GLOBAL EVENTS AND CELEBRATIONS

Chilika Field School had a different tone this year. With restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, the field school was adapted to a remote school. However, many elements of the ‘field’ were interestingly in place. The field school was fruitful in many ways, here, I highlight three big learnings from this year’s Chilika Field School.

 

First, adaptation is required in times of change and uncertainty. This adaptation from in-person to online field school allowed for a larger number of participants and a broad range of speakers from around the world. The school counted about 50 participants from 12 countries and 15 well-recognized speakers active in science, practice and/or policy in different fields surrounding coastal sustainability and development. This was a plus of the online field school, while the interaction with local fishers was still in place – this time online. On the other hand, an online school loses some of the experiential learning, including the perception of the environment and human interaction when ‘using the 5 senses’.

 

Second, when rethinking coastal sustainability, we recognize that “there is no blueprint for effective governance; context is key” (Derek Armitage, August 7, 2021). Effective coastal governance requires an understanding of how people interact with one another; how stakeholders value coastal resources; who gets what, when and how. Thus, rethinking coastal sustainability entails the political context, social norms and cultural dimensions of local livelihoods, demographics, and literacy characteristics of stakeholders, as well as key social-ecological changes in place. Context involves an understanding of complex interactions in different levels and scales. It is not only local, rather, it ranges from local to global and is key to pursue a transition from vulnerable to viable coasts.

 

Third, understanding the complexities of viable coasts requires a transdisciplinary lens. This includes rethinking a social contract and transitioning from top-down decisions on sustainability and development. Sharing power and enabling local voices and knowledge to inform decision-making can better tackle contextual factors. Moreover, the subjective dimension of sustainability is key. This includes themes such as wellbeing and happiness. Subjective dimensions of sustainability refer to one’s perception about his or her life, which will shape behaviour, and mediate human-nature interactions. For instance, climate migration is a key adaptation strategy in areas impacted by extreme weather conditions. The subjective perception of the new life is a relevant part of the effects of climate change in the human population, in addition to environmental effects. Thus, a transdisciplinary lens helps to depict this complexity.

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- Ana Carolina Esteves Dias | Postdoctoral fellow and a member of V2V’s secretariat, University of Waterloo, Canada

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I am grateful for the opportunity of joining others in the V2V - Chilika Virtual Field School 2021. Everyone was intensively engaged with the panels of experts through the power talks given. The most striking talk held in that eight-day journey was about the actions and policies revolving small-scale fisher folks around the world since it resonated with my current research. All the experts involved echoed the crux of the matter that cannot be denied – communication with the fisher folks and initiating instruments to aid them in realizing their rights and voice.

- Athena Kimberly Sipaun | Master’s student, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNIRAZAK), Malaysia

 

 

 

I experienced a feeling of satisfaction throughout all eight 8 days of the V2V - Chilika Field School 2021. I have enjoyed all the insightful sessions on the concept of “RETHINKING” in relation to various aspects of coastal zones management. The flagship knowledge I gained is that “RETHINKING” is more “ADD AND REMOVE” to meet new challenges than “CHANGE”. My understanding of developed topics during this field school has been confirmed the last day by my presentation entitled RETHINKING FISHERIES POLICY:  WHEN AND FOR WHAT? During this school, I also met new friends and researchers interested in future collaborations.

- Edeya Orobiyi Rodrigue Pelebe | Postdoctoral Fellow in Fisheries Science at the Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

 

 

 

Emerging island countries such as Indonesia are aggressively developing a maritime-based economy given the breadth of fishery resources, also known as the blue economy concept. But we need to consider the potential of maritime resources as public "goods" that have a non-rival and non-exclusive nature that is open access.  These types of goods include common property rights which means anyone can use them for economic purposes. The possibility of sectoral ego to utilize fishery resources excessively by each sector becomes an alarm in the application of the blue economy concept. This indication may arise because of the freedom of utilization of natural resources from various sectors that causes collective action of excessive utilization of natural resources that damage nature. This is the so-called failure of collective community action in the utilization of natural resources.

- Aini Nur Furoida | Master’s student, Diponegoro University (UNDIP), Indonesia

 

 

 

Rethinking in relation to coastal sustainability involves learning and unlearning some theories, concepts and knowledge we have had over the years to improve coastal development and sustainability. Rethinking in a transdisciplinary way is needed since, in the actual sense, nothing stands alone. All aspects of life are interconnected. There is a need for strategies that cross many boundaries to create a holistic approach in the quest for a developed and sustainable coast across countries. In rethinking concepts, the concept of value should be emphasized. This is because if there is an understanding of the measure of the value of livelihoods derived from the environment which includes the coast, then you would do everything possible to protect and sustain it. In all, stability in methodological approaches is imperative. This field school has helped me in having a broader knowledge of coastal livelihood. 

- Chineboaba Araba Afful | PhD student, Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Senegal

 

 

 

Chilika Field School presented the most unexpected, exciting, experience. The school sessions were very instructive, practical, and fun. The multidisciplinary approach allowed experiencing the small-scale fisheries from varying angles. Our coordinators and resource persons were vast in knowledge, confident and firm, you could have thought we were in a traditional class. What stood out was the teamwork spirit and respect for each other, working within the smaller and larger groups. Each voice was heard, and the messages were received. The session with the fishermen brought with it nostalgia, the spirit of togetherness, connection to nature and the desire to preserve and leave legacies for generations.

