Communicating climate change in rural coastal communities

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Mycoo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Participatory Communication ◽  
Technology Governance ◽  
Communication Techniques ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Multiple Variables

Purpose – This study aims to, using Grande Riviere, Trinidad, as a case study, determine levels of climate change knowledge and awareness in the community. Second, it seeks to provide new knowledge on appropriate techniques for developing climate change literacy. Third, it attempts to highlight action needed for messages to be widely communicated and policy implications for government agencies, non-governmental organisations, communication specialists and educators. Design/methodology/approach – A face-to-face questionnaire was administered to all households, focus group meetings were held and a training workshop was conducted. Findings – A key finding is that despite vulnerability to climate change, climate change literacy is low and is influenced by multiple variables such as household income, level of educational attainment, access to technology, governance structures and political commitment to communicating climate change. A major finding is that access to modern communication modes is limited and therefore verbal communication remains the most powerful means of transmitting messages on climate change. Moreover, opportunities exist for the use of participatory and indigenous communication techniques. Practical implications – A major policy conclusion is that a practical blend of traditional and modern technologies, which emphasises verbal communication and promotes innovative participatory communication technologies, including indigenous ones, would be effective in strengthening adaptive capacity. Originality/value – This paper is useful to policymakers, communication specialists, academia and civil society in understanding that there is no universally applicable technology for climate change communication; the type of technology adopted must be tailored to the economic, social and cultural peculiarities of a community.

scholarly journals Three-stage quantitative approach of understanding household adaptation decisions in rural Cambodia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-58
Author(s):  
Xi Jiao ◽  
Yuan Zheng ◽  
Zhen Liu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adaptation Decision

Purpose A better understanding of the processes that shape households’ adaptation decisions is essential for developing pertinent policies locally, thereby enabling better adaptation across scales and multiple stakeholders. This paper aims to examine the determinants of household decisions to adapt, it is also possible to target factors that facilitate or constrain adaptation. This helps to identify key components of current adaptive capacity, which leads to important insights into households’ competence to adapt in the future. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes a full-pledged approach examining factors and processes that shape households’ climate adaptation decision-making in rural Cambodia at three levels: adaptation status, adaptation intensity and choices of adaptation strategy. The three-stage analyses are materialized by applying the double hurdle model and multivariate probit model, which provides a potential way to systematically assess household adaptation decision-making in rural settings. Findings Results show a high level of involvement in adaptation among local households who are facing multiple stressors including climatic risks. The findings suggest that perceived climate change influence households’ decisions in both adaptation status and intensity. Access to financial credit, farmland size, water availability and physical asset holdings are identified as key factors promoting the adoption of more adaptation measures. To facilitate adaptation, collective effort and support at community level is important in providing knowledge based climate information dissemination and early warning systems. Public sector support and development aid programs should focus on positive triggers for targeted community and household adaptation. Originality/value The study, to the authors’ best knowledge, is one of the first studies to investigate the determinants of local adaptation decision-making systematically in Cambodia. It also provides a comprehensive approach to improve understanding of adaptation decision-making processes by exploring how various capital assets are associated with different stages of adaptation decisions. The findings contribute to policy implications enlightening adaptation planning at multi-scales with knowledge of key factors, which enhance local adaptive capacity to reduce climate change vulnerability.

Climate change and women in South Asia: a review and future policy implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-166
Author(s):  
Sangram Kishor Patel ◽  
Gopal Agrawal ◽  
Bincy Mathew ◽  
Sunita Patel ◽  
Biswajit Mohanty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Policy

