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Climate change adaptation methodologies
in the Bay of Bengal fishing communities
Yugraj Singh Yadava, Director and Rajdeep Mukherjee, Policy Analyst,
Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation
T
he Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME)
comprising the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea and
the Straits of Malacca is a large but relatively shallow
embayment of the north-eastern Indian Ocean. Eight countries
border the BOBLME: the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India (east coast),
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Located in the tropics, the climate of the BOBLME is domi-
nated by the two monsoons, the South-west and the North-east
monsoon. However, the monsoonal rainfall is not continuous,
rather discrete with periods of heavy rainfall events. The region
is also highly prone to cyclones and storm surges and about
seven per cent of the global cyclonic events occur in this region.
The waters of the BOBLME are highly productive and rich in biodi-
versity. Until the 1970s, marine fishery in the Bay was limited to
coastal waters using traditional craft and gear. However, since the
1980s, rapid motorization and mechanization in the region has led
to considerable expansion of the fishery into offshore waters. The
total marine capture fisheries production from the BOBLME has
increased from 1,451,905 tonnes in 1979 to 4,170,138 tonnes in
2006, with an annual average growth rate of seven per cent
1
.
The socio-economic scenario in the BOBLME
The countries surrounding the BOBLME are largely lower to
middle income economies, characterized by high population and
below average level of human development (see table). This macro-
economic scenario is mirrored in the coastal region in general and
fisheries in particular. Some studies have estimated that during
1990 about 400 million people were living in the LME’s
catchment area and many of them were subsisting at or
below poverty level
2
.
Being a traditional activity in the region, marine
capture fishing has not only been practiced from time
immemorial, but is usually associated with the same
social or ethnic groups. However, this composition is
changing rapidly as people from other primary activities
are migrating to fisheries and constituting a growing
part-time work force in the sector. Although a small
portion, relatively well-off people from traditional
fishing communities are also migrating to other sectors.
Marine fisheries, being de facto open access regime
in the region, are characterized by a large number of
fishers and fishing vessels (see table), and growing.
For example, the total number of fishing vessels in
Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka has increased
from 0.17 million to 0.92 million between 1998 and
2010. This race to fish can to an extent be attributed
to improving integration of coastal economies with
national and international economies.
To sum up, despite being an important economic
activity in the region, the fisheries sector is passing
through a difficult stage. The sector is yet to stabilize
and sustainability of the observed growth is questiona-
ble. The situation is further aggravated by a general lack
of information on the state of fisheries resources as well
as socio-economic attributes of fishers in the region.
A
griculture
Country
Bangladesh
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Maldives
Myanmar
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Population (2010)
a
148,692,000
1,224,614,000
239,871,000
28,401,000
316,000
47,963,000
20,860,000
69,122,000
Population Density
(people per sq. km, 2010)
a
1032.6
372.5
125.9
86.1
1060
70.9
317.9
134.7
Human Development Index
– 2011 (Level)
b
0.500 (low)
0.547 (medium)
0.617 (medium)
0.761 (high)
0.661 (medium)
0.483 (low)
0.691 (medium)
0.682 (medium)
Population living on less than $1.25
a day at 2005 international prices
c
43.3 (2010)
32.7 (2010)
18.1 (2010)
0.2 (2009, $2)
-
NA
7.0 (2007)
0.4 (2009)
Human development in the BOBLME region
Source: a. FAO: FAO Statistical Yearbook 2012; b. UNDP: Human Development Report, 2011; c. World Bank: World Development Indicator