Case-study /

WD-NACE modelling feedback workshops in Mombasa

image of workshop

The WD-NACE project aimed to understand decision-making processes in coastal resource use and management, the role of actors in horizontal and vertical social networks, perceptions of changes in ecosystems and the multiple dimensions of poverty,

Mombasa workshop

Three days of workshops involving different levels of decision-makers (local BMU leaders and government representatives) and researchers (KMFRI, CORDIO and SEI) were organised at the Pride Inn Hotel, Mombasa in June 2012. The objectives of the workshops were to:

  • let participants see and use the software, to understand the models’ purposes and possibilities,
  • obtain feedback and ideas for modelling, to improve the models,
  • help the study team explain the models and model findings to other stakeholders

Motivations for modelling were discussed as well as the progress on their development. The WD-NACE approach has involved domain modelling as well as simulation modelling of the South Kenyan coast, focusing on the artisinal fisheries and Beach Management Units’ decision-making. Whilst the first two days concentrated on findings and feedback, a hands-on session with the software was facilitated on the third day.

Particularly interesting was the participatory brainstorming and prioritisation of feedback ideas for agent-based modelling. The following is a list of 11 suggested focusing ideas for this work, with votes of individual participants (who were asked to vote for their top three ideas) added as asterisks – our answer to the question … What is missing?

  1. Gear choice and wealth ******

  2. Variation in price of fish (species, seasonality) *****

  3. Conflict and fish scarcity (between fishers and with authority) *****

  4. Influence of institutions/cooperatives/market groups ****

  5. Level of education and life choices; fishing by choice? ****

  6. Willingness to take risks (e.g. bad weather) and link to wealth **

  7. Seasonality – practices change with seasons **

  8. Debt as a pressure to fish *

  9. Spatial dimensions w.r.t. fish movement*

  10. Changes in tide *

  11. Fishing requires high level of fitness; agriculture is easier *

Acknowledgement:

This work was funded by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation programme (ESPA) as project number NE/I00288X/1. ESPA is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), as part of the UK’s Living with Environmental Change Programme (LWEC).

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