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Food Security and Livelihood Vulnerability to Climate Change in Trinidad and Tobago

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Food Security in Small Island States

Abstract

Household-level food security in coastal wetland communities in Trinidad and Tobago experience increasing challenges in the face of climatic change. These communities rely heavily on natural resources and agriculture for their livelihoods. Household data were collected from 138 households in the Nariva and Caroni communities focusing on gender and socio-demographic structure, livelihood strategies and social networks; exposure to climate change and climate-induced extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts; and access to services and infrastructure. Using regression analyses, the influences of adaptive capacity to climate change on food security were analysed by gender, household and communities. Household socio-demographic structure and livelihood strategies were strongly related to food security and food security was reduced in the face of climate variability and disaster. Household social networks households had no significant influence. These conclusions offer directions for community and national planners and policy makers in Trinidad and in other similar country circumstances where climate change is significant.

A previous version of this chapter was published as ‘Household capacity to adapt to climate change and implications for food security in Trinidad and Tobago’ in Regional Environmental Change (2015), 15(7), 1379–1391. Used with permission from Springer Nature Customer Service Centre GmbH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA

    Kalim U. Shah & Mohammed T. Awojobi

  2. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Hari Bansha Dulal

Authors
  1. Kalim U. Shah
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  2. Hari Bansha Dulal
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  3. Mohammed T. Awojobi
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Correspondence to Kalim U. Shah .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    John Connell

  2. Brandon University, Brandon, MB, Canada

    Kristen Lowitt

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Shah, K.U., Dulal, H.B., Awojobi, M.T. (2020). Food Security and Livelihood Vulnerability to Climate Change in Trinidad and Tobago. In: Connell, J., Lowitt, K. (eds) Food Security in Small Island States. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8256-7_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8256-7_12

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