Diversification and Alternative Livelihoods

2.3.2 Diversification and Alternative Livelihoods

The principle of livelihood diversification is not a new concept. Most economies in the world have evolved from resource extraction, through an agricultural phase, towards an economy based on the manufacturing and service sectors. Diversification of the sources of household and community incomes is seen as an important part of that process offering a stability and resilience in an uncertain economic and ecological climate where natural resources are overexploited and b providing the possibility of increased income and poverty reduction. Besides these two aims governments increasingly see diversification as a means to move people away from damaging extractive activities towards natural resource sustainability IMM et al., 2005. The continuum of approaches to encouraging livelihood diversification are described below based on IMM et al. 2005 and shown in Figure 2.2. Figure 2.2: Three broad approaches to livelihood diversification from IMM et al., 2005 Enhancement of existing livelihood strategies means carrying on the same line of work but doing it better. This may be because of improved efficiency, intensification of fisheriesagriculture, specialisation in a particular area or obtaining access rights to new or existing resources. Diversification of activities involves widening the portfolio of activities that are carried out. At the household level the most common way that this occurs is for different members of the household to do different jobs. In some situations seasonal availability of natural or human resources in the case of tourists may require people to do different activities throughout the year. Diversification does 1. Enhancement of existing livelihood strategies 2. Diversification of activities 3. Adoption of alternative livelihood options not necessarily imply reducing dependence on natural resources, as the diversified activities may also depend on coastal resources. The adoption of alternative livelihoods means stopping what you are currently doing and moving to a new profession. In the West Sumatran context this may be coupled with migration merantau to a new area, typically by young men. Indeed, geographical migration is a livelihood strategy that can apply anywhere on the continuum of Figure 2.2. Allison and Ellis 2001 argue that occupational diversity increases resilience of coastal communities and encouraging diversity rather than specialisation is what is needed. They suggest that one focus of future fisheries management should be to understand the obstacles to the further development of occupational diversity. Pido et al. 1997 also apply principles from a technique used in other contexts to coastal communities in the form of Rapid Appraisal of Fisheries Management Systems RAFMS. They, along with Allison and Ellis 2001 and Johannes 1998, recognise the inherent complexity of biological systems and use this tool to identify the formal and informal institutions that manage fisheries. Testing the approach in both the Philippines and Indonesia demonstrated that in less than a week researchers familiar with the technique, coupled with field staff, could capture traditional ecological knowledge and generate an understanding of fisheries management that could contribute towards future policy making. Both the analysis of Allison and Ellis 2001 and Pido et al. 1997 recognise that fishing is just one aspect of the coastal economy and that if the goal is improving standard of living, researchers and development workers need to look wider than the fisheries sector alone.

2.3.3 Behaviour of Fishers