Learning from disaster: community-based marine protected areas in Fiji

Abstract

AbstractThis paper examines whether and how experiencing climate-related disasters can improve the rural poor's adaptation to climate change through community-based resource management. Original household survey data in Fiji capture the establishment of community-based marine protected areas following a tropical cyclone. Controlling for the endogeneity of household-level cyclone damage reveals that a household's exposure to the disaster increases its support for establishing marine protected areas, presumably for future safety nets. Evidence suggests that community members' social learning from disaster experience might facilitate their consensual decision making.