Role of local knowledge and adaptation to environmental change: A case study of Chilika Lagoon small scale fishery, India

This project is based on how the fisher community of Chilika Lagoon, India cope with and adapt to the degrading social, ecological and economic conditions in the lagoon. Using Local ecological knowledge I will analyse environmental changes, their drivers and the impacts on the local fisher communities. Further, I will analyse the adaptation strategies used by fisher communities to address the ongiong changes. The possible outcomes may help in analysing the recent environmental changes in the lagoon, give a broad view of the local ecological knowledge of the fisher community, help to identify which adaptation strategies worked and what can be done to improve future strategies for adaptation. Particular attention will be to come up with specific management and policy recommendations that will not only be relevant for sustainable use of the Chilika lagoon resources but also make useful contributions to other lagoons in the world that are undergoing similar porcesses of change.

Faculty Supervisor:

Prateep Kumar Nayak

Student:

Partner:

Management Development Institute

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

University:

University of Waterloo

Program:

Globalink Research Award