allowing destructive patterns of resource utilization to persist. Local communities are disempowered when confronted with (1) the intricate network of destructive-fishing actors targeting coral reefs, or (2) large company-government bureaucracy collusions allowing mangrove conversion. The existence of this collusive network must be considered in any effort to address problems of effective management. Empirical insights suggest that conservation at local level has to face the challenges of market-driven resource extraction at a global scale. Only when a coastal community manages to overcome the dilemma in managing common-pool resource, conservation measures can be implemented and a degree of sustainability attained. Findings from this research have important implications for the discourses on coastal resource policy and research. This research advances the discussions to the area where the core of conflict of interests among stakeholders took place, and yet has rarely been addressed previously. The synthesis from this study provides a strong basis to understand the nature of asymmetric relations amongst the resource stakeholders, and therefore will help in generating effective policies for a fairer coastal resource management regime.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T18:15:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlos Roberto Scheibel.pdf: 6443043 bytes, checksum: 5ade4bc0396f2f91e1e2bbff5ee8efac (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-20 / This study aims to understand the relationship between anglers and Pitangui River landscape, specifically on its upper part and its right bank tributary, i.e., Jotuva River. The study of vernacular fishing through geographic-ethnographic approach necessarily included the author’s participation as an observing-figure, which enabled him to establish bonds with the territory and go fishing along with the locals, being then able to understand the relationship between the anglers and the river landscape. The products of that relationship - synthesized vernacular fishing into geographical symbols - materialized in artifacts, technical itinerarie, architecture of ranches, camp sites and fishing', as well as the paths connecting fishing spots. Besides reporting the diversity of vernacular fishing practice, the study examines the knowledge body on generative fishing areas, as well as the classification system of local ichthyofauna. The study of geosymbol characterization and knowledge of vernacular fishing pointed to the peculiarity of this sociocultural practice which depends exclusively on rescuing the residents’ memory who have a close connection with the fishing territory, currently threatened by the National Park of Campos Gerais stablishment, as well as other socioeconomic processes that have striken those rural areas. / O presente trabalho visa entender a relação entre os pescadores de lazer e a paisagem fluvial do rio Pitangui, especificamente no curso superior do rio Pitangui e de seu primeiro afluente da margem direita, o rio Jotuva. O estudo da pesca vernacular, pelo viés da abordagem etnográfico-geográfica, incluiu necessariamente a participação do autor da pesquisa enquanto sujeito-observador, o que lhe possibilitou estabelecer vínculos com o território da pesca e com os moradores,permitindo decodificar a relação dos pescadores amadores com a paisagem fluvial.Os produtos da relação entre pescadores e seu território de pesca — sintetizados nos geossímbolos da pesca vernacular — materializados em artefatos, itinerários técnicos, arquitetura dos ‘ranchos’ e dos acampamentos, além dos carreiros que ligam os pontos de pesca entre si. Ademais do inventário da diversidade de práticas da pesca vernacular, o estudo visou compreender o corpo de conhecimentos sobre os locais propícios à pesca, bem como o sistema de classificação da ictiofauna local. O estudo da caracterização dos geossímbolos e dos saberes da pesca vernacular apontou para a particularidade dessa prática sociocultural, cuja reprodução depende, exclusivamente, do resgate da memória dos moradores que possuem um estreito vínculo de pertencimento com o território da pesca, sendo atualmente ameaçado com a implantação definitiva do Parque Nacional dos Campos Gerais, bem como outros processos de ordem socioeconômica que atingem o meio rural.

