Unveiling the gendered dimensions of fsheries co-management in a changing climate: Plural voices from the Shimoni-Vanga seascape, Kenya

Abstract

Climate change poses mounting challenges to small-scale fisheries (SSF) social-ecological systems globally. Given the socio-cultural, nutritional, and economic importance of SSF for many coastal communities around the world, understanding the impact of climate change and how to best adapt to these changes is critical. Researchers and development actors have emphasized the need to embrace new fisheries management approaches. In particular, fisheries co-management has been proposed as a successful enabler for climate change adaptation in SSF. However, to shift potential gender inequalities in SSF communities, further research is needed to address the gendered dimensions of fisheries co-management in the context of climate change. While women represent 40% of the SSF workforce, their role has been systematically overlooked, especially when it comes to management and decision-making processes. These gender bias in fisheries research could limit the development of effective gender transformative adaptation strategies. To address the research gap on the gendered nature of SSF management, this doctoral thesis takes an interdisciplinary perspective to explore the role of gender in SSF co-management approaches where local communities play a leading role, also called community-based fisheries management (CBFM). Specifically, this work contributes to the understanding of 1) the role of gender in co-managed SSF and their governance and 2) how the gendered dimensions of CBFM may affect the potential of this approach for climate adaptation. This work is grounded in the case of co-managed SSF communities in the Shimoni-Vanga seascape, South Coast of Kenya. It relies on a mixed-method approach for data collection and analysis, combining qualitative and quantitative research methods and respecting a gender-balanced sampling. Data collection methods include semi-structured interviews (n=57), focus group discussions (n=8), individual survey (n=203), and pebble games (n=35). In addition, the relief map method (n=32) was adapted to SSF settings to explore the potential of intersectional perspectives on CBFM dynamics. This doctoral thesis comprises two introductory chapters presenting the study subject (Chapter 1) and geographical area (Chapter 2). The core of the thesis consists of one chapter based on the review of the literature and three empirical chapters. The literature review chapter corresponds to a systematic review of women’s participation in SSF management and related impacts at the global level (Chapter 3). The chapter allows to situate the main findings of this thesis in the context of the international scholarship on the topic. The three empirical chapters focus on co-managed SSF communities in coastal Kenya and address respectively a) the gendered dimensions of fishing (Chapter 4), b) the gendered nature of climate change impacts reported by SSF communities in relation to scientific evidence (Chapter 5), and c) gender-inclusiveness in CBFM using an intersectional perspective (Chapter 6). The systematic literature review (Chapter 3) reveals an important research gap on gender and SSF. The peer-reviewed literature was obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus (n= 124 case studies). Findings from this chapter suggest a dearth in gender-disaggregated data in the SSF literature, with 40% of the studies not providing information on women’s participation in SSF management and decision-making. This gap is particularly significant in Africa and Asia, two regions where SSF is critical for local livelihoods and food security. This thesis work also shows that gender is key for understanding the dynamics of co-managed SSF in coastal Kenya (Chapter 4 and 6). Gender influences social identities, fishing activities, fisheries production, and participation in SSF management. Specifically, this work shows that there is a marked contrast in fishing techniques used by fisherwomen, who specialize in gleaning in intertidal areas, and fishermen, who use a wider range of fishing techniques in areas beyond the reef. Furthermore, women contribute significantly to SSF social-ecological systems in coastal Kenya (Chapter 4, 5 and 6). More specifically, women’s fishing activities contribute substantially to local diets. Findings from this work indicate that women’s catches represent about a third of the catch eaten at home in mixed-headed households, and up to 50% of the fisheries products consumed in fisherwomenheaded households (Chapter 4). Similarly, women hold specific environmental knowledge linked to their gender roles, a knowledge that illuminates the complexities of local climate change impacts (Chapter 5). For instance, more women than men perceived changes in rainfall patterns, which may be explained by the fact that women are primarily responsible for fetching water. Despite women’s important role in co-managed SSF, women’s meaningful participation in CBFM is not achieved in coastal Kenya (Chapter 6), which resonates with the broader literature on gender and SSF management (Chapter 3). Women’s participation levels in CBFM were systematically lower than those of men, ranging from passive to active participation levels. Moreover, other power structures, such as age or education level, interact with gender in mediating individual’s participation in CBFM highlighting the need to apply an intersectional framework to research on SSF management and governance. Community-based fisheries management may ultimately reinforce social inequalities, thus challenging both the inclusiveness of such approach, and its effectiveness in enabling SSF adaptation to climate change. Overall, this work shows that gender is a pivotal dimension of co-managed SSF in coastal Kenya, but women’s participation in CBFM is limited, which raises issues regarding the development of inclusive and effective adaptation strategies in the context of climate change. Findings from this work contribute to the gender and fisheries literature, and more specifically to the growing discussion about SSF management in a climate change context. Suggested future research lines include investigating further gender equity in SSF management and governance, diversifying knowledge in ocean research, and expanding intersectional research on SSF. To enhance the adaptive capacity of SSF social-ecological systems in the face of climate change, there is a need to reconsider the inclusive dimension of CBFM and move towards gender-transformative approaches in every aspect of SSF, from data collection to management and governance.