Authors: George Freduah (Former TBTI student), Pedro Fidelman, and Timothy F. Smith (TBTI member)
The paper focuses on the various stressors to which small-scale fisheries are subject to, whether environmental or socio-economic and how it affects their vulnerability. Specifically, the publication addresses the potential impacts of climate change as an added stressor expected to combine with other non-climatic stressors further exacerbating the effects on small-scale fishers' livelihoods. The study took place in Ghana, where three coastal communities were closely assessed in terms of how multiple stressors combine to affect small-scale fisheries.
The findings show combined effects of climate and non-climate stressors on small-scale fishers livelihoods, the coastal environment, and infrastructure. The research highlights the need to consider combined and synergistic effects of climate change with other existing stressors in order to better understand how they affect small-scale fisheries.
This knowledge provides a basis on how to tackle climate change-related issues in a context of multiple stressors, helping plan and adapt to global environmental change. This holistic approach to climate change impacts would presumably reduce the vulnerability of small-scale fisheries communities and increase their adaptive capacity and resilience.
To cite this article: Freduah, G.; Fidelman, P.; Smith, T. 2017. The impacts of environmental and socio-economic stressors on small-scale fisheries and livelihoods of fishers in Ghana. Applied Geography; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apge
