Rising sea and threatened mangroves: a case study on stakeholders, engagement in climate change communication and non-formal education

Abstract

Scientific consensus shows that the changes related to climate change are already occurring and will intensify in the future. This will likely result in significant alterations to coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, increase coastal hazards and affect lifestyles of coastal communities. There is increasing speculation that mangrove, a socio-economically important ecosystem, will become more fragile and sensitive to uncertain climate variability such as sea level rise. As a result, mangrove-dependent societies may find themselves trapped in a downward spiral of ecological degradation in terms of their livelihoods and life security. Strengthening the resilience capacity of coastal communities to help them cope with this additional threat from climate change and to ensure sustainability calls for immediate action. In this context, this paper critically examines the regional implications of expected sea level rise and threats to mangrove-dependent communities through a case study approach. The main objective is to highlight the requirement for climate change communication and education to impart information that will fulfil three expectations: (1) confer understanding; (2) assess local inference on climate change through a participatory approach; and (3) construct a framework for climate change awareness among mangrove-dependent communities through community-based non-formal climate change education. This scale of approach is attracting increasing attention from policymakers to achieve climate change adaptation and derive policies from a social perspective.

Keywords:

• climate change
• sea level rise
• mangroves
• adaptation
• communication
• participatory approach
• non-formal education

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Government of India, for funding this project under NDF (National Doctoral Fellowship)-AICTE scheme 2009–2010 (ref. no.: 1-10/RID/NDF-4/2009-10 dated 26 February 2010).