Effects of coastal erosion due to climate change on fishermen communities in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

One of the consequences of climate change is coastal erosion which weakens and destabilizes foundations, habitat loss, infrastructure, loss of tourism etc. These damages result in the failure of business for fishing communities leading to a vicious cycle of poverty and contributes to psycho-socio and economic problems. The objectives of the study are to understand the socioeconomic status of the fishermen's community and to check their awareness about coastal erosion and its impact on their livelihoods. The descriptive design was adopted for this study and semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect the data from 150 family involved in fishing industry. Quota sampling method was used where 30 samples were randomly collected from each of the five targeted areas in Besanth Nagar, Chennai based on the household member’s availability. The findings show that all (100%) of the respondents are aware of the term coastal erosion and what it is. 66.7% of the respondents felt that over the period of time, a coastline has been eroding. Fish depletion is found to be one of the major challenges they faced and due to vulnerabilities they faced, majority (51%) of them do not want their children to continue fishing profession. All (100%) the respondents do not know any policy or program related to coastal erosion and the fishermen community and also confirmed that there has been no intervention from the State or Central Government, to address the issue of coastal erosion.