Eleventh International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

Livelihood adaptation practices have conventionally been assumed as promising ways to reduce negative impacts of climate change, yet increasing evidences of negative outcomes of adaptation strategies throughout the world are questioning the myth of adaptation. The paper contributes to enrich the growing knowledge of sustainable adaptation by drawing on the empirical research from two coastal communities in Central Vietnam. Using a mixed quantitative-qualitative research approach, the paper focused on addressing the following research questions: How do local households perceive the changes in climate-related variables threatening their lives and livelihoods? What livelihood strategies are local households developing in the context of climate risks? Whether do these livelihood adaptation options fulfill sustainability aspects? The findings showed that most of local people perceived the presence of changes in climate variables placing the hardships on their traditional livelihoods including fishing and agricultural production. In such context, various measures including minor changes to sustain traditional fishing and agricultural production, temporary migration and shifting to local-based small-scale local livelihood diversification towards non-farm activities are the key livelihood options developed by local households. Despite most of surveyed households expressed their satisfaction to existing strategies from economic perspective, from a sustainable adaptation it is discussed that those livelihood strategies seem generate more pressure and threats on natural resources and family and community development. The paper then suggests that sustainable adaptation should be conceptually discussed and empirically investigated in-depth so that livelihood options indeed serve an appropriate tool for reducing the vulnerability to climate change impacts.