Text in English with abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / Zanzibar is a region with a rich coastal biodiversity, with the marine environment providing a vast majority of the nation’s income through fishing and tourism activities. These coastal resources consist of white sandy beaches and clear blue water, rich in biodiversity and ecosystem processes. The human coastal populations residing in many of the coastal villages rely on the ocean to provide means of sustenance and income through fishing activities. In order to effectively manage these coastal resources, an integrated resource and environmental management approach needs to be adopted. This study aimed to identify and investigate the current fishing practices used by local fishermen by means of semi-structured interviews and informal discussions with local fishermen and villagers. The study shows that a vast majority of the fishermen, who reside in the villages surrounding Mnemba Island, are of the opinion that the increased number of tourist-related activities has resulted in a decline in fish stocks. This was attributed to the steady increase in the number of fishermen, as well as the lack of proper fishing vessels and equipment. This study also assessed data provided by the &Beyond Lodge situated on Mnemba Island. The study provides recommendations and conclusions for effective fisheries management in order to achieve a sustainable fishing model for the fishing grounds surrounding Mnemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania. / Zanzibar spog met wit sandstrande, helderblou water en ʼn groot biodiversiteit kuslangs. Naas toerisme is visvang die vernaamste inkomstebron. Die inwoners van talle kusdorpe maak immers ʼn bestaan uit visvang. ʼn Geïntegreerde hulpbron- en omgewingsbestuursplan is noodsaaklik om hulpbronne langs die kus volhoubaar te benut. Hierdie studie het gepoog om die heersende visvangpraktyke te bepaal deur halfgestruktureerde onderhoude en informele gesprekke met vissers en kusbewoners te voer. Data wat deur die &Beyond Lodge op die eiland Mnemba verstrek is, is ook by die studie betrek. Dit blyk dat die meeste vissers, wat op die eiland Mnemba woon, van mening is dat groeiende toerisme ʼn daling in visgetalle tot gevolg het. Hulle skryf die kleiner vangste insgelyks toe aan ʼn geleidelike toename in die aantal vissers en ʼn gebrek aan behoorlike vissersvaartuie en toerusting. Hierdie studie doen ten slotte aanbevelings vir ʼn volhoubare bestuursmodel in die visvanggebied om die eiland Mnemba digby Zanzibar in Tanzanië. / I-Zanzibar iyisiyingi esinothe ngenhlobo eyahlukahlukene yendalo yemvelo engasogwini lolwandle, kanti indawo yasolwandle yiyo kanye engenisa imali eningi ngemisebenzi yokudoba kanye nemboni yezokuvakasha. Le mithombo eyigugu elingasogwini lolwandle yequkethe amabhishi anezihlabathi zolwandle ezimhlophe kanye namanzi acwebezelayo, kanti inothile ngendalo yemvelo kanye nohlelo lwendalo yemvelo. Izihlwele zabantu ezihlala ngasogwini lolwandle ezigodini eziningi ezigudle ulwandle impilo yazo yencike olwandle ukuze iziphilise futhi ingenise imali ngokudoba izinhlanzi. Ukuze le ithombo yempilo yasolwandle ilawulwe ngendlela efanele, kudingeka uhlelo lwezokuphathwa kwendawo olwamukelekile. Lolu cwaningo luhlose ukuvumbulula kanye nokuphenya izingqubo zokudoba ezisetshenziswa abadobi basekhaya ngokuqhuba izinhlolovo ezihleliwe kanye nezingxoxo ezingahlelekile nabadobi bendawo kanye nezakhamuzi zalezo zigodi. Ucwaningo selukhombisile ukuthi inqwaba yabadobi abahlala ezindaweni ezigudle isiQhingi saseMnemba zinombono wokuthi inani elengeziwe lemisebenzi emayelana nezivakashi yiyo kanye esedale ukuthi inani lezinhlanzi linciphe kanti futhi lokhu sekuholele ekutheni kukhule inani labadobi basezindaweni lezo zasemakhaya kanye nokwentuleka kweziketshana zokudoba ezifanele kanye nezisetshenziswa. Lolu cwaningo futhi luhlola idatha enikezelwe yi--the &Beyond Lodge engasesiQhingini saseMnemba. Ucwaningo lunikeza izinqumo kanye neziphetho ezimayelana nokuphatha kahle ukuze kufinyelelwe kwimodeli yezokudoba esimelele ukwenzela indawo yokudoba ezombeleze isiQhingi saseMnemba, e-Zanzibar kanye naseTanzania. / Department of Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)