interview
IOB research on ...
Climate Change Adaptation :
A Key Challenge for Development
Climate change and development are closely intertwined . It hurts the poorest hardest and threatens development achievements of the past . The World Bank estimates that over 100 million people could be pushed back into poverty by 2030 due to climate change . Africa is the content hit hardest . Climate change costs the continent every year an estimated 40 billion USD until 2030 , as water availability decreases , yields deteriorate and extreme weather events become more frequent . But not all hope is lost ; climate change also presents opportunities for sustainable , low-carbon development and there is at least some room for adaptation : for living with a changed climate . Research has a critical role to play in adaptation to climate change . Among other things research is needed to identify climate risks , to understand peoples ’ responses to these risks , as well as to evaluate the long-term effects of different responses . Several people within the IOB community research climate change , adaptation and development . We spoke to three IOB members about their climate research : With postdoctoral researcher Els Lecoutere , who examines household decisionmaking among coffee farmers in East Africa ; with IOB alumnus Zerihun Berhane Weldegebriel , who focuses on livelihood diversification in Northern Ethiopia ; and with current MA student Nguyen Thi Phuong Chi , who analyses farmers ’ responses to climate change in Northern Vietnam .
Els Lecoutere | The impact of intra household decision making on the sustainability , efficiency and equitability of household farming in sub-Saharan Africa
How would you describe your research in one sentence ?
Els : My research project investigates to what extent collective action problems within farming households prevent them from investing in climate-smart and sustainably intensified agriculture , and from sharing the benefits from farming equitably among household members .
How do you answer this research question ?
Els : With collaborating partners , we are randomly introducing a programme that
6 Exchange to change September 2016 coaches couples in farming households in participatory intra-household decisionmaking . We will evaluate the effectiveness of this programme by comparing couples that attended this coaching programme with couples that did not . On the one hand , I measure spouses ’ investment and consumption behaviour and on the other hand their actual investment in climate-smart and sustainably intensified farming and actual cost and benefit sharing .
Specifically , I use a behavioural game played with spouses in farming households in East Africa . The game mimics spouses ’ decisions on investments and consumption . Participant spouses receive real money and they have then to decide – without communicating with their partner – how much of that money they put aside for their own purposes ; how much they invest in their farming activities in their household farm ; as well as what share of the returns to that investment they use individually .
Furthermore , I conduct focus group discussions and interview each spouse individually to understand prevailing gender roles and practices with regard to climate smart agriculture , as well as practices of investment , allocation of resources and control over income and other benefits from farming .
If you had the power to implement one concrete climate change action — what measure would you take ?
Els : Based on my research , I would increase coaching of couples — men and women — on how to cooperate on sustainably intensifying food and cash crop production in their household farm in a climate-smart way , as well as how to equitably share workloads , investments , income and other benefits from the farm .
Nguyen Thi Phuong Chi | Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural Northern Viet Nam
Can you describe your research project in one sentence ?
Chi : My project is part of a larger , long-term project that has run 7 years until now , where we want to find out what barriers prevent effective climate change adaptation in rural communities in Northern Vietnam , and how community-based adaptation could overcome these barriers .
What is the most difficult part of your research project ?
Chi : We went into the rural communities to collect data . We conducted focus group discussions , in-depth interviews with a few community members , as well as questionnaire-based survey of all community members . It was not easy to communicate