"Men don't feel comfortable with successful female leaders" : exploring participatory exclusion in community-based fisheries management, South Coast of Kenya
Chambon, Mouna (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Wambiji, Nina (Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute)
Wandiga, Joe Ngunu (Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute)
Reyes-García, Victoria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Antropologia Social i Cultural)
Ziveri, Patrizia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	While community-based fisheries management (CBFM) is promoted as a promising approach to achieving sustainable fisheries management, its inclusiveness is increasingly questioned in the literature. Studies that explore the inclusion of gender along other intersectional social identities in CBFM are scarce. This research gap may limit a comprehensive understanding of power dynamics in fisheries settings, while reinforcing exclusive approaches in fisheries governance. In this study, we draw on literature on participatory exclusion, intersectionality and lived experiences, to examine gender-inclusiveness in CBFM through a case study on the South Coast of Kenya. We applied qualitative data collection methods, combining participant observation, semi-structured interviews (n=18), focus group discussions (n=6) and relief maps (n= 32). Our findings indicate that women's participation in CBFM is limited and systematically lower than men's participation. Barriers to women's participation in CBFM are complex and interlaced, including socio-cultural, economic, and institutional barriers, and specific restrictions to women's access to leadership. In addition, our findings highlight the intersected nature of lived experiences related to CBFM places and suggest that CBFM may sustain and reinforce social inequalities in fishing communities. Overall, our results tend to confirm the relevance of the participatory exclusion concept to CBFM in coastal Kenya. Our study demonstrates the importance of applying an intersectional framework to study the complexity of power relationships in CBFM contexts, as well as fisheries management and governance. We conclude by providing key recommendations towards inclusive management approaches in fisheries settings.
Grants:	European Commission 771056 Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PRE2019-090126 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-000940-M Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MDM2015-055 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00182 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00640
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Community-based fisheries management ; Gender ; Intersectionality ; Ocean sustainability ; Participatory exclusion ; Western indian ocean
Published in:	Maritime studies, Vol. 24, issue 3 (2025) , ISSN 2212-9790

DOI: 10.1007/s40152-024-00390-0

20 p, 2.0 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles