Community Adaptive Capacity Research Articles

The Determinants for Climate Change Adaptive Capacity and Resilience of Rural Communities in Nigeria

The Determinants for Climate Change Adaptive Capacity and Resilience of Rural Communities in Nigeria

Measuring climate vulnerability of tourism-dependent livelihoods: The case of Lamgtang National Park

Climate change poses significant challenges to tourism-dependent communities in mountain regions, threatening their livelihoods and well-being. However, there is a lack of comprehensive assessments that consider the multidimensional nature of vulnerability and the specific socio-cultural contexts of these communities. This study assesses the livelihood vulnerability of tourism-dependent communities in Lamtang National Park exposed to climate change using the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and the Livelihood Vulnerability Index -Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (LVI-IPCC) framework. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including household surveys (n=119), vulnerability index calculations, and analysis of weather data. The purposive stratified sampling based on ecological gradient and proximity to trekking trails ensured the representativeness of the sample. One hundred nineteen households were surveyed, with respondents from the Hill Janajati ethnic group. Results showed that the majority of households (63%) were tourism-dominant, followed by agriculture-dominant (17%) and mixed livelihood (13%). The LVI results revealed a moderate vulnerability (0.365), with financial and natural capitals being the most vulnerable. The LVI-IPCC analysis showed that the community's adaptive capacity (0.537) is slightly lower than its exposure (0.564), and sensitivity is comparatively low (0.296), resulting in a low LVI-IPCC index (0.01). Weather data analysis, including the Mann-Kendall trend test, Sen's slope analysis, and multi-model ensemble projections, indicated increasing precipitation trends and a warmer, wetter future for the region. The triangulation of LVI, LVI-IPCC, forecast data, and weather station data strengthens the findings and highlights the need for targeted interventions. The projected changes in temperature and precipitation patterns for Rasuwa district and vulnerability status of tourism-dependent communities highlight the urgency of implementing climate change adaptation measures, which may include diversifying livelihoods, improving access to education and training, strengthening social support systems, and promoting sustainable land and water management practices.

Evaluation of Climate Resilience Strategies in Vulnerable Communities in Ethiopia

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate on the evaluation of climate resilience strategies in vulnerable communities in Ethiopia. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: In Ethiopia, climate resilience strategies have been evaluated to address the increasing challenges faced by vulnerable communities. The Partners for Resilience program, implemented by CARE and other partners, has made significant strides in integrating disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and ecosystem management and restoration, positively impacting over 1.2 million people. Efforts have focused on diversifying livelihoods, strengthening civil society's capacity for dialogue and advocacy, and rehabilitating water schemes and farmland. The Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (CVCA) by CARE Ethiopia has been instrumental in understanding local vulnerabilities and developing adaptive capacities against climate variability. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Social-ecological systems theory (SES), community-based adaptation (CBA) theory & vulnerability and resilience theory may be used to anchor future studies on evaluation of climate resilience strategies in vulnerable communities in Ethiopia. Strengthens community ownership, adaptive capacity, and sustainability of resilience interventions. Advocating for integrated policy frameworks that mainstream climate resilience into national and local development plans.

Community adaptive capacity in facing landslide disaster

Tawangmangu District is located on the slopes of Mount Lawu, with most of its area being at an altitude of +- 1200m above sea level. Tawangmangu District has an uneven slope, and the eastern region has a +- 40% slope. This resulted in the area in Tawangmangu District frequently experiencing landslides. Data from the Karanganyar Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) for 2022 shows more than 11 landslides. The resulting impacts are different but certainly result in morphological changes in the Tawangmangu District according to the type of landslide that occurred. Living in areas with a high risk of landslides is challenging for the community, so people must adapt to a vulnerable environment. This study aims to analyze the adaptive capacity of the community against landslides. The study area covers ten villages in the Tawangmangu District. The study area covers seven villages. The evaluation uses a quantitative descriptive method based on human, social, natural, physical, and financial factors. The results obtained show that there are variations in the adaptive capacity of the community, which depend on the intensity of exposure.

