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2026 - Volume 9 - Number 1

Community Perceptions and Adaptation Dynamics in Inland Fisheries of Vembanad Lake, Kerala

Pratheesh Padath * ORCID: 0000-0003-3976-5978
University of Kerala, St. Michael’s College, Faculty of Social Science, Alappuzha, INDIA

Open Journal for Research in Economics, 2026, 9(1), 23-40 * https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojre.0901.03023p
Received: 10 January 2026 ▪ Revised: 11 April 2026 ▪ Accepted: 2 July 2026

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:

Flood has become a recurrent climate shock in Kerala with ramification on inland fishery and wetland-oriented community livelihoods. This paper examines fisherfolk's constructs of flood-induced eco-change and its association with socioeconomic vulnerability and adaptation mechanisms within a Ramsar site-analyzed Vembanad Lake tropical wetland. The study relies on a convergent parallel design and is built on household surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) carried out in 12 fishing villages of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts. Model of Heckman two steps for willingness to using adaptive practices on cage aquaculture, biofloc system and water quality management — that is conducted regarding quantitative analysis with regard to social and economic variables. The findings 78% of the public believe flood is an important ecological threat which involves siltation water depth reduction, insufficient density of commercially viable species and alien species insurrection confirming it to be one of the major ecological disturbances. Of those, more than three-quarters suffered a reduction in their earnings of greater than a third of annual income, evidencing heightened livelihood insecurity. The majority (79.8%) of respondents are open to adapting and adjusting in response to climate change, coupled with a willingness to pay extra costs if they were well-educated, have better household income, and access social protection. It then argues that whilst capture fisheries tend to display some ecological resistance to degradation, sustainable change is contingent on wetland governance unification and locally appropriate policy frameworks that respond increasingly to the impacts of a changing climate.

KEY WORDS: floods; inland fisheries, livelihood vulnerability, community perceptions, climate adaptation, wetland governance, Vembanad Lake.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Pratheesh Padath, University of Kerala, St. Michael’s College, Department of Economics, Alappuzha, INDIA.

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