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Home > HCAS > HCAS_PUBS > HCAS_JOURNALS > TQR Home > TQR > Vol. 29 > No. 11 (2024)

 

Abstract

Vulnerability studies have often centered on climate change and catastrophic climatic events. Contrary to this trend, this study explores the multidimensional vulnerabilities faced by small-scale fisheries (SSFs) in the Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. We employed the Integrated Vulnerability Analysis for Sustainability (IVAS) Framework for this analysis. Data was collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews using semi-structured questionnaires. We analyzed our data following Reflexive Thematic Analysis using ATLAS.ti software and identified 15 vulnerability drivers across five domains specific to the local context, revealing that SSFs in the Jaffna peninsula are highly susceptible to multiple vulnerabilities. Notably, the analysis brought to light a previously uncharted domain of vulnerability stemming from the residual effects of civil war and the lingering root causes of ethnic conflict. However, the interplay between multiple drivers of vulnerabilities, spanning from societal to environmental factors, underscores the importance of adopting multidimensional approaches in vulnerability analysis and policy formulation. This study may be a pioneer of its kind, as the findings provide new insights into multidimensional vulnerability analysis while providing a comprehensive and holistic approach for future studies.

Keywords

Jaffna peninsula, multidimensional vulnerabilities, reflexive thematic analysis, small-scale fisheries, socioecological conflicts

Author Bio(s)

Mahinda Senevi Gunaratne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2296-900X) received his PhD in Development Planning and Management from the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 2023. His research focuses on climate change, food security and sovereignty, poverty, and development rights. He is also interested in SDGs, sustainability and vulnerability assessment, policy, advocacy, and development interventions. He has years of experience in the non-profit/social development sector, working with various local and international development agencies in different capacities.

R. B. Radin Firdaus, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7022-0576) is an Associate Professor specializing in agricultural development, focusing on rural development in Malaysia and developing countries. His research includes agri-entrepreneurship, food security and sovereignty, agriculture and climate change, and rural community partnerships. He has conducted extensive research and community engagement projects, emphasizing support for cash crop farmers and enhancing agricultural cooperatives.

Augustine Sosai Sihivaitthasan, Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, is a retired professor specializing in fisheries geography. He contributed to several research and publications relating to the fisheries sector in northern Sri Lanka, with special attention to the impacts of ethnic conflict on the fisheries sector, illegal fishing practices, displacement of fishing communities, and recovery, resettlement, and development rights of the war-affected communities in post-war Sri Lanka.

Sarjiyanto Sarjiyanto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3912-1331) is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS). He is actively involved in research and community service, including his role as a researcher at the Center for Regional Policy and Institutional Studies (PPKDK). Additionally, he participates in various active research groups focused on local wisdom and regional policy studies.

Mohd Hafiidz Jaafar is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7331-7402), specializing in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). His research focuses on OSH management in the construction industry. He has notable publications on safety culture among workers in Malaysian research universities and the implementation of fire safety programs in the oil and gas industry.

Correspondence should be addressed to Associate Professor Dr. R. B. Radin Firdaus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. E-mail: radin@usm.my

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgement to Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for Fundamental Research Grant Scheme with Project Code: FRGS/1/2023/WAB04/USM/02/4. The authors acknowledge the respondents for sharing their perspectives, and the National Fisheries Solidarity Organisation (NAFSO), Negombo, Sri Lanka, and the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, District Office, Jaffna, Sri Lanka, for contributing throughout the study. Ethical Approvals: This study received ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Universiti Sains Malaysia (JEPEM-USM), Penang, Malaysia. The protocol number is USM/JEPeM/20080404. The researchers confirm that written informed consent was obtained from the study’s respondents per the ethical guidelines for collecting, analyzing, and publishing the data anonymously. Declaration of Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the research reported in this paper and declare the absence of conflicting interests with the funders.

Publication Date

1-6-2025

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7041

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7022-0576

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