Establishing an importance-performance evaluating framework under integrating adaptive capacity for community-based plastic waste management

This study aims to conduct an importance-performance evaluation framework under the theoretical aspects of adaptive capacity for community-based plastic waste management (CBPWM). Additionally, we identified the matrix of the importance-performance levels of CBPWM, and estimated the community’s adaptive behavior towards CBPWM. The results indicate that residents have a high perception of the importance of all adaptation indicators in CBPWM, but perceive the indicators’ implementation is plagued by poor performance. The respondents emphasize the significance of several adaptation indicators that can enhance the adaptive capacity for CBPWM, namely, “developing waste collection systems”, “building connections between resident associations”, “collaborating among stakeholder’s groups”, “adopting a zero-waste lifestyle”, and “empowering independent waste collectors”. The study also reveals that socioeconomic, perceptual, and behavioral factors related to adaptation indicators impact residents’ willingness to participate in CBPWM strategies. This study is valuable as a starting point for building community adaptive capacity for plastic waste management. It is relevant to addressing both current and future plastic pollution problems in Vietnam, as it is based on actual assessments of the community. Determining the importance and performance of adaptive indicators provides valuable insights for policymakers in developing mechanisms and promoting opportunities for CBPWM.

Building adaptive capacity to address coastal flooding: The case of a small Texas City

Coastal flooding is a severe and recurring problem, as evidenced by recent disasters that have caused significant damage for coastal communities. A community’s ability to mitigate the effects of coastal flooding depends on the local context and its adaptive capacity. Although past research has highlighted the important role that non-governmental organizations play in building adaptive capacity to support effective adaptation, few studies have focused specifically on rural, community-based nonprofits. To fill this gap, we employ a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the role of the Ingleside on the Bay Coastal Watch Association (IOBCWA), a resident-led, community-based nonprofit, in building adaptive capacity to coastal flooding in the City of Ingleside on the Bay (IOB; pop. 800), located in the Coastal Bend Region of Texas. By applying a grounded theory framework, we show that IOBCWA has improved the adaptive capacity of IOB through five primary activities: engaging in community organizing, boosting advocacy and outreach, implementing evidence-based data collection, building capacity among residents, and developing regional communication networks. Our findings are further examined using the Regional Fingerprint tool (Hirschfeld et al., 2020) to assess progress toward building regional adaptive capacity. We identify a need for more formalized policies, enhanced regional partnerships, and broader inclusion of socially vulnerable groups to address environmental challenges. Overall, this work highlights the important role that small, community-based nonprofits like IOBCWA play in building community adaptive capacity and suggests the need for a more comprehensive regional approach with participation from multiple stakeholders to address challenges related to coastal flooding.

Spatial planning and community adaptive capacity to climate change: the case of La Dade-Kotopon municipality in Ghana

PurposeSpatial planning is globally identified as an effective strategy for providing climate change adaptation needs. However, there is a dearth of literature on how spatial planning relates to climate change control in Ghana, particularly at the local level. Hence, this paper aims to investigate whether spatial planning plays a significant role in the control of climate change and the adaptive capacities at the local level.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt a mixed-method approach, where both qualitative and quantitative data were obtained using an interview guide and survey, respectively. The authors analyze the data using a qualitative content analysis method and descriptive statistics.FindingsThe results show that spatial planning plays an important role in climate change adaptation, though in a limited way. The physical planning department at the municipal level has varying amounts of capacities across various determinants, but there are opportunities for improving the capacity of the department.Originality/valueThe authors provide empirical evidence to support the need to prioritize spatial planning as a strategy for dealing with the impacts of climate change and the building of capacities at the national and community levels for improved adaptive capacity.

