Climate change adaptation through coastal and use management: The context of environmental justice

Despite an increasing literary focus on climate change adaptation, the facilitation of this adaptation is occurring on a limited basis (Adger et al. 2007) .This limited basis is not necessarily due to inability; rather, a lack of comprehensive cost estimates of all options specifically hinders adaptation in vulnerable communities (Adger et al. 2007). Specifically the estimated cost of the climate change impact of sea-level rise is continually increasing due to both increasing rates and the resulting multiplicative impact of coastal erosion (Karl et al., 2009, Zhang et al., 2004) Based on the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, minority groups and small island nations have been identified within these vulnerable communities. Therefore the development of adaptation policies requires the engagement of these communities. State examples of sea-level rise adaptation through land use planning mechanisms such as land acquisition programs (New Jersey) and the establishment of rolling easements (Texas) are evidence that although obscured, adaptation opportunities are being acted upon (Easterling et al., 2004, Adger et al.2007). (PDF contains 4 pages)

Parents aspiration and youth perception to sustainable fisheries development in Kainji Lake basin

Artisanal fisheries development in Nigeria, like in any other developing country of the world is characterized by subsistence level of operation using dugout canoe and paddle. This implies that parents and children constituted the labour in use since they only struggle for the upkeep of the family. A total of 240 questionnaires were used to solicit information from the respondents. This total was divided into 120 each for both parents and the youths respectively. Simple descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution and percentages were used to analyze their responses. Parents have strong aspiration for their children to succeed them hence, 78.3% of the parents expressed their aspiration for succession by the younger ones while 83.3% of parents tend to support their aspiration with persuasive strategies such as allowing their children to partake in fishing activities at will. On the part of the youth over 70% of them perceived fishing as a viable business where they can succeed their parents provided government can come to their aid in form of active involvement in the development of rural fisheries. It is therefore believed that fisheries development could achieve rapid improvement if the aspiration of the parents is balanced with perception of the youth and the government meets their expectation

A report of the Fisheries Catch Assessment Survey in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria for the August 2007 survey

The monitoring of fish stocks as well as the magnitude, distribution and trends of fishing effort and fish catches is required for sound fisheries resources management. Conducting regular Catch Assessment Surveys (CASs) in Lake Victoria is one of the ways through which the partner states sharing the lake are generating information to contribute to the above process. The EU funded Implementation of a Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP) project for Lake Victoria through the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO) is supporting the implementation of regionally harmonised CASs in Lake Victoria . The CASs under IFMP are following a statistical design laid down in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) agreed by the three partner states of the East African Community sharing the lake. In the Ugandan part of the lake, the CASs are carried out at 54 fish landing sites selected in the eleven riparian districts sharing the lake. The National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NAFIRRI), Jinja; the Department of Fisheries Resources (DFR), Entebbe; and the Districts of Busia, Bugiri, Mayuge, Jinja, Mukono, Wakiso, Kampala, Mpigi, Masaka, Kalangala and Rakai jointly conduct the surveys. The CAS enumerators are recruited from the fishing communities and work under direct supervision of subcounty Fisheries Officers. NaFIRRI seeks to continue strengthening the engagement of the Beach Management Units (BMUs) and other fisheries Co-management Institutions in fisheries data collection .

Good Morning, America! The explosive U.S. awakening to the need for adaptation

Since the early years of the 21st century, and in particular since 2007, the U.S. has been awakening rapidly to the fact that climate change is underway and that even if stringent efforts are undertaken to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to the unavoidable impacts from the existing commitment to climate change is still needed and needs to be begun now. This report provides an historical overview of the public, political, and scientific concern with adaptation in the United States. It begins by briefly distinguishing ongoing, historical adaptation to environmental circumstances from deliberate adaptation to human‐induced climate change. It then describes the shift from the early concerns with climate change and adaptation to the more recent awakening to the need for a comprehensive approach to managing the risks from climate change. Ranging from the treatment of the topic in the news media to the drafting of bills in Congress, to state and local government activities with considerable engagement of NGOs, scientists and consultants, it is apparent that adaptation has finally, and explosively, emerged on the political agenda as a legitimate and needed subject for debate. At the same time, the current policy rush is not underlain by widespread public engagement and mobilization nor does it rest on a solid research foundation. Funding for vulnerability and adaptation research, establishing adequate decision support institutions, as well as the building of the necessary capacity in science, the consulting world, and in government agencies, lags far behind the need. (PDF contains 42 pages)