Environmental Governance and Fisheries Management in Ethiopian Inland Fisheries Management: A Comparative PCA-Based Study From Ethiopian Lakes

Fish farming is a part of the agricultural sector that provides economic, social, and ecosystem functions that are important for reducing food and nutrition insecurity for the poorest and most marginalized groups around the world and particularly crucial for poverty reduction in African countries. While many studies are preoccupied with developed countries, there is less research focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, research on the governance of fishing management is relatively scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the implications of environmental governance for fishing management. Purposive and convenience sampling were used to select respondents. Survey data were collected from 180 fishers, with three key informants. Principal component analysis (PCA) and factor analysis (FA) were used to analyze the quantitative data. The results show a low level of environmental governance practices in the two study areas, a lack of attention to the fishing sector, political instability being the major challenge in one of the study areas, top-down governance approach, and fishing as a characteristic of poverty. We argue that strong political drive, capacity, and stability are crucial for effective environmental and governance. Interactive governance of natural resource systems, adaptive and collaborative environmental governance are needed to promote sustainable fishery management across Africa. Insights from this study can contribute to the implementation of a new framework for future sustainable fishing management. The proposed framework critically engages with the challenges and interventions that are needed to positively influence fishing management and can fill current geographical and topical research gaps.