How local communities attribute livelihood vulnerabilities to climate change and other causes: a case study in North Vanuatu

Abstract

Understanding the causal factors of livelihood challenges and associated vulnerabilities is essential for developing viable adaptation strategies. However, clarifying which livelihood challenges can be attributed to which causal factors remains a challenge. In this paper, we used a case study in Vanuatu to show how local populations attribute subsistence challenges to underlying causes. Particularly, we are interested in whether there is a tendency to view climate change as the primary cause, and if so, why. We followed a participatory approach involving local community members and experts at all stages of the study process. For this, we used complementary research methods such as resource mapping, participant observation, and in-depth interviews with local community members and local agriculture experts. The results show that local populations are indeed inclined to attribute problems to external causes, particularly climate change. However, the results also indicate that this external attribution is not definitive. Rather, we find that over the course of participatory reflection, attribution to climate change was supplemented and even replaced by internal causal factors, such as changes in garden practices. Our findings suggest that the initial emphasis on climate change may be related to prevailing narratives that may have influenced individual perceptions of the study participants and created social desirability. If such bias is not recognized, the narratives risk being reified, with potential new insights being overlooked. As a result, local attribution may overstate or understate specific causes, such as climate change.

Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in a Telecoupled World: Insights From Vanuatu

“…These declines in production have been at least partially compensated for by other food sources, such as imported food. Lower productivity is mainly attributed by local populations to climate change and to changing gardening practices that increasingly no longer conform to traditional practices (Savage et al, 2020;Nef et al, 2021). For example, in several cases, shifting cultivation has been abandoned or has been significantly modified by extending the duration of the cultivation of a field and/or shortening the fallow period, especially on islands or around communities with a high population density (Lebot and Siméoni, 2015;Nef et al, 2021).…”

“…Furthermore, local farmers consider a lack of adherence to (traditional) planting calendars and thus the incorrect timing of planting and harvesting to be a possible cause of lower productivity (Nef et al, 2021). Incorrect planting timing may result in specific growth stages taking place under weather conditions that do not suit the plants' needs, thus reducing the plants' vigor and/or resulting in partial crop failure.…”

“…There are, however, some differences between islands. Imported basic staples such as rice, flour, tinned meat, or fish have become a firm source of calories, partially replacing traditional diets on some islands, e.g., on Mota Lava or Gaua, while store-purchased food is negligible on other islands such as Hiw, Mere Lava, and Merig (Nef et al, 2021). Particularly elderly people are partly dependent on imported food, as they are no longer able to cultivate their gardens themselves.…”

“…These studies concluded that changing weather conditions act as stressors and may have a negative impact on ecosystem services and agricultural production (Mertz et al, 2010;Jackson et al, 2017;Nef et al, 2021). However, they also suggested that challenges related to agricultural production and reduced ecosystem services are primarily related to changes in management and exploitation practices (Johannes and Hickey, 2004;van der Velde et al, 2007;Lebot and Siméoni, 2015;Nef et al, 2021). The drivers of change in management and exploitation practices, and particularly how they relate to broader socioeconomic dynamics, were not clarified in these studies.…”

“…Our hypotheses build on case studies in the West Pacific region that have examined local livelihood vulnerabilities. These studies concluded that changing weather conditions act as stressors and may have a negative impact on ecosystem services and agricultural production (Mertz et al, 2010;Jackson et al, 2017;Nef et al, 2021). However, they also suggested that challenges related to agricultural production and reduced ecosystem services are primarily related to changes in management and exploitation practices (Johannes and Hickey, 2004;van der Velde et al, 2007;Lebot and Siméoni, 2015;Nef et al, 2021).…”