| Abstract: | The livelihoods of people dependent on the Tonle Sap floodplain ecosystem in Cambodia are expected to be affected by changes in economic conditions, social circumstances, environmental perturbations, demographic shifts and political climates. This study assesses how small‐scale fisheries’ livelihoods are changing in response to social and environmental conditions using the opinions of fishers collected through an intensive family survey of 514 households from Pursat and Battambang Provinces in Cambodia. Probit modelling approach was used to assess whether a fisher would continue fishing or not in the future when subjected to a variety of shifting conditions and identify the factors associated with their response. It was found that in any future condition about 50% of fishers would likely continue to fish, which suggests how much they love their traditional livelihood of fishing. The remaining 50% considered to diversify their livelihood strategy by shifting towards a combination of fishing, farming, and off‐farm jobs. Furthermore, the analysis found that the fishers will change their fishing practices depending on how other sectors in the region develop. The model showed increasing access to agricultural activities decreased the likelihood of continuing to fish, whereas finding an off‐farm job corresponded to increased likelihood of continuing to fish. |
