Impacts of Climate Variability on Fish Production and Community Health in the Bakassi Coastal Area, Cameroon

Abstract

Climate keeps varying across coastal areas posing challenges on fishing communities and human health vulnerabilities, thus affecting livelihoods and lives. These challenges are replicate of the situation in the Bakassi coastal area in Cameroon. The study aims to examine the impacts of climate variability on fish production and community health in the Bakassi area of Cameroon. It was an investigatory and explanatory study that employed a mixed-research approach involving the qualitative and quantitative techniques. Through a stratified random sampling technique, 200 participants were randomly selected and information was obtained from them using primary tools such as questionnaires, interview guides, focused group discussions and direct field observations. These data were supplemented with secondary data collected from magazines, scholarly, statistics platforms, databases and relevant literature. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics on Excel Version 18 and SPSS Version 25.0., and frequencies, percentiles, mean, correlation and relationships were established and presented on Tables, Chart and figures. Results revealed that climate variability has been taking place in the Bakassi area manifesting by varying rainfall with a CV of 44.3% and 138.6% for the rainy and dry season respectively, rising temperatures (23.60C & 38.80C for the minimum and maximum, respectively. and fluctuating relatively humidity visible on monthly, seasonal, and inter-annual scales. Further results show that climate variability affects community health with a greater case of malaria and typhoid occurring during the rainy season while fish production drops about 35% in the month of July and August due to torrential rainfall and flood events. Local adaptation strategies such as livelihood diversification, health consultation and seasonal fishing are implemented but only temporal successes are yielded and everything seem futile. The concludes that fish production and community health are crucial for the local population in the Bakassi area and recommends that objective and holistic adaptation strategies like public vaccination, artificial fish ponds, sleeping nets, and water purification be timely done in the Bakassi coastal area.