Vulnerability of Fishing Communities from Sea-Level Change: A Study of Laemsing District in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand

Continuous increases in global mean sea level is affecting coastal communities worldwide. In Thailand, the rising sea level exacerbates the vulnerability of coastal communities to changes in geographic conditions seriously affecting communities with low adaptive capacity and mostly dependent on natural resources. This paper identifies the potential vulnerability of coastal fishing communities which are prone to severe sea-level rises, like in the case of Laemsing District in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand. Climate simulation, Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing techniques were applied to quantify potential sea-level change (exposure), inundated areas and affected households (sensitivity). Adaptive capacity was analyzed in terms of social, human, institutional, economic, and natural conditions. Based on A1F1 (the worst case of future greenhouse gas emissions) and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies model EH (GISS-EH) best estimate for 2050, relative sea-level increase from 2000 would be 0.50 m, resulting in a loss of about 87.77 km2 of land and inundation of 2060 households. Opinions on alleviating vulnerability suggested that each condition of vulnerability is associated with two stages of development, urgent and medium. Laemsing District can face the serious effects of seawater inundation in the future. The results of this paper could be appropriately used as a reference for mainstreaming climate change adaptation into development policies and raising the awareness of stakeholders on how to cope with sea-level change and its impacts