Implications of Climate Variability on Small Scale Fishing Activities and the Fishers’ Adaptive Capacity in the Kafue Flats of Zambia

Abstract

Small scale fisheries serve as a “safety net” to the landless poor and significantly contribute to nutrition, food security, sustainable livelihood and poverty alleviation especially in developing countries such as Zambia. In spite of this substantial contribution, fisheries are highly susceptible to climate change and variability. The main aim of this study is to investigate the implications of climate variability on small scale fishing activities and the fishers’ adaptive capacity in the Kafue Flats of Zambia. Climatic data from Mumbwa, Kafue Polder, Mt Makulu, Magoye and Lusaka City meteorological stations is examined for the monthly, seasonal and annual variabilities with a central focus on the mean rainfall, temperature and wind speed over the 1982-2011 period. Additionally, the periodic size variation of the Kafue flats catchment area and its effects on the fishing activities are explored using satellite imagery in change detection analysis, employing ARC GIS 10.1 and ENVI 4.8. Further, the study explores the livelihood strategies of the fishing communities in determining their adaptive capacity to climate variability effects. Accordingly, the data sets are analysed using MS EXCEL, SPSS, ANCLIM, TREND TOOL, to establish climatic trends and deduce evidence of change and variability in the Kafue flats. Using snowball sampling technique and household survey, 110 fisher-folk were selected for the study. Besides, dissemination of face-to-face- questionnaires and key informant interviews are employed in this study. Climate variability analysis revealed that strong winds, storms, high rainfall and floods have adverse effects on the fisher-folk and their fishing activities. Thus, 90.9% of the fisher-folk indicated that heavy stormy rains have a larger potential to wreak havoc and cause death due to boat submergence. In addition, 95.5% of the fisher-folk stated that fishing activities do not take place during strong winds and heavy storms until calm weather conditions prevail. It is also established that the fisher-folk who are inclined to remain in a declining fishery are those restricted by a lack of alternative livelihoods and poverty. For instance, nearly half (44.5 %) of the fisher-folk interviewed lack alternative sources of livelihood. The conclusion from the study is that, climate variability has a wide range of impacts on fisheries and fishery dependent households. The explicit and localized impacts of climate variability on fisheries include reduced primary productivity, decrease in lake water levels and fish catches resulting from reduced precipitation and high run off. Therefore, there is need to enhance resilience and adoption of sustainable mitigation and adaptation strategies. The fisher-folk should be educated on alternative livelihoods to enable them cope in an event where climate change and variability severely impact on fisheries.