Local adaptations and vulnerabilities of mountain communities to climate change in Yunnan, China

Name: Su, Yufang

Organization : Mae Fah Luang University

keyword: Climate change

LCSH: Climatic changes -- Environmental aspects

Classification :.LCCS: QC903.2.C5

Abstract: China’s rapid economic development and urbanization have brought far-reaching socioeconomic change to mountain areas such as Yunnan Province. Yunnan has also historically been affected by climate-related natural disasters, which are increasing in frequency and severity. However, the impacts of climate change on local livelihoods are mediated by local vulnerability and adaptive capacity, which are in turn influenced by how different social groups perceive and respond to socioeconomic and climate changes. Based on two in-depth case studies conduced with a multi-method approach, and a survey of 1950 households used the Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment (PVA), this study explored the vulnerability of mountain communities to environmental and socioeconomic changes, as well as their capacities and opportunities to respond and adapt. The results showed that people in the surveyed areas were vulnerable to marginalization and climate change. The surveyed communities were characterized by high ratios of dependents to income-earners and high rates of illiteracy. A high proportion of households depended at least partially on migrant work for wage-earning opportunities. Individuals had little or no chance to participate in or influence the formulation or implementation of government policies. In term of agriculture production, most households used hybrid seeds, and there has been a shift away from traditional staple crops to cash crops. A case study of how the development of the tourism industry has affected community vulnerability to climate change in Lijiang, Yunnan showed that the growth of tourism has helped lift many people out of poverty but has also led to increased pollution and water scarcity, which climate change is predicted to exacerbate. A shift towards tourism and cash crops has reduced the diversity of crops and livestock used by agrarian households. Local water governance does not follow any of the best practice principles outlined in the international literature. Improved water governance is urgently needed in order to reduce household vulnerability in the Lijiang area. A case study of gendered responses to drought in Baoshan, Yunnan concluded that vulnerability to and perceptions of climate change may be significantly affected by gender. However, in China, gender is rarely addressed in climate adaption or resource management strategies. Despite the increasingly active role of women in managing water during recent droughts, they are excluded from community-level decisions about water management. We argue that given the importance of gender differences in perceptions of and responses to drought, the lack of a gender perspective in Chinese policy may undermine efforts to support local resource management and climate adaptation. In short, the root causes of vulnerability to climate change in Yunnan include not only environmental change but also social structures, institutional arrangements, equity and community interactions.

Mae Fah Luang University. The Learning Resources and Education Media Center

Address: Chiang Rai

Email: library@mfu.ac.th

Name: Somrudee Nilthong

Role: Advisor

Name: Kevin D. Hyde

Role: Co-Advisor

Created: 2016

Issued: 2560

Modified: 2020-04-29

Issued: 2017-08-18

วิทยานิพนธ์/Thesis

application/pdf

CallNumber: Thesis QC903.2.C5 S938l 2016

eng

DegreeName: Dotor of Philosophy

Level: Doctoral Degree

Descipline: Biosciences

Grantor: Mae Fah Luang University

©copyrights Mae Fah Luang University

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