Gender-informed Vulnerability Analysis of Seagrass Loss in

Inhambane Bay

The problem: Since the mid 1990’s, Inhambane Bay has lost over half of its seagrass cover.
This loss has been linked to increasingly frequent and intense climate-related events including
cyclones. In Mozambique, women are traditionally involved in invertebrate gathering, also called
“gleaning,” and rely heavily on species found in intertidal seagrass meadows. Their catch is a
key component of local economic, nutritional, and cultural security, yet fisheries monitoring and
management disproportionately focus on capture-fishing using gear and boats. This has created
a critical situation where some of the most vulnerable members of society are dependent on a
resource that is under increasing threat from extreme climate events. At the same time, the
magnitude of the potential impact on women and entire communities is going unnoticed.

The solution: Drawing on information collected

from nine months of participant observation, over
400 artisanal fisher surveys, and 22 community
focus groups, this study seeks to anticipate how
loss of seagrass in Inhambane Bay will
differentially affect gleaners and capture fishers.
When incorporated into decision making, the
gender-informed vulnerability analysis can
minimize negative ecological outcomes and social
susceptibility while strengthening the ability of
gleaners and capture fishers to cope and adapt.

About the researcher: Rachel Thoms is an

early-career ethnoecologist and United
States Fulbright Researcher in Mozambique.
Rachel is from Richmond, Virginia and holds
a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from the
University of Virginia. Rachel served as a
United States Peace Corps volunteer in
Gaza, Mozambique where she developed a
passion for working with communities in a
cross cultural-context. Rachel currently
works for the World Resources Institute in
Washington, DC, a global think-tank researching pressing issues at the intersection of
sustainable development and the environment. Her work seeks to understand how better data
can help decision makers understand the special relationship between communities and their
marine ecosystems, what is at stake when these ecosystems are threatened, and what can be
done to make these communities more resilient.