Purpose South Asian region is a focal point owing to its vulnerabilities to climate-sensitive diseases, dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods, projected levels of crop decline in the region, and high rates of poverty and malnutrition. Women are particularly vulnerable to climate change and this affects women disproportionately during different extreme events. The purpose of this paper is to understand the issue of climate change and its impact, and climate resilience among women in South Asia. Further, it also identifies the gaps and suggests future policy implications. Design/methodology/approach Climate change is increasingly being recognised as an alarming issue and the present review is important when South Asian countries are facing the brunt of climate change impacts. This paper tries to understand the issue by review of the literature and conceptual framework methodology. To understand women’s vulnerability due to climate change and its aftermath, the authors conducted both offline and online desk reviews for this study. Findings The findings of this study show a clear linkage between climate change and women’s vulnerabilities in South Asia. Climate change has significant socio-economic impacts on women, and it affects them disproportionately in various domains of agriculture, livelihood, food security, both physical and mental health, water and sanitation in the South Asia region. Practical implications The paper also highlights that the programmes that aim at combating the effects of climate change require a gender-sensitive approach so that climate change does not obstruct the development and reduction of poverty in the region. Social implications The findings of this paper will add value in helping families to come out of poverty by undertaking adaptive measures with proactive assistance from the government and grassroots level organisations. Originality/value The present study also advocates for more gender- and climate-sensitive measures from governments, and implementation of intervention- and evidence-based research in the South Asian countries.

A gender justice approach to eliminating Sudan’s Savannah belt’s vulnerability to climate change

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mey Eltayeb Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Climate Justice ◽  
Social Forestry ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change

Purpose Arguing that a gendered invisibility surrounding climate justice contributes to the overall vulnerability and burden placed upon the ability of women from disadvantaged communities, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of developing a participative gender framework for climate justice with the potential to address the policy and programme vulnerability gap within climate change and conflict in Sudan’s Savannah Belt. Design/methodology/approach In utilising gender responsive discourse analysis, along with setting out the history of gender engagement within social forestry, this paper examines both the method of Sudan’s reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) development and its content. Findings The paper’s findings demonstrate that the REDD+ programme in Sudan provides ample evidence of the importance of integrating climate justice and gender approaches to policy, programming and projects through ensuring women and local community participation at all levels and interaction within policy and programme development, along with its implementation. Research limitations/implications The paper is theoretical in nature but did draw upon case studies and consultations, and the author was involved in some of the research. Originality/value The paper provides a positive and arguably original example of social forestry within the Savannah Belt and its utilisation as a best practice that has fed into Sudan’s REDD+ Proposal/Policy Document so as to potentially drive and streamline similar such initiatives across Sudan.

Barriers to the implementation of climate change adaptation in land use planning

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirkku Juhola
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Adaptation Strategy ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Multiple Levels

Purpose In the past 10 years, most countries and cities have published a national adaptation strategy that outlines the strategic approach to reduce the vulnerability to climate change and to adapt to the impacts of it. The existence of an adaptation strategy does not, however, equal implementation of adaptation and the fact that adaptation is taking place across multiple levels also poses new challenges to its efficient implementation. The literature on barriers of adaptation has been increasing rapidly, questioning whether there is a misconception that barriers to implementation can be solved at the local level. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyses the implementation of adaptation strategies across multiple levels of governance by focusing on the land use planning in Finland. The case study examines the implementation of adaptation in the metropolitan region of Helsinki through a policy document analysis. Findings The conclusions highlight that there are barriers at the local level that emerge from the existing governance structures and cannot be solved by the local level alone. There needs to be a further recognition that coordination across levels of governance is a factor in overcoming barriers. Originality/value So far, there are very few studies that have analysed barriers in relation to the implementation of adaptation in a multi-level setting, and none in the land use sector, which is inherently hierarchical in nature.

Potential effects of climate change on the habitat in Mexico

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel F. Audefroy
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social And Economic Development ◽  
History Of ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential effects of climate change on the habitat and human settlements in Mexico, through an analysis of three regions that are vulnerable to hydrometeorological hazards such as droughts, floods and hurricanes. Design/methodology/approach – The research process included fieldwork in the states of Oaxaca, Tabasco and Yucatán, and a historical study of hydrometeorological events in each region. The authors sought to identify a means of interpreting these events linked to climate variability, on the basis of the history of disasters, the environment and the habitat. The local climatic indications were compared to the IPCC’s global successes, to show that contradictions do not exist but that it is difficult to apply the IPCC’s findings at a local level, given the considerable margin of uncertainty. Findings – The indications of the effects of climate change make it possible to foresee that the most vulnerable populations will be the ones facing the strongest impact in the future. Practical implications – The research has direct implications on urban and housing policies, offering a roadmap to design climate change adaptation strategies; adaptive capacity not only requires political commitment. Social implications – It is also related to social and economic development and an “integral risk management” approach rather than a “civil protection” strategy. Originality/value – The main interest of this research is to show that a multidisciplinary approach is essential in order to understand the local implications of climate change.

