Sustainability of Floodplain Wetland Fisheries of Rural Indonesia: Does Culture Enhance Livelihood Resilience?

Abstract

Preserving small-scale fisheries is the main concern of governments in sustainable growth development because more than 90% of fishers and workers make a living in this business including in floodplain wetlands currently affected by external shocks. Applying the sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA) and framework, this research aimed to analyse the impact of environmental changes on fishing livelihoods in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Questionnaire administration and in-depth interviews were employed as data collection methods, and structural equation modelling was tested on samples of 550 fishers. We found that environmental changes in natural conditions and human activities had adverse effects on the sustainability of fishing livelihoods. Fishers found massive development disruptive to their fishing activities, putting their livelihoods at risk and making them vulnerable. The findings further acknowledge cultural significance with livelihood resilience. Since The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines culture as “the entire and distinguishing way of society life”, this dimension is integrated into the study’s well-recognised framework. The government is recommended to re-evaluate its approach to balancing economic, social, environmental, and cultural factors.