How Indigenous Knowledge of Fishing is Failing to Cope with Climate Change in Karachi, Reshaping the Coastal Livelihoods, Traditions, and Community Resilience

Abstract

The paper examines particularly the impacts of climate change and modernization within the indigenous fishing communities in Ibrahim Hyderi, Rehri Goth and Keti Bandar in Karachi. Using a qualitative ethnographic approach, participant observation, interviews and oral histories, this research unravels disruption in traditional ecological knowledge and fishing calendars due to altered environmental patterns erratic tidal cycles and altered fish migrations. While elders stress the erosion of ancestral practices and inter-generational knowledge loss, fishers are creatively combining indigenous knowledge with modern approaches. Yet, increasing socioeconomic disparities and the institutional exclusion of small scale fisheries, especially women, further exacerbate these vulnerabilities. The findings emphasize the need to integrate indigenous knowledge into inclusive climate adaptation politics, which can support both ecological sustainability and cultural resilience. Recognition of fishing communities as active stewards of their maritime heritage provides a route to equitable and effective coastal governance a midst the climate crisis.