Which Countries Send More Delegates to Climate Change Conferences? Analysis of UNFCCC COPs, 1995–2015

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 478-491
Author(s):  
Ayse Kaya ◽  
Lynne Steuerle Schofield
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Nonlinear Relationship ◽  
Climate Change Negotiations ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Interest Group Politics ◽  
Group Politics ◽  
Fossil Fuel Emissions

Abstract The size of national delegations at the most critical intergovernmental climate change conferences—the annual gatherings of the Conference of the Parties (COPs) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change—vary greatly. The literature has emphasized the importance of national delegation size (NDS) for states’ formal and informal participation in climate change negotiations. To our knowledge, however, this is the first paper to comprehensively examine the determinants of NDS from 1995–2015. The findings highlight a country's resources and its interest in the mitigation of fossil fuel emissions as important determinants of its NDS. In contrast, the evidence for a connection between vulnerability to climate change and NDS is limited. Interest group politics appear more important than civil society or bureaucratic influence in determining NDS. In terms of policy implications, the distance between the country and the COP location is a robust deterrent of larger delegations, and there is a nonlinear relationship between NDS and financial capacity. Further, there are differences across Annex I and non-Annex I countries.

Sustainability responses to climate-smart adaptation in Africa: implication for food security among farm households in the Central Region of Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Kwesi Ndzebah Dadzie ◽  
Emmanuel W. Inkoom ◽  
Selorm Akaba ◽  
Festus Annor-Frempong ◽  
James Afful
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Central Region ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Farm Households ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adaptation Practices

PurposeThe consequences of extreme climatic events that threaten food security have created the urgent need to properly adopt climate-smart adaptation techniques to improve productivity. The study examined the sustainability responses to climate-smart adaptation and the implication it has for explaining the food security situations among farm households in the Central Region of Ghana.Design/methodology/approachWe estimated Heckit treatment effect model to analyse cross-sectional data collected from randomly selected farmers in the Central Region.FindingsAnalysis of farm sustainability index suggests that farmers' agricultural practices in response to climate change are lowly or moderately sustainable. We further found that while majority of the farm households are severely food insecure or food insecure with hunger, only about one-third are food insecure without hunger and the remaining few being food secure. The sustainability of farm practices is being impacted by the farmers’ choice of climate smart adaptation measures at the farm level. Consequently, the farm households' food security situation is found to be improved when sustainable farming practices are employed in the face of managing climate change effects.Practical implicationsConclusions drawn from the study findings give rooms for policy implications that suggest responsibilities for policymakers, farmers and other stakeholders to promote CSA practices in food crop production in Ghana. These policy implications will contribute to improve crop productivity, increase incomes and thus enhance food security among farm families. Awareness campaign about benefits of CSA practices and technologies need to be strengthened among farmers in Ghana by government and NGOs that matter in promoting farm resilience to climate change. Given the important impacts of sustainable farm practices on household food security situation, policies that seek to build the adaptive capacity of farmers to climate vulnerability impacts should take into consideration the sustainability dimensions of the adaptation and mitigation measures to be advocated for use at farm levels.Originality/valueOur paper contributes to literature knowledge on climate-smart adaptation practices effect on food security as evidenced in some recent literature. The paper makes a unique contribution by highlighting the food security implication of the sustainability impact of CSA practices, thereby exploring sustainability as an impact pathway between climate smart adaptations practices and food security in a developing country like Ghana. We approached our study aiming at making new contribution by introducing in the study implementation a quasi-experimental research design which future studies on impacts of climate smart adaptation practices can replicate.

