Will social capital affect farmers’ choices of climate change adaptation strategies? Evidences from rural households in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Abstract

Adopting necessary climate change adaptation strategies is an important measure to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In recent years, social capital has provided a new perspective for analyzing the differences of individual behaviors in the process of climate change adaptation. However, the actual role of social capital in adapting to climate change has not been thoroughly explored. In this paper, we took the high-frigid ecological vulnerable areas on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau as an example. Based on household survey data, we explored the impacts of social networks, social trust and social norms on the choice of climate change adaptation strategies for farmers. Results show that more than 80% of farmers adopt the necessary climate change adaptation strategies. Early transferring/adjusting farming season, artificial grass planting and reducing livestock are their major adaptation strategies. There are significant differences in adopting climate change adaptation strategies between farmers with different social networks, social trust and social norms. The improvements of formal social networks, interpersonal trust, institutional trust, and social norms have significant impacts on the choice of climate change adaptation strategies for farmers. However, the enhancement of informal social networks has a negative impact on it. Finally, we provided suggestions to formulate and implement effective climate change adaptation strategies for areas that sensitive to climate changes.