SCOPING FOR A WIDER RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK TO CLIMATE CHANGE: A CASE WITH FISHERS OF CHILIKA, ODISHA

Understanding the impacts of climate change to the fragile natural ecosystems has got significant attention these days. Chilika Lake, the largest lagoon in Asia is a unique ecosystem that faces threat from climate change as well as increased anthropogenic activities.

This study attempted to explore the different dimensions of the ecosystem through understanding the climate resilience of fishers of Chilika Lake. A customised version of Fisheries Livelihoods Resilience check (FLIRES check) tool was employed to arrive at different indicators of climate resilience. Among the five different dimensions, natural (4.13), human (4.31), physical (2.54), financial (3.04) and institutional fields (2.60) were found vulnerable, and the social dimension (6.29) was found to be resilient. High level of resource dependency was found among the fishers and it varied with the different geographical divisions of the lake.

It is also evident that the fishers lack the governance ability to manage the ecosystem and were less interested to participate in the conservation programs.  Specific outreach programmes and livelihood diversification initiatives should be implemented with community participation to ensure the judicious and sustainable use of natural resources.