Community adaptive capacity to drought in Kakap Springs catchment area

Water in karst areas flows deep below the surface due to geological causes, making it difficult to get pure air on the surface. The karst region has passed with drought as a result. In the watershed Kakap Springs, this paper will examine the adaptability of the community to drought. The study area covers seven villages. The evaluation uses a quantitative descriptive method based on human, social, natural, physical, and financial factors. Adaptation capacity in the research area varies with the driving factor is financial. This is because exposure to drought has been going on for a long time and every year, so people have prepared themselves financially. Intensive exposure also causes the distribution of adaptive capacity in each village to be regulated at a moderate level. It is necessary to increase social capacity so that the adaptive capacity of the community becomes higher.

Responses to Wildfire and Prescribed Fire Smoke: A Survey of a Medically Vulnerable Adult Population in the Wildland-Urban Interface, Mariposa County, California.

California plans to substantially increase the use of prescribed fire to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfires. Although for a beneficial purpose, prescribed fire smoke may still pose a health concern, especially among sensitive populations. We sought to understand community health experience, adaptive capacity, and attitudes regarding wildland and prescribed fire smoke to inform public health guidance. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of medically vulnerable persons in a rural, high fire risk county (N = 106, 76% > 65 years) regarding wildfire and prescribed smoke health effects; health protective actions; information needs; and support for fire management policies. Qualitative comments were reviewed for context and emerging themes. More than half (58%) of participants reported health impacts from wildfire smoke; 26% experienced impacts from prescribed fire smoke. Participants expressed strong support for prescribed fire, although also concerns about safety and smoke. Respondents reported taking actions to reduce smoke exposure (average 5 actions taken per person), but many (47%) lacked confidence that they could successfully protect their health. Persons who were satisfied with the information received tended to be more confident in their ability to protect their health compared to those who were not satisfied (61% vs. 35%). More information was desired on many topics, including notifications about prescribed fire, health protection and exposure reduction. As California expands use of prescribed fire, the need for effective health protective communication regarding smoke is increasingly vital. We recommend seeking solutions that strengthen community resilience and address equity for vulnerable populations.

Differential Impact Analysis for Climate Change Adaptation: A Case Study from Nepal

Following a case study, community adaptation plans are a bottom-up approach that focus on increasing climate-vulnerable communities’ engagement in local adaptation planning and policy design, prioritization, and implementation in Nepal. This paper explains how Community-Based Adaptation Action Plan (CAPA) groups are being studied to assess the climate vulnerability of the local socio-ecosystem and to develop community-level adaptation measures. However, there is insufficient research to differentiate local vulnerabilities caused by climate change. This paper, therefore, examines climate change vulnerability with respect to community vulnerability and potential adaptation measures to increase community resilience and adaptive capacity through CAPAs. The study compares differences by gender, caste/ethnicity, and wealth in relation to specific climate-related hazards (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) of communities. The study draws on secondary sources of information along with field observations, 73 household interviews, 13 key-informant interviews, consultations, and 9 interactive meetings in 3 districts of Nepal. Differential impact analysis refers to the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of local socio-ecological systems. In addition, multivariate analysis was conducted using the Canoco program to analyze the role of actors with respect to climate vulnerability. The results conclude that the degree of vulnerability varies widely at the household level and is strongly influenced by socio-economic characteristics such as gender, caste/ethnicity, and wealth. Immediate and focused attention is needed to improve access to government resources for vulnerable households, requiring positive support from decision makers. Equally important is improving the chain of communication, which includes information, skills, knowledge, capacity, and institutional arrangements. Analysis of the differential vulnerability and the adaptive capacity of a vulnerable community is more appropriate for the design of local adaptation plans. Therefore, the study suggests that engagement of local partners, including local authorities, in addressing vulnerability and adaptation is required to confront the social process, new institutional arrangements, local adaptation, and capacity-building with technical solutions.

