Dakshin Foundation

Historically recognized as the 'mackerel coast', Karnataka holds a significant role in India's seafood industry. Yet, when delving beyond the conventional metrics of 'total catch' and 'Mean Sustainable Yield', a distinct narrative about its fisheries becomes apparent. The present-day characteristics of Karnataka's fisheries reveal not only an overall decline in vital commercial species but also a notable rise in by-catch production, mechanization, and excessive craft and gear capacity across all sectors. These features are accompanied by social tensions within its fishing communities and with fishers from neighboring maritime states.
Dakshin has embarked on an initiative to initiate dialogues among different categories of fishers, discussing the pressing issues within Karnataka's fisheries management. This project also aims to pinpoint the potential roles that various entities in the fisheries sector (such as women vendors and financiers) could play in ensuring the sustainability of the fishery resource. Dakshin and the College of Fisheries, Mangalore are collaborating to establish a taluka-level community-based fisheries monitoring program in the Dakshin Kannada district. The project's objective is to identify practical steps toward crafting a co-management framework where fisher associations actively participate in monitoring crucial aspects of their own activities.

India's environmental laws and policies and legal frameworks are designed to safeguard the survival and rights of the country's ecosystems, biodiversity, common pool resources, and communities reliant on natural resources.
However, these legal frameworks often remain poorly comprehended or entirely unfamiliar to concerned local communities and administrators. This knowledge gap paves the way for extensive environmental violations, appropriation of communal resources, depletion of biodiversity and natural habitats, and violations of human and livelihood rights.
In order to raise awareness and comprehension of environmental policies and to empower communities, particularly fisher communities and their unions, in safeguarding their coastal environments, marine resources, and livelihood rights, Dakshin developed a range of resource materials in local languages. These materials simplify the language of legal documents and outline the extent of protection for the environment and community rights provided by various legal frameworks, presented in formats that are user-friendly and easy to reference.

Dakshin’s initiative dedicated to sports and community well-being is designed to offer structured sporting opportunities to the youth and children in the field sites. This approach provides them with organized spaces for engaging in positive behaviour, experiencing physical and mental well-being, and fostering pro-social interactions. Moreover, this program aims to foster a strong connection between communities and the natural environments that encompass these coastal areas.
Through the sports-oriented intervention, we are introducing a 'Web of Soccer' module that utilizes sports such as football to engage participants in activities that promote health, physical well-being, and personal growth. This module also serves as a platform for discussions on various topics relevant to the local context, encompassing both environmental and social issues. By integrating these discussions, we aim to empower local youth and children to actively participate in and lead social and environmental initiatives that contribute to the enhancement of their communities.

The invasion of large stretches of prime elephant habitat in southern India by the exotic weed Lantana camara remains a persistent challenge despite the combined efforts of government and conservation organizations. This project is driven by the goal of exploring innovative strategies to comprehend the proliferation of this invasive weed and to investigate potential ways to repurpose Lantana for the benefit of local communities. Supported by The Elephant Family, UK, this initiative is focused on collaborating with select sites in southern India (Mudumalai, Bandipur, Sathyamangalam) to map the presence of Lantana in partnership with the Forest Department. The project's objectives include developing a self-sustaining program for removing Lantana and researching viable options for the long-term restoration of areas where it has been eradicated. The anticipated outcomes of this project encompass improved biodiversity, particularly in terms of elephant conservation, along with the creation

Since November 2012, Dakshin’s efforts in Lakshadweep have been dedicated to the preservation of pole and line fishery, safeguarding it from unsustainable changes, and establishing a participatory and rights-based governance model for fisheries.
This initiative commenced with ecological surveys of baitfish populations crucial to the pole and line tuna fishery. In January 2014, Dakshin initiated a distinctive community-based fisheries monitoring program in collaboration with the local fishing community. This program actively engages fishers and boat owners in the continuous monitoring of day-to-day dynamics within the pole and line fishery. This approach not only generates valuable data on a broad spatial and temporal scale but also empowers fishers to recognize trends in their fishery's behaviour over time. It lays the groundwork for informed, community-level decision-making. Participation in the program is entirely voluntary and devoid of monetary incentives. Over the years, a total of 50 fishing boats have partaken in this effort, utilizing co-created logbooks that have amassed over 4000 fishing records. This showcases fishers' potential to monitor and steward their fisheries and resources. Additionally, we are in the process of developing a prototype mobile application to streamline data acquisition and information dissemination, facilitating the program's expansion and efficiency.

To shed more light on the role of small-scale fisheries in a nation's development, the FAO, WorldFish, and Duke University joined forces to initiate the "Illuminating Hidden Harvests" project. This endeavour serves as a continuation of a 2012 study conducted by the World Bank, FAO, and WorldFish. Collaborating with various coastal countries' organizations, the group is compiling country-specific reports that will be amalgamated to form a global perspective.
Dakshin Foundation was invited to spearhead the creation of the India report. This report will encompass existing social, economic, environmental, and governance information pertaining to Indian fisheries, offering a unique opportunity to establish a comprehensive database on this subject. Such a database is bound to be exceptionally valuable, not only for Dakshin's future endeavours within India but also for marine organizations and grassroots movements advocating for heightened recognition and safeguarding of small-scale fishers.