Negotiating risk and poverty in mangrove fishing communities of the Bangladesh Sundarbans

Small-scale fishers in Bangladesh face substantial risks due to their occupation and their geographical setting. Without any effective buffer against crises, recurring shocks and on-going risk exposure are major factors pushing fishers into poverty. Not all fishers experience these events in the same way, however, with some of them showing higher capacity to negotiate risks. In this study, we ask how fishers cope with shock, what factors differentiate them in their risk negotiations, and what implications these factors may have on poverty alleviation policy. On the basis of the study’s findings, we posit that poverty alleviation in small-scale fishing communities in Bangladesh requires interventions that target not only risk minimization, but also the endowment of fishers with socio-economic capitals to help them handle varying degrees of risk and shocks. Such policies as, for instance, providing employment for fisherwomen or providing a basic social safety net will increase the overall resilience and well-being of fisher communities.