Assessing the Vulnerability of Fishing Communities to the Effects of Climate Change:A Case Study of Fisheries in Southern IranA case study of fisheries in southern Iran

In this study, vulnerability assessment of fishery based communities was targeted in the Persian Gulf region and in three provinces of Hormozgan, Bushehr and Khuzestan.

The approach used in this evaluation is index-based, and the three components of vulnerability, including exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, were used. Exposure was measured by changing climate factors such as temperature, precipitation, storm occurrence and sea level change. The sensitivity component is calculated based on the level of fishing dependence in terms of income, nutrition and employment. Adaptive capacity was obtained with a sustainable livelihood approach. Information was collected by completing the questionnaire of active fishermen in the southern of Iran in 2018.

The results showed that the relative situation of different regions in terms of adaptability capacity is almost the same. But in terms of exposure the situation in Bushehr province is not suitable. Because of this, the fishery in this area is potentially highly vulnerable. Also, the sensitivity of the regions due to the dependence of the fishermen in southern Iran, especially Hormozgan, was high in terms of employment and income.

Accordingly, it is suggested to identify the nature of the fishery vulnerability to climate change through the three components.