Search Results (11)

Driven by the growing frequency of flood risks, this study focused on farming water resource management (FWRM) as an ecosystem-based solution. Despite its significance, there are limited studies investigating paddy farmers’ community-based adaptations (CBAs) for managing diverse farming water resources at a micro-spatial level, particularly within multidimensional communities. This study aims to bridge this gap and focuses on how community diversity and household characteristics impact farmers’ adaptation to different CBA methods. We conducted a household questionnaire survey in floodplain paddy farming communities in Kawasoti Municipality, Nepal, based on cultural, socioeconomic, and settlement diversity. The questionnaire was subjected to farmers’ CBAs for integrated FWRM and multiple structural and nonstructural adaptation measures for irrigation and rivers. The results showed that farmer participation varied across community groups. To understand the most important associated factors within community diversity and household attributes to adopt different water resources, the most adopted structural measures of water flow management (54%) from irrigation and buffer zone vegetation (54%) from rivers were analyzed. We used the Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector model, which suggests that water accessibility associated with community diversity, landholding, and water intake is important to improve farmers’ participation in irrigation management. However, for river management, community diversity, which relates to location in relation to a river and is associated with household income and farmland distance, is an important factor. Full article

Human-induced climate change has highlighted the need for community-based adaptation (CBA) to build resilience in vulnerable communities. CBA empowers communities to leverage their resources and skills in shaping effective adaptation strategies. Agent-based modelling (ABM) is a suitable tool to develop tailored strategies that account for local capacities, priorities, and cultural contexts. This study assesses ABM tools for their suitability to model CBA, focusing on key criteria such as agent definition, sensitivity analysis, scalability, and experiment design. A comprehensive review of available ABM tools identifies NetLogo as the most fitting tool by its features, due to its flexibility in handling complex community–environment interactions. GAMA and Envision are nearly as suitable, offering robust support for modelling socio-economic and environmental dynamics. This article provides guidance for researchers and practitioners in choosing an appropriate ABM tool aligning with the specific needs of CBA, ensuring contextually relevant and sustainable adaptation solutions. Full article

According to current forecasts, global heating is likely to exceed 2.8 °C by the end of this century. This makes substantial adaptation measures necessary to secure a broad basis for livelihood provision and the conservation of biodiversity. While the implementation of top-down and technocratic adaptation efforts predominates, related adaptation shortcomings of a socio-economic and ecological nature are becoming more and more apparent. Community-based adaptation (CBA), with its participatory, inclusive and needs-based bottom-up approach, offers a promising and powerful alternative. This article uses a semi-systematic literature review approach to screen the current literature and identify core issues of CBA. Linking communality, locality, multidimensionality, power imbalances, transformative potential, localisation, the triad of adaptation metrics and nature-based adaptation to corresponding potential actions for practical implementations provides a more holistic conceptualisation and broadens the horizons for further learning, research and improved applications. Full article

This study explores which women participate in community-based adaptation (CBA) from an intersectional perspective. This study followed in-depth interviews (IDIs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) methods for data collection in Latachapli, Bangladesh. It explores women from different ethnic and religious identities participating in community-based adaptation (CBA) activities. The diversity among women leads to varying levels of participation. Three main areas—sense of insecurity, support from family members, and women’s literacy—and the NGO’s administrative bias have been seen to influence different levels of women’s participation in CBA. All these findings suggest that women’s intersectional challenges when participating in activities must be considered. The problem with the NGOs that implement the CBA activities is that they focus on marginalized communities (Rakhine) and women in general without taking into consideration the cultural, religious, and historical barriers that these different women face. Full article

The impacts of climate change put pressure onto environmental and natural resources, which in turn increases the vulnerability of ecosystems and human communities. This makes social participation essential for biodiversity conservation. This article addresses the community perceptions of the adaptations made to climate change in the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve (REBIVI), in Baja California Sur (Mexico), one of the largest natural protected areas in Latin America. Workshops with local communities defined the Socio-ecological Assets for Conservation (SEACs) and prioritized the adaptation strategies and actions by multicriteria analysis. The conclusions point out that a combination of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and communities-based adaptation (CbA) is the most appropriate pathway to affront the adverse impacts of climate change. Thus, a socioecological approach for land and biodiversity use planning has to be implemented if both human welfare and conservation are to be effectively promoted. The process is necessary and very important, as is the participation of the local residents in the implementation and monitoring of the adaptation actions. Full article

