No of pages: 5
Name: Andre Ewers
Course: Contemporary Social Problems
Title: Social Problems Statement
Date: April 12th, 2020.
Research Paper 2
Global warming and its Impact on Climate Change
Climate change with specificity to global warming has resulted in uneven distribution of freshwater fish which has consequential effects on the sustainability of fishing economies with a particular effect on the livelihood of communities that depend on fishing. Climate change concerning global warming has disrupted the habitation population of freshwater fish which has consequential effects on the inequality with regard to the financial stability of the communities depending on the fishing industry (Bennett et al., 2014). The following research aims to discuss the impact of climate change on fishing economies with a focus on the financial, socio-economic, political and consequential social structures of communities that depend on fishing.
Climate change concerning global warming has disrupted the habitation population of freshwater fish, which has consequential effects on the inequality with regard to the financial stability of the communities depending on the fishing industry. According to Lam et al. (2016), climate change has impacted the fisheries population around the world. The estimation is based on the alterations on the pH, temperatures, oxygen levels and circulation, salinity, and shift in the distribution of marine species. The change may cause alterations in biological events (Lam et al., 2016). Due to the increased temperatures and altered ecosystem dynamics, the population of freshwater fish has greatly declined. Financial impact has been the first factors to be affected, given that the demand for seafood is increasing with increased population pressures around fishing zones and the world (Bennett et al., 2014). As a result, price dynamics have changed. With reduced fish supply comes an increase in fish prices which has impacted fish demand. The prediction, however, is purely speculative given that the demand for fish and seafood has increased over the years regardless of the increase in prices, according to Norman-Lopez et al. (2013). Therefore, it can be determined that with increased population pressures, the demand for seafood will increase despite an increase in prices due to low supply.
The subsequent impact is on the socio-economic impact on altered fishing trends in fishing communities. The study report by Norman-Lopez et al. (2013) points out that the socio-economic dynamics of fishing communities have been impacted. Specifically, the packets of the shift in fish population have migrated from warmer regions to more suitable habits across the world. The shift in population has resulted in a shift in income within the fishing communities resulting in irreversible changes in lifestyle and spending habits. All in all, the fishing structures and economies built around the industry are gradually feeling the impact with some quickly eroding. The worst consequence of such reliability is that families will find it difficult to access certain basic needs, including medical services which will also be affected as the physicians may require more money to substitute for income. In other words, the economy of the community is disrupted for the worse (Lam et al., 2016). On the brighter side, studies have shown that with increased temperatures and altered pH; there is the increased attraction of other species diversities in the region. It could mean that communities have to shift from what they know to the novel species to seek income.
Another impact is on political factors which have both active and passive influences in the fishing industries. As noted above, with the decline in the freshwater fish population, resource-based communities are no longer able to meet the growing demand for fish with the decreasing supply. As a result, income decreases which in turn affects the ability of the communities to cater to their livelihoods (Lam et al., 2016). Wilson et al. (2018) point out that political entities, including government and associated stakeholders, have a key role to play in safeguarding the sociological, socio-economic and survival of fishing communities. According to Wilson et al. (2018), the government could provide mitigation climate change policies regarding the fishing industries.
Among the policies is to provide climate change activities that reduce carbon-emission and greenhouse effects. The vision is this: for the communities that solely or indirectly depend on the fishing industry will no longer have disposable income. The study by Wilson et al. (2018) emphasizes that government should take a lead role in ensuring information flow from fishermen to the industries on how the impact on excessive fishing impacts fish population in the region as well as industrialization globally. In general, the recommendation is for the governments to institute climate-ready protocols that include day-to-day management, regulatory oversight, budget, and institutional constraint mitigations, which should be taken seriously. There is an increase in laxity among government and stakeholders when it comes to caring and safeguarding the fishing industry.
