Assessing Poverty in Small Scale Fisheries in Lake Victoria, Kenya
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Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Abstract
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Poverty is a pervasive issue in small-scale fisheries. Not only does it affect a
substantial population, it is also a complex problem that is difficult to define, explain
and solve. Thus, poverty in small-scale fisheries constitutes what in the planning
literature is sometimes identified as a ‘wicked problem’. This paper applies the
interactive governance framework to identify the limits of, and conditions for,
governability and how they affect poverty, using the Lake Victoria small-scale
fisheries in Tanzania as an illustrative case. More specifically, the paper first uses the
three systems model of the interactive governance framework, i.e., the system-tobe-governed,
the governing system, and the governing interaction, to explore poverty
as a ‘wicked problem’ involving challenges pertaining to governability. Secondly, the
paper suggests ‘governance elements’ that are fundamental for addressing poverty
through the first, second, and third orders of governance. The paper emphasizes the
importance of social values as crucial entry points in addressing poverty in smallscale
fisheries.
Keywords
Governability, Interactive governance, Lake Victoria, Poverty, Smallscale fisheries, ‘Wicked problems’