We reviewed 76 climate change adaptation projects that were operational between 2010 and 2020. The review was followed by office and field visits for verification. The office visit helped crosscheck the findings, and the field observations carried out between December 2020 and April 2021 asked 24 key informants and collected supplementary information appraisal and indicator development. Of the CCA projects studied, the most (n = 48, 32%) were community-based initiatives, while the least (n = 12, 8%) were ecosystem-based interventions. The main environment-centered projects were Ecosystem-based Adaptations and Ecosystems Protecting Infrastructure and Communities (EPIC) while Enhanced Action of Inclusive CSOs for Participation in Climate Resilient Economic Growth (UTHAN), Initiative for CCA (ICCA), Support to Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (HIMALICA), etc., adaptation projects were community-based. Capacity building and awareness-raising were the major thrust of the CbA projects, while the abatement of climate vulnerabilities and risks through nature-based solutions were priorities of EbA. Payment for Ecosystem services is a nature-based solution that can play a role in enhancing adaptation to climate change at a local scale by adopting community-based and culturally appropriate methods and enhancing and incentivizing adaptation measures and capacities. A set of 11 criteria and 40 indicators comprised the institutional and behavioral responses and the use of technologies, and the design of climate-resilient plans and climate-smart practices were proposed as appraisal measures to evaluate the success of CCA interventions. The importance of criteria and indicators lies in the fact that such a comprehensive assessment would lead to effective and efficient adaptation projects, which could help benefit beyond the borders. It also furthers ongoing adaptation interventions and is set to be an integral part of associated studies and monitoring and review of new adaptation interventions. Full article

Adaptation to climate change is an important issue now and will continue to be for generations to come. This study designs an educational and practical workshop for adaptation to climate change at a local community level. The community universities in Taiwan normally facilitate social activities and informal learnings. This study thus defines the educational or social activities conducted in community universities as community-based affairs. After reviewing the phase II adaption action plan of Taiwan, critical adaptation sectors of disasters and water resources are identified. A case study on designing the community-based adaptation (CBA) workshop for water resources management in the Dahan River Basin is thereby developed. The learning subjects or practicing topics include an introduction to climate change impacts and their mitigation and adaptation; adaptation sectors of disasters, infrastructure, water resources, and agricultural production; and the utilization of water resources under climate change. Concept mapping of climate change impacts and debating possible global climate trends could further encourage participants to think in-depth and to act accordingly. This study also applies the rigor and relevance (R&R) framework to assist in the design of the CBA workshop and thereby to assess the effectiveness after its delivery. To further investigate the two-dimensional R&R levels of the CBA workshop, this study proposes eight combinations of contents and outcomes (tasks). In summary, this workshop gives background knowledge on geography and applies the analysis tool of concept mapping. The 10 learning subjects or practicing topics developed are mostly at the high rigor levels of 4—Analysis and 5—Synthesis. The overall “application level” of the CBA workshop is ranked as level 4 of “predictable real-world application.” The eight tasks that can “expand” the rigorousness of knowledge acquisition and “empower” the relevance of skill application are found to fall into Quadrant “C—Assimilation”. Full article

Climate change is apparent, and the impacts are becoming increasingly fierce. The community’s adaptation is more important than before. Community-based adaptation (CBA) is now gaining worldwide attention. Taiwan has promoted disaster prevention communities (DPC) for many years. Although the communities’ promotion can increase their capacity to promote efficiency, the top-down job designation may not adequately meet the community’s needs. This research aims to establish a community adaptation model and focus on building community adaptation capabilities from the bottom-up due to climate change. We design a community adaptation model that integrated climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). A disaster reduction and climate adaptation (DRCA) risk template was illustrated and adopted in the study. The 2D flooding model using future rainfall simulates the flooding depth for the hazard for it. This information is offered for discussing possible countermeasures with residents during the participatory risk analysis process. An urban laboratory concept is also adopted in this study. The Zutian community, Tucheng District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, a flood-prone community, served as a case study area to illustrate those concepts and tools. The proposed adaptation model could then strengthen the community’s resilience to cope with future impacts due to climate change. Full article

