Exploring the contribution of social capital in building resilience for climate change effects in peri-urban areas, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Lazaro Eliyah Mngumi

doi:10.1007/s10708-020-10214-3

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the literature on the quest for resilient cities by focusing on the climate change resilience building discourse in peri-urban areas, and specifically by exploring the role of social capital-an under-researched topic. The article examines bonding social capital and bridging social capital, with a focus on how they can potentially contribute to, or inhibit, the socio-ecological system resilience building processes in the context of climate change reality in peri-urban areas. Theoretically, the author draws on the existing social capital and resilience related literatures; empirically, the article presents findings from a study conducted in the peri-urban areas of Pugu and Kazimzumbwi forest reserves on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam city in Tanzania. The study deployed a household survey and key informant interviews. It found that both bonding and bridging social capital were strong in the research area, suggesting the feasibility of building resilience to climate change effects. Examples are given of a number of resilience building interventions that were established through synergies between social capital actors and local communities, although some doubt is cast over the sustainability of these initiatives. Overall, both theoretical and empirical evidence suggests the importance of including a focus on social capital in exploring the building of climate change resilience pathways in peri-urban areas, and especially in the context of the global south.

Highlights

The quest for resilient cities is becoming increasingly urgent amongst policy makers and the academia across the world
This paper extends that research in the same geographical setting, by focusing on social capital—another crucial element in building socio-ecological system resilience (SESR) for climate change effects in periurban areas and in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) context
The theoretical and empirical analysis presented in this paper on the potential contribution of social capital towards building SESR against climate change effects in peri-urban areas leads to two main conclusions

Summary

Introduction

The quest for resilient cities is becoming increasingly urgent amongst policy makers and the academia across the world. The article explores social capital with a focus on how it can potentially contribute to or inhibit socio-ecological system resilience (SESR) building processes in the context of climate change It examines two major forms of social capital, i.e. bonding and bridging, and discusses their potential impact on climate change resilience discourse in the peri-urban developing world context. The work by Mngumi contributes to filling the knowledge void on the ecological dimension identified in earlier studies; it highlights the need to explore the social aspects necessary for building resilience to climate change effects in these peri-urban areas It is against this background that the present article contributes to furthering the scholarship in this topic, which is under-researched in general and especially in the context of peri-urban areas in SSA. The major empirical findings are presented and discussed in ‘‘Results and discussion’’ section, while ‘‘Conclusions’’ section highlights the main conclusions of the GeoJournal (2021) 86:2671–2689 study and makes some suggestions for further scholarship

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion