An Analytical Framework for Assessing Context-Specific Rural Livelihood Vulnerability

H.M. Tuihedur Rahman and Gordon M. Hickey
Additional contact information
H.M. Tuihedur Rahman: School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Ave, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Gordon M. Hickey: Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-26

Abstract: Reviewing both conceptual and empirical studies on climate vulnerability and adaptation assessment, this paper offers an analytical framework to help better understand how context-specific adaptation strategies could be developed. The framework systematically assembles the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods and the Vulnerability Assessment frameworks to develop its structural and analytical components. The resulting five-step approach involves: (i) identification of context along with understanding what aspect of vulnerability need to be studied; (ii) assessment of livelihood exposure to climate impacts involving both community perspectives and meteorological data-based climate forecasts; (iii) characterization of available capital asset usages to help buffer climate sensitivity; (iv) analysis of formal and informal institutional impetus to enhance adaptive capacity; and (v) evaluation of gaps between context-specific vulnerability and institutional and policy responses to avoid maladaptive trajectories. Drawing on published research and policy documentation, we apply the framework to the livelihood systems operating in the northeastern floodplain community of Bangladesh to demonstrate the utility of the approach and then discuss its potential to inform adaptation strategies.

Keywords: natural resource systems; maladaptation; poverty; scale; developing areas; climate stress; climate change; public policy; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5654/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5654/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5654-:d:384224

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().