Ecosystem Based Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in Indian Himalayan Region of Darjeeling

Mountain ecosystems are one of the major landforms in the world. Due to rampant industrialisation and urbanisation, mountainous ecosystem too has bore the brunt of environmental problems such as rising temperature and deglaciation. It has led to disruptions in hydrological functions, impact on forest and biodiversity and also human health implications. Ecosystem based adaptation is a nature based method which centres around environment related concerns and addresses the problem by reducing extreme weather conditions and thus enhancing sustainability and resilience. Darjeeling Himalaya is a mountainous region to the north-western side of the Indian state of West Bengal and has presence of numerous natural calamities such as Earthquakes, Landslides, Cloudbursts, etc. The local administration and the government has taken various measures and policies such as building bye laws, disaster management plan, draft development plan, limit building initiatives in order to act upon environment related hazards. With greater emphasis on EbA approaches to Eco-DRR in the regional policies of Darjeeling, mitigating the impact of climate can be drastically reduced which in turn will lead to Human and Economic Development. The EbA approach helps in (1) enhancing the community adaptive capacity or resilience, (2) improve or regenerate ecosystems to help increase value qualitatively and quantitatively of the produce for local communities and (3) integrating the current produce with market requirements,thereby increasing its economic viability. Keywords: Ecosystem, Disaster Risk, Mountain Geography, Rural Areas, Climate Change

Community Resilience and Adaptive Capacity: An Integrative Perspective

The aim of this paper is to examine the adaptive capacity for community resilience. Adaptive capacity supports the residents of a local community to survive and recover during and after a disaster. The holistic view of community resilience is seen as personal attributes possessed by community residents which enables them to survive during and after a disaster. Reviewed articles and other secondary sources that discussed on the topic of community resilience and adaptive capacity were used for this study through content analysis and empirical evidence. The discussion of the theories in this paper shed more light towards understanding the four-way adaptive capacity. Community resilience increases the chance of community adaptation during and after a disaster. This study will encourage private businesses and professional individuals to become part of a community by providing them with resources needed to survive in the face or after a disaster. It will also contribute to related research in the future which focuses on adaptive capacity for community resilience.

Voicing resilience through subjective well-being: community perspectives on responding to water stressors and COVID-19

Interactions among social inequalities, environmental stressors, and shocks are illustrated through communities’ subjective experiences of water-related challenges and responses to crises. This situation is perhaps most visible in the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on marginalized communities where climate change and systemic inequities are already threatening access to water and sanitation. It is critical to integrate dimensions related to well-being into research about vulnerable communities’ capacities and strategies for coping and adapting to such crises. Here, we investigate water-related risks to health and well-being using a subjectivity lens, a particularly useful tool for understanding community-level resilience to lesser-known stressors and crisis impacts. To inform this study, we used households’ self-reported water issues in Cape Town, South Africa’s low-income areas from before the pandemic, in addition to community responses during the pandemic. The findings show how inadequate access to water and sanitation affects people’s health and well-being, both directly by exposure to wastewater and impaired hygiene, and indirectly by creating stress and social conflict, and undermining subsistence gardening and medical self-care. However, our study also illustrates how grassroots-led responses to the COVID-19 crisis address these vulnerabilities and identify priorities for managing water to support well-being. The results demonstrate two ways that subjective perceptions of well-being can help to promote resilience: first, by identifying stressors that undermine community well-being and adaptive capacity; and second, by voicing community experiences that can help to guide crisis responses and initiatives critical for adapting to social-ecological shocks. The results have important implications for enabling transformative change that aligns efforts to address issues linked to poverty and inequality with those seeking to respond to environmental emergencies.

