Environmental change and resource access in aquatic food systems: a Photovoice case study of Cambodian fisheries

Ecosystem services and the biodiversity that supports them directly provision food and livelihoods to millions around the world within environments increasingly facing multifaceted changes. Yet the perspectives of resource users on the value of those resources and the challenges they face amid socia...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kathryn J. Fiorella, Heather Magnuson, Antara Finney Stable, Chork Sim, Voleak Phan, Elizabeth L. Fox
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Resilience Alliance 2023-12-01
Series:Ecology and Society
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol28/iss4/art25
Description
Summary:Ecosystem services and the biodiversity that supports them directly provision food and livelihoods to millions around the world within environments increasingly facing multifaceted changes. Yet the perspectives of resource users on the value of those resources and the challenges they face amid social-ecological change are still too often poorly understood. In this study, we use Photovoice methodology and a social-ecological systems perspective to understand the value of access to fish resources and the impacts of changing access for small-scale fishing communities in Cambodia. Contrasting the perspectives of households in different ecological settings, including adjacent to the Tonle Sap Lake and within its floodplain, revealed stark differences in the experiences of regulation enforcement and fisheries management for communities that had viable alternatives to fishing compared to those without options beyond fishing. The study addresses the need to understand both the lived experiences of those on the frontlines of environmental changes, and to disentangle the heterogeneous experiences across and within communities to improve resource management and community support in complex, changing social-ecological systems.
ISSN:1708-3087