Archetypes of Climate-Risk Profiles among Rural Households in Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

More frequent and intense climate hazards, a predicted outcome of climate change, are likely to threaten existing livelihoods in rural communities, undermining households’ adaptive capacity. To support households’ efforts to manage and reduce this risk, there is a need to better understand the heterogeneity of risk within and between communities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change revised their climate vulnerability framework to incorporate the concept of risk. This study contributes toward the operationalization of this updated framework by applying a recognized methodology to the analysis of the climate-related risk of rural households. Using a mixed-method approach, including a cluster analysis, it determined and assessed archetypical patterns of household risk. The approach was applied to 170 households in two villages, in different agroecological zones, in the Vhembe District Municipality of South Africa’s Limpopo Province. Six archetypical climate-risk profiles were identified based on differences in the core components of risk, namely, the experience of climate hazards, the degree of exposure and vulnerability, and the associated impacts. The method’s application is illustrated by interpreting the six profiles, with possible adaptation pathways suggested for each. The archetypes show how climate-related risk varies according to households’ livelihood strategies and capital endowments. There are clear site-related distinctions between the risk profiles; however, the age of the household and the gender of the household head also differentiate the profiles. These different profiles suggest the need for adaptation responses that account for these site-related differences, while still recognizing the heterogeneity of risk at the village level.

Adaptation to Climate Change with Forests, Trees and Agroforestry

“…Several FTA studies have sought to understand the drivers and heterogeneity of vulnerability. Certain populations and sectors are likely to be harder hit, particularly where systems based on natural resources support livelihoods (Paumgarten et al 2020a). Widayati et al (2021) assessed local perceptions of climate stressors, adaptation and vulnerability using focus group discussions in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.…”

“…An FTA study of the heterogeneity of climate-related risks among rural households in two agroecological zones in South Africa identified distinct patterns of climate-related risks associated with households' experience of climate hazards, their degree of exposure and vulnerability, and the associated impacts (Paumgarten et al 2020a). The study reported that the age and gender of the household head affected risks, indicating that responses to climate risks need to account for sociodemographic characteristics.…”

Determining the spatial distribution of environmental and socio-economic suitability for human leptospirosis in the face of limited epidemiological data

“…Cluster analysis has been previously used to identify homogeneous groupings or profiles in a wide variety of socio-ecological systems and these profiles have been considered as distinct socio-economic and environmental conditions in which different local mechanisms or processes may take place (e.g. [ 21 ]). In this sense, cluster analyses keep individual determinants discernable, as they are not merged into one final value, as typically occurs in the construction of an index.…”

“…Cluster methods, however, do not automatically generate a profile hierarchy [ 22 ]. Hence, the knowledge-based index will reveal a suitability gradient for human leptospirosis while cluster analysis will contribute to identify distinct sets of determinants that may shape the suitability across a socio-ecological system [ 21 , 22 ]. Finally, knowledge about the multiple determinants of the disease is required when both approaches are applied.…”

Agroecological risks of the digital economy

“…They identified six archetypal climate risk profiles, considering their various components. Archetypes show the variability of climatic risks depending on the strategy of obtaining financial resources and the availability of capital [7]. The study of the sustainability of the New Zealand dairy complex in order to minimize exposure to risks depending on agroecological, social and economic factors is provided in the paper of N.A.…”