Adaptation - Economic Mechanisms

Last time we looked at how ecosystems can be configured or even engineered so as to limit the vulnerability posed by climate change effects to fisheries and coastal communities. This is a typical adaptation response - the approach looks at how to bolster resilience in the face of climate change. Today we will examine another adaptation strategy.

One branch of mitigating fisheries decline is through implementing economic mechanisms to make sustainable business a more financially viable course of action for those who exploit fish stocks. An IFAD report (2014) suggests that promoting certification schemes can act to limit exploitation of stocks. The idea behind this is that sustainably managed fisheries are rewarded for their adaptation efforts by receiving certification which they can stamp on their products. If certification is sufficiently promoted, it can become a gold-standard for goods and products in a particular sector. In order to entice buyers, producers are then incentivised to take relevant sustainability and adaptation measures. No doubt, you're familiar with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo present on all certified goods, and marine fisheries have their own certification in the form of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. Formed by a partnership between the WWF and Unilever in 1996, the MSC gained became an independent organisation when it ceased to receive funding from the aforementioned and sought investment from other sources from June 1998 onwards. As Gulbrandsen (2009) points out, the certification scheme has been a success in that it has encouraged co-management of fisheries by scientists, governments and fishers. However, many fishers who share their resource with others are unable to gain certification due to the actions of others, beyond their control. As such, a fisher could comply fully with MSC regulations and not receive certification due to unsustainable practice by others. Precisely because of this, by 2009 certification had been awarded to only three developing countries, where fishing takes the form outlined above.

Additionally, insurance services are an option to encourage adaptation measures. Quite simply, insurance products designed for fishers and fish farmers greatly improve their resilience by providing a safety net and financial stability in times of disaster, such as extreme weather events likely to result from climate change. Furthermore, clauses can be included in the insurance contract which ensures the adoption of best management practices, or BMPs (IFAD 2014). Index-based insurance policies have been offered to coastal communities in Peru, providing fishers some level of stability in the face of unpredictable climate features such as El Niño (FAO 2014).

Adaptation - Ecosystem Approaches

So far we've looked at how the world's fisheries are likely to be affected by climate change. Today we will look at adaptation measures that can be taken. Adaptation measures involve accepting as inevitable the changes that will result from global warming and subsequently adjusting practices in order to limit the threats that these changes will pose to social and environmental systems.

A report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO 2014) identifies two forms of adaptation approaches. Autonomous approaches involve the 'spontaneous reaction to environmental change'. This would include the local-scale shift by fishermen from one time or location to another in with movement of species. By contrast, planned adaptation approaches involve taking 'planned action based on climate induced changes'. An example of this would be funding research to identify species that are resistant to salinity and temperature fluxes and adopting them in aquaculture schemes.

Clearly, what we see here is a distinction between 'local' environmental knowledge in the form of autonomous approaches and international-scale science as implemented by planned adaptation. As we will see later, perhaps a synthesis of the two is an option to consider in the future.

As we've seen in previous posts, one problem associated with global warming is the potential for extreme weather events (BBC 2014) which can have disruptive implications for coastal fisheries and aquaculture activities. A report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD 2014) proposes disaster risk management as a way of limiting the vulnerability of local communities and ecosystems to the effects of climate change. Traditionally this has been done through 'hard' engineering techniques, such as the construction of concrete revetments to protect coastal zones. Increasingly in recent years, however, there has been a shift to an 'ecosystems approach' to risk reduction. At the core of this is improving resilience by strengthening ecosystem stability and functioning, whilst simultaneously encouraging sustainable human activity that can maintain this ecosystem stability. This is very much a developing area of adaptation, and for more information you can enroll on this free online course run by UNEP on disasters and ecosystems which will run from January.

The FAO report (2014: 25-26) points to the Gulf of Mexico as an example of ecosystem risk management. Mexican authorities have utilised coastal restoration and wetland conservation in their ambition to bolster ecosystem functioning and thereby augment local resilience.

 

Figure 1 - Mexico's rich coastal mangrove ecosystems

Next time we'll be looking at the use of financial mechanisms and instruments in mitigation strategies.

South African Marine Reserves

In the latest installment in their series of articles on global food supply, National Geographic have included an assessment of South African marine reserve efforts, designed to limit human exploitation of fish stocks. I recommend you take a look at this informative piece, as in the coming posts I will be looking at adaptation and mitigation measures that can be taken to help alleviate the pressures imposed by climate change on fisheries.