Multiple climate change-driven tipping points for coastal systems

As the climate evolves over the next century, the interaction of accelerating sea level rise (SLR) and storms, combined with confining development and infrastructure, will place greater stresses on physical, ecological, and human systems along the ocean-land margin. Many of these valued coastal systems could reach “tipping points,” at which hazard exposure substantially increases and threatens the present-day form, function, and viability of communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Determining the timing and nature of these tipping points is essential for effective climate adaptation planning. Here we present a multidisciplinary case study from Santa Barbara, California (USA), to identify potential climate change-related tipping points for various coastal systems. This study integrates numerical and statistical models of the climate, ocean water levels, beach and cliff evolution, and two soft sediment ecosystems, sandy beaches and tidal wetlands. We find that tipping points for beaches and wetlands could be reached with just 0.25 m or less of SLR (~ 2050), with > 50% subsequent habitat loss that would degrade overall biodiversity and ecosystem function. In contrast, the largest projected changes in socioeconomic exposure to flooding for five communities in this region are not anticipated until SLR exceeds 0.75 m for daily flooding and 1.5 m for storm-driven flooding (~ 2100 or later). These changes are less acute relative to community totals and do not qualify as tipping points given the adaptive capacity of communities. Nonetheless, the natural and human built systems are interconnected such that the loss of natural system function could negatively impact the quality of life of residents and disrupt the local economy, resulting in indirect socioeconomic impacts long before built infrastructure is directly impacted by flooding.

Vulnerability of community to climate stress: An indicator-based investigation of Upper Gana watershed in Omo Gibe basin in Ethiopia

The frequency and intensity of extreme climate events such as heavy rainfall and droughts are expected to increase with climate change and are predicted to severely affect the agriculture sector. However, drought vulnerability of rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa is not well documented, despite these communities being composed of mainly smallholder farmers whose livelihoods depend on rainfed agriculture. In this study, we evaluated the vulnerability of a rural community in Ethiopia to drought using both primary and secondary data. The primary data was generated from a household survey, whereas the secondary data was obtained from the National Meteorology Agency of Ethiopia and Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation (CHIRP) product. We decomposed vulnerability in to three components which are exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to drought based on indices derived from the primary and secondary data. Results show that the average score for exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity is nearly equal. High seasonal water variability coupled with severe, frequent, and long drought status increases exposure to drought in the study area. The main factor which affects sensitivity to drought in this community is the land cover. For adaptive capacity, the social capital of the community is low while their physical capital is high. The overall estimated drought vulnerability shows that the community is moderately vulnerable. The community's exposure and sensitivity analyses show the need to increase the amount of moisture stored within the soil with the adoption of appropriate soil and water conservation techniques. Results also show that the head of the household's educational level, the number of livestock owned, and annual income affect the community's adaptive capacity.

Developing indicators for adaptive capacity for multiple use coastal regions: Insights from the Spencer Gulf, South Australia

Spatially large and multiple use coastal regions face unprecedented pressures. Decision makers need to build policy that links social, economic and ecological dimensions in ways that build the adaptive capacity of these systems while not compromising individual values. This paper reports on an inter-disciplinary project that used a Capitals approach to build socio-economic indicators robust enough to use in integrated community assessments of adaptive capacity. Using the Spencer Gulf, South Australia as a case study, we demonstrate the utility of these indicators to derive quantitative assessments of socio-economic adaptive capacity. We argue that such assessments used at regular periods, in conjunction with scientific indicators, have the potential to be powerful management tools and provide ongoing ability to measure community adaptive capacity over time.

The promise of panarchy in managed retreat: converging psychological perspectives and complex adaptive systems theory

This paper interrogates the nature of climate resilience by adopting “panarchy” as a heuristic model to visualize how small-scale processes such as individual environmental risk perceptions are interrelated with broader social and ecological systems to confer community resilience. Thematic analysis of resident interviews from a pilot study conducted in the Rockaways, New York revealed the foundations of environmental risk perceptions and the ways in which they are both a product of and catalyst for social-ecological system (SES) resilience. The debate around managed retreat necessitates a complex systems perspective to promote equitable and just adaptation and transformation while avoiding unintended consequences which often result from single-scale inquiry. Integrating risk perception in the explicit multi-scalar model of panarchy proposes a new way to think about the complex social, economic, political, and psychological processes converging across space and time to confer community resilience and visualize the complexity inherent in relocation. In other words, connecting climate resilience and managed retreat with psychological processes like risk perception emphasizes the importance of implementing multi-scalar interventions to build community adaptive capacity.

