Voices From The Atolls: A Participatory Assessment Of Climate Change Awareness Among Small-Scale Fishermen In Lakshadweep Islands.

Abstract

Amid the fragile beauty of the Lakshadweep atolls, where livelihoods are deeply intertwined with the sea, the research amplifies the voices of small-scale fishermen to uncover how they perceive and respond to the mounting challenges of climate change. Climate change poses significant challenges to coastal and island communities, and this research focuses on understanding the awareness and perceptions of small-scale fishermen in the Lakshadweep Islands through a participatory assessment. Sixty fishermen from six inhabited islands were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory tools such as seasonal calendars and risk mapping. The findings reveal that while 56.7% of the participants were partially aware of climate change based on their lived experiences, only 15% demonstrated comprehensive awareness of its causes and consequences. The majority of the fishermen reported a decline in fish availability (86.7%) and instances of coral bleaching (71.7%), which they perceived as threats to their traditional fishing grounds and livelihoods. The participants relied on traditional ecological knowledge and informal adaptive strategies, such as shifting to deeper fishing areas (58.3%) and using seasonal fishing calendars (68.3%). The participatory tools were found to be effective in engaging the participants and capturing their local knowledge. The study highlights the need for targeted awareness campaigns, capacity-building initiatives, and the integration of local ecological knowledge with scientific understanding to enhance community resilience to climate change in the Lakshadweep Islands.