Cultural dimension and adaptation to floods in a coastal settlement and a savannah community in Ghana

Abstract

Although there have been a lot of studies on climate change adaptation, the cultural dimension has generally been left out of the debate. This study uses household surveys and focus group discussion to methodically assess cultural dimensions (using Hofstede) of communities, and how these dimensions influence preference for adaptation options to floods in a coastal settlement (James Town) and a savannah community (Dungu) in Ghana. The results show that first, inequalities in rank and traditional hierarchical governance structures in Dungu are relatively lower than in James Town, second, that there is considerable gender bias in favour of males in Dungu, third, there is high level of avoidance of unstructured and unpredictable situations in both communities, fourth, members in both communities are at present very willing to sacrifice their time and resources in order to achieve a better life in the future, and fifth, community members in Dungu perceive themselves as a single unit, and will do their best to come to the aid of members who need help during environmental disasters. The analysis further shows that cultural dimensions in the two communities generally influence the choice of adaptation options to floods. It has been recommended that specific local research such as this one which provides opportunities to analyse the cultural dimensions of adaptation within communities should be encouraged. This is because an understanding of the local cultural context has the potential to assist with the design of effective adaptation options in communities.