Community adaptive capacity using social media at the aftermath of tropical cyclone cempaka, indonesia

Tropical Cyclone Cempaka is one of the tropical cyclones hit the southern Coast of Java Island, Indonesia. The occurrence triggered flood and landslide which impacted to disrupted community livelihood. There were damages upon paddy fields, settlements, and many other public facilities such as roads and bridges at the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Cempaka. This research aims to evaluate how community adaptive capacity towards Tropical Cyclone using social media. The main idea to use social media is to expand response coverage towards Tropical Cyclone. The community is understood not only as person or accumulative people who live in specified administrative unit, it could also those who had interest towards particular administrative unit. The research method employed spatial temporal approach to identify distribution of Twitter data responded towards the event. The research intends to collect data with series of relevant hashtags, and to observe data into several categories. The preliminary research reveals that there are significant changes in most frequent keywords during the disaster event. The most frequent tweet during emergency situation is the general information about the events. Afterwards, tweets characteristics shifts during rehab-recons phase into words relevant to raise supports and spirits. The spatial distribution of tweets originated from cities, and megacities, such as Jakarta, Surabaya and many others. Relevant to the idea, community adaptive capacity towards Tropical Cyclone Cempaka was not merely conducted by local community, it also involved variedly to the national to regional community using social media.

Quantifying Uncertainty in Exposure to Coastal Hazards Associated with Both Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies: A U.S. Pacific Northwest Alternative Coastal Futures Analysis

Coastal communities face heightened risk to coastal flooding and erosion hazards due to sea-level rise, changing storminess patterns, and evolving human development pressures. Incorporating uncertainty associated with both climate change and the range of possible adaptation measures is essential for projecting the evolving exposure to coastal flooding and erosion, as well as associated community vulnerability through time. A spatially explicit agent-based modeling platform, that provides a scenario-based framework for examining interactions between human and natural systems across a landscape, was used in Tillamook County, OR (USA) to explore strategies that may reduce exposure to coastal hazards within the context of climate change. Probabilistic simulations of extreme water levels were used to assess the impacts of variable projections of sea-level rise and storminess both as individual climate drivers and under a range of integrated climate change scenarios through the end of the century. Additionally, policy drivers, modeled both as individual management decisions and as policies integrated within adaptation scenarios, captured variability in possible human response to increased hazards risk. The relative contribution of variability and uncertainty from both climate change and policy decisions was quantified using three stakeholder relevant landscape performance metrics related to flooding, erosion, and recreational beach accessibility. In general, policy decisions introduced greater variability and uncertainty to the impacts of coastal hazards than climate change uncertainty. Quantifying uncertainty across a suite of coproduced performance metrics can help determine the relative impact of management decisions on the adaptive capacity of communities under future climate scenarios.

How water quality improvement efforts influence urban–agricultural relationships

Urban and agricultural communities are interdependent but often differ on approaches for improving water quality impaired by nutrient runoff waterbodies worldwide. Current water quality governance involves an overlapping array of policy tools implemented by governments, civil society organizations, and corporate supply chains. The choice of regulatory and voluntary tools is likely to influence many dimensions of the relationship between urban and agricultural actors. These relationships then influence future conditions for collective decision-making since many actors participate for multiple years in water quality improvement. In this policy analysis, we draw on our professional experiences and research, as well as academic and practitioner literatures, to investigate how different types of water quality interventions influence urban-agricultural relationships, specifically examining policy tools on a regulatory to voluntary spectrum. Interactions between farmers and other rural agricultural interests on one hand, and urban residents and their stormwater managers and wastewater treatment plants on the other, influence dynamics relevant for water quality improvement. We suggest that the selection of policy tools within complex governance contexts influence urban–agricultural relationships through financial exchange, political coalitions, knowledge exchange, interpersonal relationships, and shared sense of place. Policy tools that provide a means to build relationships and engage with people’s emotions and identities have potential to influence personal and community change and adaptive capacity, while processes such as lawsuits can catalyze structural change. Engaging these relationships is particularly critical given the need to move out of polarized positions to solve collective problems.