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5 Livelihoods in the Context of Fisheries – A Governability Challenge
to identify the degree to which objective and subjective needs at the individual or
household level are met. Needs are understood to include the requirements
necessary for wellbeing in a particular context. Second, wellbeing addresses the
degree to which individuals are able to act in socially meaningful ways to achieve
their wellbeing. It is conceivable that an individual’s needs may appear to be met but
that social restrictions on their action prevent them from working to achieve that to
which they aspire. Third, wellbeing is concerned with whether individuals are
satis fi ed with the outcomes that they are achieving. With reference to this aspect of
wellbeing, we can understand situations where individuals are super fi cially well off,
yet continue to be dissatis fi ed. This outcome is common where material wants are
taken care of but insuf fi cient attention has been paid to addressing spiritual, relational or intellectual satisfactions. These three dimensions of wellbeing can be
paraphrased, as in the introduction to the chapter, as the material, relational and the
subjective.
For the remainder of the chapter, I discuss the implications of livelihoods for
governability with a stretched de fi nition of livelihoods that assumes the incorporation of a wellbeing dimension. At times I will explicitly draw out the analytical
emphasis of wellbeing; otherwise I will leave it implied. I recognize that this is
provisional hybridization and that more theoretical work needs to be done on how
the two perspectives are complementary. As I note below, however, there are solid
epistemological grounds for linking the two.
Livelihoods and the Governability of the System-to-Be-Governed
Governability is at once about describing the contours of a System-to-be-Governed –
assessing, in effect, the systemic characteristics that either obstruct or facilitate
solutions to perceived problems – and a normative estimation of the key elements
that can contribute to improved governability. These two dimensions of governability
are interwoven: what governability analysis looks for as constituting a governable
system is in fl uenced by the normative variables that it prioritizes. Nonetheless, in
considering livelihoods as a governability concern, I separate the two aspects of
governability in this and the following section in order to facilitate my presentation
of the task. As I argue at the beginning of this chapter, the challenges that livelihoods pose for governability are illustrated well by the wicked problems idea.
Additionally, governability, livelihoods and wellbeing thinking share similar
normative concerns with respect to inclusion, re fl exivity, particularity, precaution
and social justice. This foundational complementarity makes them natural partners
in efforts to broaden the terms of fi sheries governance. This section addresses the
fi rst argument with reference to the System-to-be-Governed, while the following
section deals with the second argument with reference to the Governing System and
Governing Interactions.
The development of the idea of governability, as it relates to fi sheries, links to a
broader perception that there is a need to develop tools that that can help us better
5 Livelihoods in the Context of Fisheries – A Governability Challenge
to identify the degree to which objective and subjective needs at the individual or
household level are met. Needs are understood to include the requirements
necessary for wellbeing in a particular context. Second, wellbeing addresses the
degree to which individuals are able to act in socially meaningful ways to achieve
their wellbeing. It is conceivable that an individual’s needs may appear to be met but
that social restrictions on their action prevent them from working to achieve that to
which they aspire. Third, wellbeing is concerned with whether individuals are
satis fi ed with the outcomes that they are achieving. With reference to this aspect of
wellbeing, we can understand situations where individuals are super fi cially well off,
yet continue to be dissatis fi ed. This outcome is common where material wants are
taken care of but insuf fi cient attention has been paid to addressing spiritual, relational or intellectual satisfactions. These three dimensions of wellbeing can be
paraphrased, as in the introduction to the chapter, as the material, relational and the
subjective.
For the remainder of the chapter, I discuss the implications of livelihoods for
governability with a stretched de fi nition of livelihoods that assumes the incorporation of a wellbeing dimension. At times I will explicitly draw out the analytical
emphasis of wellbeing; otherwise I will leave it implied. I recognize that this is
provisional hybridization and that more theoretical work needs to be done on how
the two perspectives are complementary. As I note below, however, there are solid
epistemological grounds for linking the two.
Livelihoods and the Governability of the System-to-Be-Governed
Governability is at once about describing the contours of a System-to-be-Governed –
assessing, in effect, the systemic characteristics that either obstruct or facilitate
solutions to perceived problems – and a normative estimation of the key elements
that can contribute to improved governability. These two dimensions of governability
are interwoven: what governability analysis looks for as constituting a governable
system is in fl uenced by the normative variables that it prioritizes. Nonetheless, in
considering livelihoods as a governability concern, I separate the two aspects of
governability in this and the following section in order to facilitate my presentation
of the task. As I argue at the beginning of this chapter, the challenges that livelihoods pose for governability are illustrated well by the wicked problems idea.
Additionally, governability, livelihoods and wellbeing thinking share similar
normative concerns with respect to inclusion, re fl exivity, particularity, precaution
and social justice. This foundational complementarity makes them natural partners
in efforts to broaden the terms of fi sheries governance. This section addresses the
fi rst argument with reference to the System-to-be-Governed, while the following
section deals with the second argument with reference to the Governing System and
Governing Interactions.
The development of the idea of governability, as it relates to fi sheries, links to a
broader perception that there is a need to develop tools that that can help us better