Doctoral Degrees (School of Public Leadership)
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing Doctoral Degrees (School of Public Leadership) by browse.metadata.advisor "Chama, Lackson"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemTowards co-management of small-scale inland fisheries and livelihoods : a case study of Lake Itezhi-Tezhi, Zambia(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Kapembwa, Sydney; Gardiner, Alan; Petursson, Jon Geir; Chama, Lackson; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Over the past thirty years fisheries co-management has been the alternative governance approach for addressing fisheries resource over-exploitation in many of Africa’s inland water bodies. In most cases these water bodies were previously governed by a top-down, central government-controlled governance system. Despite such a paradigm shift, most of these co-management reforms have still not proven to be a solution for governance problems in Africa’s inland fisheries sector. Instead, they have produced mixed results depending on the different strategies and approaches taken by different countries. This study aimed at contributing to practical knowledge and understanding of factors that would enhance the feasibility and success of a co-management governance approach for small-scale inland fisheries, particularly in national parks and game management areas. The focus was on promoting sustainable fishing of fisheries resources and enhancing the livelihoods of fishers’ households in these fisheries. The study focused on achieving three objectives. The first was to assess the contribution of small-scale fishing on Lake Itezhi-Tezhi to the livelihoods of local fishers’ households, the extent of their vulnerability, the livelihood coping strategies employed, and the impact of legislation on these livelihoods. The second was to assess and analyse the current governance approach at the small-scale Lake Itezhi-Tezhi fishery and the sustainability of fishing practices adopted by the fishers, and the third objective was to explore the prospects of initiating a co-management approach with multiple stakeholders at Lake Itezhi-Tezhi fishery. Based on a pragmatic approach, this study used an embedded case study, with Lake Itezhi-Tezhi, Zambia as the case, as a research design. This design adopted the use of a mixed-method approach comprising focus group discussions, survey and semi-structured interviews, for collecting data from different fishery’s stakeholders, primarily the fishers. The key research finding was that there is a need for a holistic assessment of the livelihood needs of small-scale fishers before any co-management strategy is implemented. This finding implies that fishers’ livelihoods should be well understood and prioritised in the planning process of a small-scale fisheries co-management arrangement. This approach would ensure the fishers’ livelihoods are supported and catered for during the development of a co-management system. Having the fishers’ livelihoods supported would further motivate their continued participation in the decision-making process of the co-management arrangement, thus enhancing stewardship of every stage of the process by the fishers. Furthermore, this study argued that there is a need to assess and fully understand the existing governance system of a fishery before designing and implementing a co-management arrangement. This assessment and understanding, in terms of the governance legitimacy among stakeholders, ascertains the stakeholders’ capabilities and capacities for a reformed governance approach, namely the co-management arrangement in the case of Lake Itezhi-Tezhi fishery. Unlike the post-assessment of co-management used in other studies, this study has argued for a ‘pre-assessment of co-management’ with ‘key conditions’ for the success of the fishery co-management process. The outcome of the assessment ultimately creates a platform and framework for stakeholders, the Fisheries Co-management Development Framework in the case of Lake Itezhi-Tezhi fishery, for further deliberations towards addressing the highlighted ‘key conditions’. These deliberations ultimately lead to policy creation or reforms, and designing strategies for enhancing fishers’ livelihoods and promoting sustainable fishing.