Social capital and resilience to drought among smallholding farmers in Sri Lanka

Building community resilience in a context of climate change: The role of social capital

“…Together these were considered to shape expectations, attitudes, actions and outcomes (Wickes et al 2017 ), such as willingness to cooperate and experiment, pro-environmental actions and more sustainable environmental outcomes (Kizos et al 2014 ). Here, socio-cultural dimensions included values, identities, norms, beliefs and traditions that encourage or constrain actors’ actions, and resulting outcomes (Carrico et al 2019 ). These socio-cultural and structural dimensions of social capital interact dynamically to shape expected and actual access to and control over different resources (Lisnyj and Dickson-Anderson 2018 ).…”

“…during crises) is important for maintaining flexibility and the ability to work through vertical and horizontal connections to enhance community resilience in the longer term Socio-cultural factors, e.g. norms of inclusions/ exclusion, sense of community and sustainable use of shared resources, facilitate collective agency to build community resilience Smith et al ( 2012a ), Parés et al ( 2018 ), Carrico et al ( 2019 ), and Moreno et al ( 2019 ) Working with social capital approaches to enhance resilience must involve engaging with the underlying socio-cultural dimensions to identify and build on opportunities and needs to guide different resilience outcomes to help give rise to proactive types of community resilience The influence of formal institutions in shaping the role of social capital for resilience Decisions at higher levels of governance that shift the balance of power between actors can influence different actors’ practices and social capital (structural and norms of cooperation or competition) that shape resilience Kizos et al ( 2014 ), Sinclair et al ( 2014 ) Recognising and actively supporting all types of social capital by national policy makers is important to ensure high level decisions do not undermine, and instead help strengthen vertical and horizontal connections, to enable the flexibility for community actors to enhance all types of community resilience Limited recognition of the importance of linking social capital can lead to missed opportunities for more coordinated collective action and further development of social capital for enhancing resilience LaLone ( 2012 ), Morris et al ( 2019 ), and Thompson and Lopez Barrera ( 2019 ) Working through vertical connections is important to ensure local government interventions are designed to connect with local needs and capacities and build all types of social capital in implementation, enhancing the role of social capital in promoting resilience in the long term Linking social capital can help create new opportunities to enhance social capital, e.g. through the creation of voluntary and transformational leadership programmes to enhance community resilience Madsen and O'Mullan ( 2014 ) and Webb et al ( 2016 ) Building and working through linking social capital helps create opportunities for developing and strengthening government supported interventions, including those aimed at enhancing the role of social capital to support resilience within communities.…”

“…Finally, socio-cultural factors associated with social capital played a substantial role in shaping resilience. Norms, values and identities influenced the form and function of networks, such as exclusionary norms that lead to isolated factions, hindering the development of bridging social capital or norms that perpetuated unsustainable practices (Carrico et al 2019 ). Cultural norms that contribute to collective agency related to good neighbourliness, solidarity and activism (Sinclair et al 2014 ; Parés et al 2018 ).…”

Drought and society: Scientific progress, blind spots, and future prospects

“…Another common drought response is the adoption of water conservation measures that can either increase the amount of water available for farming or improve the efficiency of the farmers' irrigation practices. When these solutions are not possible or sufficient, farmers rely on financial solutions to diversify their sources of income, buy drought‐insurances, or develop new infrastructure (Carrico et al, 2019 ; Chen et al, 2014 ; Downard & Endter‐Wada, 2013 ; Laforge & McLeman, 2013 ; Lindoso et al, 2018 ; Moore et al, 2018 ; Mwangi, 2019 ; Ranjan, 2014 ; Wreford & Adger, 2010 ).…”

The Changing Wealth of Nations 2021: Managing Assets for the Future

“…Even typically beneficial social networks can constrain behavior, reduce flexibility, and serve as a barrier to adopting new information and practices. For instance, Carrico, Truelove, and Williams (2019) show that higher community participation and perceived social cohesion among female and landless farmers in Sri Lanka resulted in worse outcomes following a drought (that is, higher loss of yields and income). Similarly, Wolf et al (2010) describe how strong bonding networks can reinforce underestimations of the risks of heat waves to elderly populations in UK cities, ultimately increasing vulnerability to climate change.…”