Livelihood transformation from fishing to tourism:an adaptive sustainable livelihood framework for understanding lakeside communities of China

Fisheries in coastal and lakeside regions are increasingly facing sustainability challenges. This predicament has compelled these regions to shift toward economic diversification, with tourism emerging as a feasible alternative economic activity. This study focuses on a rural community adjacent to Erhai Lake in Dali City, Yunnan Province, China, examining its shift from a fishing-based economy to tourism over several decades. Employing an adaptive sustainable livelihood framework, this study assessed the livelihood transformation across various stages over an extended period, from both institutional and action-oriented perspectives, analyzing factors influencing sustainable livelihood transformation in lakeside communities and their subsequent effects. This research revealed several key insights. Firstly, tourism, as an alternative industry to fishing, not only faces increasingly stringent environmental protection policies but also confronts multiple challenges from the community level.Secondly, the improvement of the physical assets of locals within the tourism development, which can increase property-based income, has the potential to facilitate a sustainable transformation of their livelihoods. Thirdly, analysis identifies the pivotal role of human capital in the current transition process, with the influence of talent and innovative livelihood industry management models gaining prominence to ensure sustainability of this transformation.