- Foluke Omotayo Areola | PhD student, Lagos State University (LASU), Nigeria

 

 

 

One of the events that I participated in was the V2V field school which lasted for 7 days. It was sad that it had to be done online but Iam glad it didn't detract from the essence of the event itself.  It was a valuable experience for me being able to receive knowledge from very extraordinary speakers. I would like to reflect on  the event on the theme of the fifth day titled 'What does a policy by, of and for the people look like?' and 'Rethinking policies as if they matter’:

1. Small-scale fisheries are vulnerable to politicization and it's important to protect them with policies that support them. As academics, we can help in creating the insight to build or develop the policies.

2. Implementation cannot be done quickly and can take years to fully implement.  The process itself is also costly and time-consuming. Since the circumstances of small-scale fisheries are dynamic, implementation is a continuous process and adapting to the circumstance. While the governance principles stated in the SSF Guidelines may remain, the policies and actions that follow should change according to how they are implemented, their location and lessons learned through the process.

3. << To act and to change>> It is recommended that lawmakers, governments and relevant fisheries stakeholders consider incorporating fisheries laws and other relevant fisheries policies to improve fisheries management. This will help target assistance and protection programs to those who need it and empower and improve the standard of living of small-scale fishers.

My research is to find out what causes vulnerability, what is their adaptive capacity, what is their situation and what should be done to develop a good management strategy. A good policy is a policy that is created in accordance with the needs of the community. Transdisciplinary is very important to keep bringing together researchers from various disciplines of science under the V2V umbrella.

- Hapsari Ayu Kusumawardhani | Master’s student, Diponegoro University (UNDIP), Indonesia

 

 

 

I am very grateful to the V2V collaborators and CSD, ULAB, for giving me the privilege of participating in the field school with leading experts and vibrant students coming from different parts of the world. It was very mesmerizing to witness the collaboration of people from different disciplines on a single agenda-development of coastal small-scale fishing communities. Such mutual interest is the true reflection of the transdisciplinary approach which is greatly needed and believed in academic communities to achieve sustainable development. While there is a lot of talk about the barriers and difficulties of involving researchers from different disciplines for a common purpose, this field school sets an example model for everyone. Insightful talks from leading experts and interesting engagements with peer participants on the importance of rethinking governance, policy, action and advocacy, knowledge and theory, as well as political ecology enhanced my knowledge and changed my outlook. I now can think more clearly about the significance of all these factors to obtain a holistic understanding of problems and to design their solutions. I look forward to participating in the next V2V school.

- Mohammad Budrudzaman | Undergraduate student, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), Bangladesh

 

 

 

Participating in the V2V-Chilika Virtual Field School (2021) was an eye-opening experience for me. Although the global pandemic encumbered our in-person meet on the shores of Chilika Lagoon, web-based space of the field school provided us overwhelming opportunities to connect and share thoughts with each other. Vibrant-themed sessions comprising lecture series by panelists, aptly conveyed as “Words that Inspire”, made my field school days fascinating. For me, the most captivating session was the online workshop and interaction with Chilika Fisher Federation. While listening virtually to our “mentors at the field”, I inevitably felt the imperatives to rethink remote, yet unfettered connectivity with the people who surround the reasons for (re)thinking sustainability issues, knowledge, concepts, practice, mindset, policies in our research. 

- Raktima Ghosh |  PhD student, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India

 

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I tried to picture how I was going to have this virtual field school without difficulties. I thought it would be difficult interacting with different people around the world with diverse educational backgrounds, but I was proved wrong. The Chilika experience was one of the best virtual field schools attended. The knowledge shared by different panel members helped me gain an in-depth understanding of the plight of the ordinary fisherman trying to make ends meet, thinking this was enough, I realized that was just the tip of the iceberg. The breakout session and the climax of the field school were phenomenal. I hope the next field school will be physically held to give more room for more interaction where there will be fewer constraints on time.

- Selorm Awiah Dzantor | Research Assistant at the Africa Center of Excellence in Coastal Resilience, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

 

 

V2V hosted a virtual field school starting August 7th with the core focus on rethinking the sustainability of SSF. I have worked with only SSFs at a local level, but the virtual field school had participants and speakers from almost every continent, resulting in us forging a more concrete understanding of the plight of the SSF and how to move forward with the knowledge we acquired. My only wish is that we have more interaction with the Chilika fisherfolk as the pandemic forced us into a virtual environment, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well-structured the entire event was.

-        Syed Tauheed Raihan | Research Assistant at the Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), Bangladesh

 

 

 

It was a pleasure for me to participate in the V2V - Chilika Virtual Field School 2021. During the program, I had the opportunity to listen to myriad educational talks delivered by several hardworking and conscientious researchers and academics whose styles of presentation were superb and worthy of emulation. I found the topics very interesting, especially “The Secret to Happiness” and “We are in an age of Transdisciplinarity”. Although the program was commendable, considering the rampant illegal activities in many fisheries across the world, I believe that much attention should be given to topics that focus on behavioural change in fishers. 

- Evans Kwasi Arizi | Lecturer, University of Cape Coast, Ghana