How Stakeholder Interactions Influence the Transitions between Vulnerability and Viability in a Co-Management Setting: A Case-Study in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh

Abstract

Small-scale fisheries provide immense socioecological value to Bangladesh and exist as a significant component of the national economy. Despite their importance, small-scale fishers in Bangladesh remain amongst the most vulnerable populations in the world. Not only do fishers deal with food insecurity, poor water access, little education opportunity, limited access to healthcare, among a variety of other traits limiting the social mobility of fishers but fishing itself as a practice has become less viable over time. Small-scale fishers have been impacted by increased competition, decreased fish stock, poor regulation, a rapidly changing ecology, among other conditions which make small-scale fishing practices vulnerable. These conditions are consistent throughout the country, however, specifically in the Sundarbans they are amplified. Originally adopted to increase local participation in decision-making processes, community-based management institutions were introduced to Bangladesh in the late 1990’s and officially came to the Sundarbans in 2009. This study aims to analyze stakeholder interactions in the current co-management structures present in Satkhira, the largest district of the Sundarbans, to better understand how the institutions work to impact small-scale fishers and their livelihood practices. Case-studies were conducted in four unions in Satkhira and a legal pluralism framework was applied in the fifth chapter to contextualize the relationships between statutory and customary institutions. This study found reach to be a relevant measurement when analyzing co-management institutions and further found a relationship between the factors of reach, transparency, and empowerment. The findings of this study further support that strong legal pluralism is unlikely through neoliberal conservation.