Community Based Vulnerability Assessments

Dhaka – October 2012

Building capacity on climate change adaptation in coastal areas of Pakistan

Contents

• Briefly – what are we doing?• Community vulnerability assessments

– Process– Initial findings

• Where does the community vulnerability assessment fit?

• Next steps?

What are we doing?

• Overview– Objectives, and outcomes – Activities

• Deltaic vulnerability assessment– Components e.g. GIS, institutional analysis….

• The CVA aims to:produce recommendations on actions to reduce vulnerability. It includes the assessment of both anticipated impacts and available adaptation

options.

Community vulnerability assessments

CVA Process

• Carried out in 2 phases in Sindh and Balochistan• Question design and research guide• Tools:

– Focus group discussions– Interviews– Seasonal calendars & community maps

• Data collection, review and analysis

Initial Findings

• Themes: – Lack of freshwater, sea intrusion, coastal erosion– Fear of extreme weather events e.g. cyclones. – Livelihood patterns and changes

– Changes in seasons: temperatures, variable rainfall

“The season for fishing has reduced. Before it used to be longer, now the season starts late and ends early.”

FGD Jeewani

Key issue 1: declining river flows & water infrastructure

"All the barrages have impacted us, not just Kotri. Rain has reduced. Our elders used to say that in the days of when the British were making Sukkur barrage, our elders used to laugh and say ‘yeh pagal hei, jo darya ko darvazein laga rei hein, darya ko kon darvazei laga sakta hei’. But then they did and the water started reducing and the quality/taste of the water changed too. The fish stocks also started reducing and there was a change in the taste of the fish too. Rain water and river water is food for the fish. 10 years ago, there was more fish."

FGD, Keti Bunder

Key issue 2: Extreme weather events

”Before there were cyclones, but after the 1999 cyclone we live in fear. And now there is an increase in cyclones.”

Focus group discussion, Kharo Chan

Overall impact on life and livelihood

• Life was difficult but has become even more and will become worse in the future.

• Associated impacts on health*, food scarcity and malnutrition**

• Respondents in agreement that declining freshwater flows is the single largest threat to local communities.

Information and Awareness

• Most participants claimed that they lacked information and had no knowledge of NGO/Govt interventions or activities*

• Sources of information– Mobile phones: only calls not sms or radio– Public loudspeakers

• A pinch of salt– Victim mindset– See themselves as powerless and unable to effect or control change! – Can interventions embed empowerment?*

Homegrown adaptation efforts: NONE

• Reasoning:– Lack of resources– Lack of information– Competing priorities

– No sense of personal responsibility

“Because do we handle bringing up our children (feeding them) or do we manage the changes in weather.”

FGD, Kharo Chan