Social capital plays a central role in transitions to sportfishing tourism in small-scale fishing communities in Papua New Guinea

Growing concerns about pressures of global change on small-scale fishing communities have resulted in a proliferation of livelihood diversification initiatives linked to tourism. Where the focus is often on the role of financial, physical, and human capital in influencing the uptake of new opportuni...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 2019-04, Vol.48 (4), p.385-396
Main Authors: Diedrich, Amy, Benham, Claudia, Pandihau, Lina, Sheaves, Marcus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric Sciences
Capital assets
Communities
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Environment
Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology
Environmental Management
Family Characteristics
Fishing
Fishing communities
Human capital
Humans
Leadership
Livelihood
Papua New Guinea
Physical Geography
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Small-scale fisheries
Social Capital
Tourism
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Summary:Growing concerns about pressures of global change on small-scale fishing communities have resulted in a proliferation of livelihood diversification initiatives linked to tourism. Where the focus is often on the role of financial, physical, and human capital in influencing the uptake of new opportunities, we argue for more consideration of the role of social capital. We implemented 157 household-level surveys in small-scale fishing communities in Papua New Guinea and modelled the influence of social and other capital assets on people’s perceptions of how easy it would be to become involved in sportfishing tourism. Social capital had a stronger influence relative to other forms of capital, with perceptions of reciprocity and satisfaction with leadership being the most influential aspects. Based on these results, we stress the importance of developing strategies aimed at understanding, building, and maintaining social capital and related social dynamics when implementing livelihood diversification initiatives.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209
DOI:10.1007/s13280-018-1081-4