Skip to main content

Characterising the nature of household vulnerability to climate variability: empirical evidence from two regions of Ghana

Environment, Development and Sustainability volume 15, pages 903–926 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

This paper builds on national- and regional-level vulnerability assessments by developing and applying a livelihood vulnerability index at the community and household scales to explore the nature of climate vulnerability. It provides innovative methodological steps in relation to livelihood assessment to identify the vulnerability of households and communities to drought. This will help to improve drought vulnerability assessments in Ghana and more widely as it shows extra information can be obtained from local-level vulnerability assessment that may be lacking in national- and regional-level analysis. The research employs quantitative and qualitative data collected through participatory methods, key informant interviews and a questionnaire survey with 270 households across 6 communities in two regions in Ghana. Results show that within the same agroecological zone, households and communities experience different degrees of climate vulnerability. These differences can be largely explained by socioeconomic characteristics such as wealth and gender, as well as access to capital assets. Results identify vulnerable households within resilient communities as well as more resilient households within vulnerable communities. These outliers are studied in detail. It is found that outlier households in vulnerable communities have an array of alternative livelihood options and tend to be socially well connected, enabling them to take advantage of opportunities associated with environmental and economic changes. To sustain and enhance the livelihoods of vulnerable households and communities, policymakers need to identify and facilitate appropriate interventions that foster asset building, improve institutional capacity as well as build social capital.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

References

  • Abson, D. J., Dougill, A. J. & Stringer, L. C. (2012). Using principal component analysis for information-rich socio-ecological vulnerability mapping in Southern Africa. Applied Geography. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2012.08.004.

  • Action-Aid. (2011). On the brink: Who’s best prepared for a climate change and hunger crisis? http://www.actionaid.org/publications/brink-whos-best-prepared-climate-and-hunger-crisis, 25th October, 2011.

  • Adger, W. N. (2000). Social and ecological resilience: Are they related? Progress in Human Geography, 24(3), 347–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adger, W. N. (2003). Social capital, collective action, and adaptation to climate change. Economic Geography, 79(4), 387–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adger, W. N., Dessai, S., Goulden, M., Hulme, M., Lorenzoni, I., Nelson, D. R., et al. (2009). Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change? Climatic Change, 93(3), 335–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adger, W. N., & Kelly, P. M. (1999). Social vulnerability to climate change and the architecture of entitlements. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 4(3), 253–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, E. H., Perry, A. L., Badjeck, M. C., Adger, W. N., Brown, K., Conway, D., et al. (2009). Vulnerability of national economies to the impacts of climate change on fisheries. Fish and Fisheries, 10(2), 173–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antwi-Agyei, P., Fraser, E. D. G., Dougill, A. J., Stringer, L. C., & Simelton, E. (2012). Mapping the vulnerability of crop production to drought in Ghana using rainfall, yield and socioeconomic data. Applied Geography, 32, 324–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, C. B., Reardon, T., & Webb, P. (2001). Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: Concepts, dynamics, and policy implications. Food Policy, 26(4), 315–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bebbington, A. (1999). Capitals and capabilities: A framework for analyzing peasant viability, rural livelihoods and poverty. World Development, 27(12), 2021–2044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birkmann, J. (2007). Risk and vulnerability indicators at different scales: Applicability, usefulness and policy implications. Environmental Hazards, 7(1), 20–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boko, M., Niang, I., Nyong, A., Vogel, C., Githeko, A., Medany, M., Osman Elasha, B., Tabo, R., & Yanda, P. (2007). Africa: In M. L. Parry, O. F. Canziani, J. P. Palutikof, P. J. van der Linden, & C. E. Hanson (Eds.), Climate change (2007): Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (pp. 433–467). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Brooks, N., Adger, W. N., & Kelly, P. M. (2005). The determinants of vulnerability and adaptive capacity at the national level and the implications for adaptation. Global Environmental Change Part A, 15(2), 151–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butt, T. A., McCarl, B. A., & Kergna, A. O. (2006). Policies for reducing agricultural sector vulnerability to climate change in Mali. Climate Policy, 5(6), 583–598.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carney, D. (1998). Sustainable rural livelihoods: What contributions can we make?. Nottingham: Russell Press Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, R. (1994). The origins and practice of participatory rural appraisal. World Development, 22(7), 953–969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, R. & Conway, G. (1992). Sustainable rural livelihoods: Practical concepts for the 21st century.IDS Discussion Paper 296, Institute of Development Studies.

  • Eakin, H., & Bojorquez-Tapia, L. A. (2008). Insights into the composition of household vulnerability from multicriteria decision analysis. Global Environmental Change, 18(1), 112–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, F. (1998). Household strategies and rural livelihood diversification. The Journal of Development Studies, 35(1), 1–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engle, N. L. (2011). Adaptive capacity and its assessment. Global Environmental Change, 21(2), 647–656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EPA. (2003). National action programme to combat drought and desertification, Ghana Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana Government, Accra, Ghana.

  • Ericksen, P., Thornton, P., Notenbaert, A., Cramer, L., Jones, P. & Herrero, M. (2011). Mapping hotspots of climate change and food insecurity in the global tropics. Retrieved 10 January, 2012, from http://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/3826.

  • Eriksen, S. H., Brown, K., & Kelly, P. M. (2005). The dynamics of vulnerability: Locating coping strategies in Kenya and Tanzania. The Geographical Journal, 171(4), 287–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fosu-Mensah, B. Y., Vlek, P. L. G., & MacCarthy, D. (2012). Farmers’ perception and adaptation to climate change: A case study of Sekyedumase district in Ghana. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 14, 495–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, E. D. G. (2007). Travelling in antique lands: Using past famines to develop an adaptability/resilience framework to identify food systems vulnerable to climate change. Climatic Change, 83(4), 495–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, E. D. G., Mabee, W., & Figge, F. (2005). A framework for assessing the vulnerability of food systems to future shocks. Futures, 37(6), 465–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghana Government. (2000). Population and housing census (2000). Accra, Ghana: Ghana Statistical Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, C. C., Ostrom, E., & Ahn, T. K. (2000). The concept of scale and the human dimensions of global change: A survey. Ecological Economics, 32(2), 217–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hahn, M. B., Riederer, A. M., & Foster, S. O. (2009). The livelihood vulnerability index: A pragmatic approach to assessing risks from climate variability and change—a case study in Mozambique. Global Environmental Change, 19(1), 74–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haines, A., Kovats, R. S., Campbell-Lendrum, D., & Corvalán, C. (2006). Climate change and human health: Impacts, vulnerability, and mitigation. The Lancet, 367(9528), 2101–2109.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hesselberg, J., & Yaro, J. A. (2006). An assessment of the extent and causes of food insecurity in northern Ghana using a livelihood vulnerability framework. GeoJournal, 67(1), 41–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinkel, J. (2011). “Indicators of vulnerability and adaptive capacity”: Towards a clarification of the science–policy interface. Global Environmental Change, 21(1), 198–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holling, C. S. (1973). Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 4, 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. (2007). Climate change 2007: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability: contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the IPCC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leichenko, R. M., & O’Brien, K. L. (2002). The dynamics of rural vulnerability to global change: the case of southern Africa. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 7(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levia, D. F, Jr, & Page, D. R. (2000). The use of cluster analysis in distinguishing farmland prone to residential development: A case study of Sterling, Massachusetts. Environmental Management, 25(5), 541–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, J. Y. (1991). Education and innovation adoption in agriculture: Evidence from hybrid rice in China. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 73(3), 713–723.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marschke, M. J., & Berkes, F. (2006). Exploring strategies that build livelihood resilience: A case from Cambodia. Ecology and Society, 11(1), 42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Midgeley, S. J. E., Davies, R. A. G. & Chesterman, S. (2011). Climate risk and vulnerability mapping: status quo (2008) and future (2050) for Southern Africa: Synthesis Report, OneWorld Investments. South Africa.

  • Miller, F., Osbahr, H., Boyd, E., Thomalla, F., Bharwani, S., Ziervogel, G., et al. (2010). Resilience and vulnerability: Complementary or conflicting concepts. Ecology and Society, 15(3), 11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Food and Agriculture. (2007). Food and agriculture sector development policy. Accra: Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morse, S., & Fraser, E. (2005). Making dirty’nations look clean? The nation state and the problem of selecting and weighting indices as tools for measuring progress towards sustainability. Geoforum, 36(5), 625–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser, C. O. N. (1998). The asset vulnerability framework: Reassessing urban poverty reduction strategies. World Development, 26(1), 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser, C. & Satterthwaite, D. (2008). Towards pro-poor adaptation to climate change in the urban centres of low-and middle-income countries, International Institute for Environment and Development, Climate Change and Cities Discussion Paper 3. London.

  • Naab, J. B. & Koranteng, H. (2012). Using a gender lens to explore farmers’ adaptation options in the face of climate change: results of a pilot study in Ghana. Working Paper No.17, CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. Nairobi, Kenya.

  • Osbahr, H., Twyman, C., Adger, W. N., & Thomas, D. S. G. (2010). Evaluating successful livelihood adaptation to climate variability and change in southern Africa. Ecology and Society, 15(2), 27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paavola, J. (2008). Livelihoods, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Morogoro, Tanzania. Environmental Science & Policy, 11(7), 642–654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty, J. (2003). Social capital and the collective management of resources. Science, 302(5652), 1912.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty, J., & Ward, H. (2001). Social capital and the environment. World Development, 29(2), 209–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, P., & Vogel, C. (2006). Living and responding to multiple stressors in South Africa–Glimpses from KwaZulu-Natal. Global Environmental Change, 16(2), 195–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sallu, S. M., Suckall, N., & Reed, M. S. (2009). Participatory methods training in Malawi—Workshop manual. UK: University of Leeds Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sallu, S. M., Twyman, C., & Stringer, L. C. (2010). Resilient or vulnerable livelihoods? Assessing livelihood dynamics and trajectories in rural Botswana. Ecology and Society, 15(4), 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scoones, I. (1998). Sustainable rural livelihoods: A framework for analysis. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (1981). Poverty and famines: An essay on entitlement and deprivation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simelton, E., Fraser, E. D. G., Termansen, M., Forster, P. M., & Dougill, A. J. (2009). Typologies of crop-drought vulnerability: An empirical analysis of the socio-economic factors that influence the sensitivity and resilience to drought of three major food crops in China (1961–2001). Environmental Science & Policy, 12(4), 438–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smit, B., & Wandel, J. (2006). Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Global Environmental Change, 16(3), 282–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D. S. G., Twyman, C., Osbahr, H., & Hewitson, B. (2007). Adaptation to climate change and variability: Farmer responses to intra-seasonal precipitation trends in South Africa. Climatic Change, 83(3), 301–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNDP. (2007). Human Development Report 2007/2008: Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world., United Nations Development Programme. New York, USA.

  • Vincent, K. (2004). Creating an index of social vulnerability to climate change for Africa. Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research. Working Paper 56, 41.

  • Vincent, K. (2007). Uncertainty in adaptive capacity and the importance of scale. Global Environmental Change, 17(1), 12–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, B., Gunderson, L., Kinzig, A., Folke, C., Carpenter, S., & Schultz, L. (2006). A handful of heuristics and some propositions for understanding resilience in social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society, 11(1), 13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weir, S. (1999). The effects of education on farmer productivity in rural Ethiopia. The Centre for the Study of African Economies Working Paper Series. Oxford: University of Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilbanks, T. J. (2007). Scale and sustainability. Climate Policy, 7(4), 278–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolcock, M. (2001). The place of social capital in understanding social and economic outcomes. Canadian Journal of Policy Research, 2, 11–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yohe, G., & Tol, R. S. J. (2002). Indicators for social and economic coping capacity–moving toward a working definition of adaptive capacity. Global Environmental Change, 12(1), 25–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X., Rockmore, M., & Chamberlin, J. (2007). A typology for vulnerability and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Washington: International Food Policy Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziervogel, G., Bharwani, S., & Downing, T. E. (2006). Adapting to climate variability: Pumpkins, people and policy. Natural Resource Forum, 30, 294–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziervogel, G., & Calder, R. (2003). Climate variability and rural livelihoods: Assessing the impact of seasonal climate forecasts in Lesotho. Area, 35(4), 403–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Commonwealth Scholarships, UK and the International Foundation for Science (IFS). The authors gratefully acknowledge the constructive comments by Dr Susannah Sallu (University of Leeds) on an earlier draft of this paper. The authors would also like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Philip Antwi-Agyei, Andrew J. Dougill & Lindsay C. Stringer

  2. Department of Geography, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G2W1, Canada

    Evan D. G. Fraser

  3. Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Philip Antwi-Agyei

Authors
  1. Philip Antwi-Agyei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrew J. Dougill
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Evan D. G. Fraser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lindsay C. Stringer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philip Antwi-Agyei.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Antwi-Agyei, P., Dougill, A.J., Fraser, E.D.G. et al. Characterising the nature of household vulnerability to climate variability: empirical evidence from two regions of Ghana. Environ Dev Sustain 15, 903–926 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9418-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9418-9

Keywords

  • Climate variability
  • Livelihoods
  • Capital assets
  • Vulnerability assessment
  • Resilience
  • Ghana