Resource Management and Geography - Theses

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End date: 2019 × Start date: 2010 × Subject: climate change × Subject: poverty ×

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    Microfinance organisations and social vulnerability to climate change
    Nuruzzaman, AKM ( 2016)
    Microfinance Organisations (MFOs) are working with more than 175 million families around the world. In theory they can be instrumental in reducing social vulnerability to climate change,yet their effect on social vulnerability to climate change has not been well demonstrated. This study aims to explore the role that MFOs play in reducing social vulnerability to climate change in Bangladesh, a country that not only pioneered microfinance but also is one of the most vulnerable to climate change. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through interviews with 60 households across four villages in a disaster-prone coastal area in south-western Bangladesh, along with observations and interviews with key informants. The quantitiative data was used to develop a social vulnerability index based on an assessment of livelihood capitals (human, physical, natural, financial and social), which was compared with different levels of membership with microfinance organisations to test for associations. Qualititative data was used to explain the results generated through the quantitative analysis. The quantitative results indicate that households who have engaged with at least one MFO are less vulnerable than those who have not. Those who have engaged with more than one MFO, and who use the loans for business purposes, are even less likely to be vulnerable. The analysis not only provides evidence that microfinance organisations are valuable institutions for achieving sustainable adaptation, but also indicate that some of the most valuable outcomes of their services are the building of social and human capital. Despite this, some of the root causes of vulnerability, such as social marginalisation and gender discrimination are not overcome through the interventions of microfinance.
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    Household vulnerability to climate change in a rural Chinese county: does the local state matter?
    ROGERS, SARAH ( 2014)
    The aim of this thesis is to understand the vulnerability of rural households to climate change in China and the influence of local government on that vulnerability. To achieve this aim, two research questions are addressed: 1) in what ways are rural households vulnerable to climate change?; and 2) in what ways does local government influence rural household vulnerability to climate change? The thesis applies a sustainable livelihoods approach to examining household vulnerability and is further informed by theories of vulnerability to climate change and theories of central-local government relations in China. It posits that local governments influence the vulnerability of rural households by mediating their access to livelihood assets and activities, and by shaping their coping and adaptive strategies. The research questions are addressed through the analysis of data collected in four apple-producing villages – two wealthier and two poorer – in a case study county called Jixian. Jixian is a nationally designated poverty county that lies on the Loess Plateau in Shanxi Province. The methods used are primarily qualitative: semi-structured interviews and direct observation, supported by secondary data collection. The thesis finds that all households in all villages are vulnerable to climate change due to water insecurity, but that some are more vulnerable than others as a result of differential access to land. Households in wealthier villages have better access to land such that they are better able to cope with climatic stress than households in poorer villages. In relation to local government influence, it is the county government that has the most influence through its allocation of resources to villages. Resource allocation is done in such a way as to favour the two wealthier, more developed villages, thus amplifying existing differences in access to resources between villages. Yet the county government’s influence on vulnerability is far from absolute, as the major drivers of household vulnerability in Jixian, which are access to land and water, lie beyond its control.