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Petter Pilesjö

Petter Pilesjö

Professor

Petter Pilesjö

Household resilience to climate change hazards in Uganda

Author

  • George Oriangi
  • Frederike Albrecht
  • Jonas Ardö
  • Petter Pilesjö

Other contributions

  • Giuliano Dibaldassarre
  • Yazidhi Bamutaze
  • Paul Isolo Mukwaya

Summary, in English

Purpose – As climate change shocks and stresses increasingly affect urban areas in developing
countries, resilience is imperative for the purposes of preparation, recovery and adaptation. This study aims to investigate demographic characteristics and social networks that influence the household capacity to prepare, recover and adapt when faced with prolonged droughts or erratic rainfall events in Mbale municipality in Eastern Uganda.
Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional research design was used to elicit subjective opinions. Previous studies indicate the importance of subjective approaches for measuring social resilience but their use has not been well explored in the context of quantifying urban resilience to climate change shocks and stresses. This study uses 389 structured household interviews to capture
demographic characteristics, social networks and resilience capacities. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis.
Findings – The ability of low-income households to meet their daily expenditure needs, household size, and networks with relatives and non government organizations (NGOs) were significant determinants of preparedness, recovery and adaptation to prolonged droughts or erratic rainfall events.
Practical implications – The results imply that policymakers and practitioners have an important role vis-à-vis encouraging activities that boost the ability of households to meet their daily expenditure needs, promoting small household size and reinforcing social networks that enhance household resilience.Originality/value – Even the low-income households are substantially more likely to prepare for and recover from prolonged droughts or erratic rainfall events if they can meet their daily expenditure needs. This
finding is noteworthy because the poorest in society are generally the most vulnerable to hazards.
Keywords Resilience, Drought, Urban, Networks, Rainfall, Demographic

Department/s

  • Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
  • MECW: The Middle East in the Contemporary World
  • Centre for Geographical Information Systems (GIS Centre)

Publishing year

2020

Language

English

Pages

59-73

Publication/Series

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management

Volume

12

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Topic

  • Physical Geography
  • Human Geography

Keywords

  • Resilience, Drought, Urban, Networks, Rainfall, Demographic

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1756-8692