Shifting tourism flows in a changing climate: policy implications for the Caribbean

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwame Emmanuel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Tourism Demand ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Changing Climate ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Tourism Flows

Purpose – Population growth, climate change, shortages of oil and other resources will have dramatic implication on where, when and how tourists travel in the future. This will also reshape the tourism industry for the future. Knowing what will happen in the future has always fascinated mankind from time immemorial. However, forecasting and predictions require not only a systematic approach to development but also an imagination and the ability to think and see beyond the ordinary. As a result, the purpose of this paper is to underscore the projected northward shift in tourism demand due to the global impacts of climate change and the lack of policy attention. Design/methodology/approach – A rapid assessment of the literature was conducted to explore tourism flows to the Caribbean in a changing climate and recommendations for adaptation. Findings – Tourism demand from major markets such as Europe and North America may be reduced significantly as tourists travel to other destinations, which are closer to home and have a more favourable climate. Regulation of carbon emissions from long haul flights will also influence demand substitution. Despite this projection, current policies in the Caribbean promote further development of the climate sensitive 3S model without anticipating a possible decrease in demand in the future. Research limitations/implications – Research implications include a recalibration of tourism policy and diversification of Caribbean tourism and economies. Originality/value – Recommendations are outlined for a critical issue that is not on the policy agenda.

Securing well-being with the advent of climate hazards

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Loh Chia ◽  
Anne Marie Tiani ◽  
Denis Jean Sonwa ◽  
Alba Saray Perez-Teran ◽  
Berenger Tchatchou
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
The Face ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Resource Systems

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the contribution of forests resource systems to the different aspects of community well-being, the implications of climate variability on the different sources of well-being and further identifies direct and indirect social and policy opportunities relevant for communities to enhance their capabilities in the face of climate variability and change in the Tri-National de la Sangha landscape of Cameroon. Design/methodology/approach – It illustrates on data collected from focus group discussions and from 151 households randomly selected in three villages to operationalize the conceptual links between community well-being and vulnerability. Findings – The study shows that vulnerability to climate change interferes with community strategies to achieve well-being, in addition to non-climatic processes which are both internal and external to communities. The study further indicates that healthy forest ecosystems provide opportunities for the local folks to build assets, improve food security, improve health and reduce risks. However, this requires capacity building and the channeling of resources to the local level, in addition to win–win sectoral policy amendments. Research limitations/implications – Biophysical methods required to complement community perceptions on the suitability of forest resource systems to climate variability. Practical implications – This paper argues that appropriate strategies which aim at improving well-being needs to capture the role of forest ecosystems, climate change risks and uncertainty and macroeconomic and social processes. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between climate risk and the well-being of forest communities. This is relevant for practitioners and policy makers to reflect on the risk of climate change and the rationale for conserving forest resources for community well-being in the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals conclusions.

scholarly journals Who takes responsibility for the climate refugees?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bayes Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Model Development ◽  
National Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Climate Refugees

Purpose “No climate change, no climate refugees”. On the basis of this theme, this paper aims to propose a method for undertaking the responsibility for climate refugees literally uprooted by liable climate polluting countries. It also considers the historical past, culture, geopolitics, imposed wars, economic oppression and fragile governance to understand the holistic scenario of vulnerability to climate change. Design/methodology/approach This paper is organized around three distinct aspects of dealing with extreme climatic events – vulnerability as part of making the preparedness and response process fragile (past), climate change as a hazard driver (present) and rehabilitating the climate refugees (future). Bangladesh is used as an example that represents a top victim country to climatic extreme events from many countries with similar baseline characteristics. The top 20 countries accounting for approximately 82 per cent of the total global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are considered for model development by analysing the parameters – per capita CO2 emissions, ecological footprint, gross national income and human development index. Findings Results suggest that under present circumstances, Australia and the USA each should take responsibility of 10 per cent each of the overall global share of climate refugees, followed by Canada and Saudi Arabia (9 per cent each), South Korea (7 per cent) and Russia, Germany and Japan (6 per cent each). As there is no international convention for protecting climate refugees yet, the victims either end up in detention camps or are refused shelter in safer places or countries. There is a dire need to address the climate refugee crisis as these people face greater political risks. Originality/value This paper provides a critical overview of accommodating the climate refugees (those who have no means for bouncing back) by the liable countries. It proposes an innovative method by considering the status of climate pollution, resource consumption, economy and human development rankings to address the problem by bringing humanitarian justice to the ultimate climate refugees.

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