In the face of water related risks resulting from climate change and rapid urbanization, water resources in South African cities have increasingly come under pressure. Following the most recent drought period (2015–2018), local authorities such as the City of Cape Town are being tasked with restructuring policy to include climate change adaptation strategies to adapt more adequately and proactively to these new challenges. This paper describes an evaluation of the water governance processes required to implement Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) in Cape Town—with a specific focus on the barriers to, and opportunities for, those processes related to wastewater treatment, flood risk and the pressing issue of water scarcity. The City Blueprint Approach (CBA) was selected as the indicator assessment approach for this task. The CBA is a set of diagnostic tools comprising the Trends and Pressures Framework, the City Blueprint Framework and the Governance Capacity Framework. This was applied to Cape Town based on in-depth interviews and publicly available information. The analysis revealed that smart monitoring, community knowledge and experimentation with alternative water management technologies are important when considering uncertainties and complexities in the governance of urban water challenges. We conclude that there is potential for Cape Town to transition to a water sensitive city through learning from this experimentation and by implementing WSUD strategies that address water scarcity following the shifts in governance caused by the 2015–2018 drought. Full article

Climate change challenges mountain communities to prepare themselves via Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) plans that reduce vulnerability. This paper outlines the evaluation of a developed web-based information system to support CBA, referred to as a Mountain Community Adaptive System (MCAS). The web-based user interface visualizes collated data from data providers, integrating it with near real-time climate and weather datasets. The interface provides more up-to-date information than was previously available on the environment, particularly on land and climate. MCAS, a cloud-based Land Information System (LIS), was developed using an Agile-inspired approach offering system creation based on bare minimum system requirements and iterative development. The system was tested against Fit-For-Purpose Land Administration (FFP LA) criteria to assess the effectiveness in a case from Nepal. The results illustrate that an MCAS-style system can provide useful information such as land use status, adaptation options, near real-time rainfall and temperature details, amongst others, to enable services that can enhance CBA activities. The information can facilitate improved CBA planning and implementation at the mountain community level. Despite the mentioned benefits of MCAS, ensuring system access was identified as a key limitation: smartphones and mobile technologies still remain prohibitively expensive for members of mountain communities, and underlying information communication technology (ICT) infrastructures remain under-developed in the assessed mountain communities. The results of the evaluation further suggest that the land-related aspects of climate change should be added to CBA initiatives. Similarly, existing LIS could have functionalities extended to include climate-related variables that impact on land use, tenure, and development. Full article

Climate resilience in subsistence agricultural communities depends strongly on the robustness and effective management of the agricultural natural resource base. For this reason, adaptation planning efforts frequently focus on natural resource conservation as the primary motivation for and primary outcome of adaptation activities. Here, we present an analysis of the sustainability of community based adaptation (CBA) activities in 20 community based organizations (CBO) that were established in the Blue Nile Highlands of Ethiopia in order to promote resilience to climate change. CBA sustainability was assessed through multi-criteria analysis using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Sustainability was considered for social, institutional, technical, financial, and environmental dimensions, with second-order indicators or factors defined for each dimension. According to this analysis, CBA efforts of two thirds of the COBs studied were found to be unsustainable in all dimensions and CBA efforts of the remaining CBOs were found to be at risk of unsustainability. A number of barriers to CBA sustainability were identified, including inadequacies in community participation, training of local community members, local government commitment, farmer capacity, and bureaucratic efficiency. Participatory evaluation of CBA, however, revealed that many of these barriers can be attributed to the decision to use conservation of natural resources as the primary framework for CBA activities. Based on this evaluation, new efforts have been developed that use markets as the entry and exit points for sustainability activities. Lessons learned in this project are relevant for CBA efforts in other agricultural regions of the developing world. Full article