From Livelihood to Loss: Climate Change and Socioeconomic Vulnerability among Communities of Manchar Lake, Sindh

Abstract

This study has investigated the effects of climate change and environmental degradation on the lives and daily experiences of communities living around the Manchar Lake, Sindh. The research story assumed a qualitative research design, investigating how alterations in the environment redefined socioeconomic vulnerability and influenced the survival strategy of the local people. The information was gathered by conducting in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with the residents, fishermen, and household members who wholly rely on the lake as a source of their livelihoods, as well as key informants of local institutions and local organizations. The results showed that the environmental alterations due to climate, such as water contamination, depleting fish populations, and the growing rate of extreme weather, had seriously affected traditional livelihoods. The respondents noted a great loss of income, compelled work changes, and displacement in their original settlements in isolated instances. These alterations not only destabilized economically, but also helped to marginalize social groups, erode culture, and increase the level of insecurity in already vulnerable communities. Community vulnerability was further enhanced by the lack of effective institutional support and policy-responsive initiatives. The research found that climate change had turned Manchar Lake into a place of livelihood into a place of socioeconomic hardship, with the strong need to bring together community-based and climate-resilient development options to assist the affected population.