Structural Precarity And The Ecological Imperative: Socio-Economic Determinants Of Livelihood Vulnerability And Resource Exploitation Dynamics In The Artisanal Fishery Of Bori Tapa Beel, Assam, India

Abstract

Floodplain wetlands (Beels) in Assam represent critical socio-ecological interfaces, sustaining both significant ichthyofaunal diversity and a substantial marginalized population of Below Poverty Line (BPL) artisanal fishers. This investigation quantitatively scrutinizes the nexus between structural socio-economic characteristics and resource exploitation intensity within the Bori Tapa Beel fishery. Analysing primary cross-sectional data from a robust sample (N=719), we employed multiple regression modelling and Chi-Square analysis. The cohort exhibits profound structural precarity 42.5% (n ≈ 305) subsist in vulnerable Kaccha ghar (temporary dwellings). Regression analysis elucidates that Livelihood Diversification (β = +0.55, p < 0.001) and Secured Housing Status (β = +0.41, p < 0.005) constitute the preeminent positive predictors of Total Annual Income (TAI), underscoring the functional insufficiency of the fishery as a standalone livelihood source. This pronounced economic insufficiency compels intensive, short-cycle resource extraction, evidenced by a tripling of Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) during the ecologically sensitive dry season, utilizing non-selective, ecologically detrimental apparatus such as Scoop Nets and small-mesh Gill Nets. Crucially, non-parametric testing demonstrated a highly significant institutional asymmetry: while universal uptake characterized acute consumption relief schemes, structural capital accumulation initiatives (e.g., housing grants) systematically failed to penetrate the 42.5% most vulnerable stratum ( , p < 0.01). This failure perpetuates the structural deficit that underpins and necessitates ecologically destructive exploitation. Policy recalibration must prioritize the remediation of this capital deficit to decouple economic survival from environmental degradation.