Sociological aspects of the fishing communities have been greatly affected as a result of the climate change impact on marine life. The report provided by Adger et al. (2013) elucidates on global climate change and how it will affect the culture of communities depending on the fishing industry. The analysis is from a sociological point of view on how climate change threatens the cultural dimensions of the lives and livelihoods of the communities, including identity, cohesion, and sense of place. The findings of the study indicate that cultural dynamics are at risk. Adger et al. (2013) report that the culture of a community is mitigated by the environment within which they reside. Changes in societies are bound to occur, given the shortcomings with the fishing industries provided by the ever-changing climate. Due to the change in climate and production potential, cultures will find it difficult to acclimatize to the new trends. Thus, Adger et al. (2013) conclude that there are potential threats to cultural assets and the role of culture in adaptation to the new climatic trends. Therefore, economic losses of goods, including communities, are inevitable. The fishing industry is designated as one of the most profitable industries in the world due to the demand for aqua-based products. The industry has wide support on the economies of countries that rely on fishing for revenue earnings as well as foreign exchange earnings (Wilson et al., 2018).
The final factor is on economic influence. The fishing industry is designated as one of the most profitable industries in the world due to the demand for aqua-based products. The industry has wide support on the economies of countries that rely on fishing for revenue earnings as well as foreign exchange earnings (Wilson et al., 2018). Concurrently, it supports families and communities who exclusively or indirectly depend on the harvest to sustain livelihoods. Due to the specificity of the habitat conditions, most of the fish are either succumbing to the increasing and altering climatic conditions, or are relocating to other inhabited regions away from civilization. These changes have not only had an economic repercussion, but it has also presented fiduciary challenges to the poor-but-resource based communities.
The unfavourable and deteriorating fish population has a social science impact on the communities. The inability to sustain the economy of the region means that it has disrupted the economic structures, including the purchasing power of the consumers (Wilson et al., 2018). The intertwined economic system is destabilized, and entities such as banking and insurance as well as the service industry may no longer have the ‘healthy’ status to provide goods and services to the communities. Worse still, standards of living become unbearable as there is a lack of circulating money to sustain access to basic needs such as healthcare. Therefore, the increasing climatic changes affect freshwater fish populations which in turn disrupt the economic structures and stability of the communities that rely on this industry. Therefore, the economic issue is that communities will be unable to sustain their small-economy, which means access to pivotal resources declines gradually if not considered.
Conclusion
Climate change with specificity to global warming has resulted in uneven distribution of freshwater fish which has consequential effects on the sustainability of fishing economies with a particular effect on the livelihood of communities that depend on fishing. The changes in fishing population have resulted in economic, socio-economic, sociological, financial and political changes which have greatly affected the social structures of the communities relying on the fishing industry. A lot needs to be considered preferably, from a political perspective to improve on the long-term perspective on the benefits of fishing industries for the communities that solely depend on the industry as well as the world.
References
Adger, W. N., Barnett, J., Brown, K., Marshall, N., & O’brien, K. (2013). Cultural dimensions of climate change impacts and adaptation. Nature Climate Change, 3(2), 112-117.
Bennett, N. J., Dearden, P., Murray, G., & Kadfak, A. (2014). The capacity to adapt? Communities in a changing climate, environment, and economy on the northern Andaman coast of Thailand. Ecology and Society, 19(2).
Lam, V. W., Cheung, W. W., Reygondeau, G., & Sumaila, U. R. (2016). Projected change in global fisheries revenues under climate change. Scientific Reports, 6, 32607.
Norman-López, A., Plagányi, É., Skewes, T., Poloczanska, E., Dennis, D., Gibbs, M., & Bayliss, P. (2013). Linking physiological, population, and socio-economic assessments of climate-change impacts on fisheries. Fisheries Research, 148, 18-26.
Wilson, J. R., Lomonico, S., Bradley, D., Sievanen, L., Dempsey, T., Bell, M., … & Fitzgerald, S. (2018). Adaptive comanagement to achieve climate‐ready fisheries. Conservation Letters, 11(6), e12452.