Resistance and Resilience (Asynchronous Session)
Coastal Resiliency: Course Development and Assessment
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Corinna Fleischmann, Brian Maggi
With the current trend in globalization and multi-faceted dimensions of most community issues, it is challenging for educators to prepare graduates who have the ability to solve complex problems and understand the global and societal impacts these solutions have on a community. There is an increasing demand, especially in coastal regions, for leaders and future graduates to have an appreciation for climate-related challenges that lie ahead, be informed about current solutions, and work towards developing new solutions to mitigate anticipated impacts. At the undergraduate level, innovative methods of teaching, learning, and assessing student performance that promote the ability to make the connection between theory and practical applications are required. One such approach, project-based learning, combined with multidisciplinary perspectives, was used in a course (Coastal Resiliency) at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The objective of the course is to provide exposure to the impacts of climate change and foster a general understanding of the analytical and adaptation methods used to improve the resiliency of infrastructure while encouraging a high level of intellectual stimulation by challenging students to solve real-world engineering problems. Use of a variety of learning techniques, including a term project that requires students to perform climate change focused risk and vulnerability assessments in local communities, and the infusion of global perspectives on how different regions of the world are addressing climate change and adaptation planning, has been particularly enriching to the student experience. The authors discuss course development, assessment of student performance and feedback from community stakeholders.
Featured Innovative Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Responses to Climate Change in Agriculture: Lessons from Southern and Central Zambia
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji
For decades now, the implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation mechanisms and solutions in the agriculture sector have been embedded in scientific knowledge, sidelining indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) (Belfer et al., 2017). However, it must be noted that these two knowledge bases have for a long time worked hand in hand, and have always benefited from each other. In this paper, I argue that IEK is as important as scientific knowledge in effectively addressing climate change impacts and thus, the integration of the two knowledge bases can be very beneficial in tackling the many challenges emanating from climate change. This paper explores and analyzes effective IEK practices for climate change adaptation and resilience-building in agriculture in Zambia. The goal is to identify which IEK practices are effective for climate change adaptation and resilience-building and can be integrated with scientific knowledge and replicated in similar regions for a more resilience agriculture sector for all. This paper focuses on analyzing Zambia’s agriculture traditional society which involves assessing and examining available literature, field observations and oral history from the local knowledge holders themselves on changes within the environment, past and present environmental catastrophes specifically those related to climate change and the traditionally adaptive mechanisms being utilized. The paper concludes that the integration of effective and innovative IEK practices with scientific knowledge and a possible replication as observed from this case study can be one of the most effective ways for a sustainable adaptive agriculture sector in the face of climate change.
Role of Cultural and Local Factors in Intensifying Gender-based Climate Impacts: Evidence from Bangladesh Coastal Region View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mozharul Islam
This paper explores the roles of cultural and local factors responsible for intensifying the vulnerability of women of coastal regions of Bangladesh. This study describes the climate-induced extreme events and their damages to coastal communities and their people. This qualitative research used a semi-structured questionnaire to interview the fishermen living in the Eastern coastal part of Kalapara Upazila of Patuakhali district in Bangladesh. The people of the study area are highly vulnerable to the climate change impacts due to their limited access to education, income diversity etc. This research shows that the location and level of poverty of the household is an important determinant of a household’s ability to respond to environmental stresses and shocks. The study area has been facing frequent extreme weather events, i.e. storms and cyclones, sea level rising, saltwater intrusion resulting in unproductiveness of agricultural land. This study explores that women have inferior social positions, limited access to education, income, public voice and survival mechanisms because of their socio-economic and cultural structures and climate change creates extra vulnerabilities to this group of societies. It also explores that women are highly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters because of their dress code and extra burdens, and of some factors effective locally. Present research results show that although poor women are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate-induced hazards due to various social and cultural reasons existed in the study areas, they adopt some traditional adaptive measures to reduce climate change risks and hazards.
Assessing Community Perceptions about Climate Disaster Resilience in Flood-prone Urban Sri Lanka View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Vindya Hewawasam, Kenichi Matsui
Understanding how urban communities perceive climate change-induced flood disasters help determine how these communities are resilient. This paper provides a case study on some of Sri Lanka’s most flood-prone areas: Kolonnawa and Kaduwela divisional secretariat divisions (DSDs) of Colombo. We conducted field surveys and a questionnaire survey among 120 community members in these divisions. The collected questionnaire data were then analyzed partly through multiple regression analysis. The results of our analysis helped us identify the different levels of climate change-induced disaster vulnerability and resilience by areas within DSDs. Overall, our respondents regarded flood incidents as high risk disaster to their livelihoods, but some communities appeared to have higher coping strategies than others do. Through multiple regression analysis, we found that education, income, household structure, distance to flood source, and flood frequency had direct correlations with the degree of flood resilience and vulnerability. We then examined residents’ flood experience in Sedawatta, the most vulnerable place in the study areas, to see if our multiple regression analysis results are substantially confirmed by our field observation. We confirmed that their education, income, age and housing type had significantly influenced their perceptions. We further examined other places and compared our observation with the multiple regression analysis. In conclusion, our paper discusses how these results can better inform policies in terms of disaster preparation and adaptation in the future.
Featured Raising Climate Change Consciousness: Implementing a Nature-infused Curriculum in Community College English Courses View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Susan Lago
The humanities must equip learners to think critically about issues of climate change. Urban communities, in particular, face erosion of natural space as Earth’s climate changes and urban sprawl increases. This change demands that we encourage meaningful engagement with nature to prepare learners to develop innovative solutions to environmental challenges. From fall 2019 to fall 2021, the authors conducted a study that asked the question: To what extent does experiential learning within the framework of a nature-themed humanities writing course lead to an increased sense of responsibility for the human impact on natural environments in local urban communities? CUNY / Queensborough Community College is located in Queens, the most diverse borough in New York City, with students who hail from more than 140 countries and speak 84 languages. Queens also has a diversity of housing stock and geographical terrain: the beaches of Rockaway, the boating communities along Jamaica Bay, the suburbs of Douglaston, the dense urban sprawl of Flushing. The study focused on learning outcomes of writing classes that assigned humanities texts about nature (namely, Thoreau’s Walden and Into the Wild by Jon Krakaurer) in addition to embarking on a nature walk where the class collected information about their observations. Post-pandemic, individuals either went to their local park or utilized a live stream to experience nature. Students were surveyed at the beginning and end of the semester to ascertain the extent to which attitudes about nature, and human responsibility to preserve the environment, had shifted and students’ knowledge base increased.
