Participatory GIS and Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change and Environmental Hazards: A Cambodian Case Study
Climate-Induced Disasters in the Asia-Pacific Region: Response, Recovery, Adaptation
ISBN: 978-1-83909-987-8, eISBN: 978-1-83909-986-1
Publication date: 9 November 2020
Abstract
Climate change, deforestation and hydropower dams are contributing to environmental change in the Lower Mekong River region, the combined effects of which are felt by many rural Cambodians. How people perceive and manage the effects of environmental change will influence future adaptation strategies. The objective of this research was to investigate whether the use of a low-cost, explicitly spatial method (participatory mapping) can help identify locally relevant opportunities and challenges to climate change adaptation in small, flood-prone communities. Four villages along the banks of the Mekong River in Kratie Province, Cambodia, were the subject of this research. To identify perceived environmental hazards and adaptive responses, eight workshops were conducted using focus-group interviews and participatory mapping. The communities’ responses highlight the evolving nature of environmental hazards, as droughts increase in perceived importance while the patterns of wet season flooding were also perceived to be changing. The attribution of the drivers of these hazards was strongly skewed towards local factors such as deforestation and less towards regional or global drivers affecting the hydrology of the Mekong and climate patterns. Combining participatory mapping with focus-group interviews allowed a greater depth of understanding of the vulnerabilities and opportunities available to communities than reliance on a single qualitative method. The study highlights the potential for a bottom-up transfer of information to strengthen existing climate change policies and tailor adaptation plans to local conditions.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the communities of Thma Reab, Ou Lung, Dei Doh Kraom and Kbal Kaoh for participating in this research and hosting the first author. The research would not have been possible without three research assistants and translators from the Royal University of Phnom Penh: Ms Hak Sochanny, Mr Yuk Sengponleur and Mr Sa Kimleng, together with the support of Mr Touch Siphat and the Cambodian Ministry of Rural Development. The research was made possible through funding and support provided by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (CAF2015-RR10-NMY-Neef, ‘Climate Change Adaptation in Post-Disaster Recovery Processes: Flood-Affected Communities in Cambodia and Fiji’) and the University of Western Australia (Research Collaboration Award RA/1/1200/755, ‘Risk, resilience and recovery: A participatory approach to integrating local and scientific knowledge for disaster preparedness of communities in flood-prone catchments in Fiji’). Icons used in Fig. 6.2 and Table 6.3 made by surang [deforestation, hydropower], smashicons [global change], turkkub [pumping, drought, lightning], iconixar [reduced flooding], Freepik [wind, decreased rainfall, flooding] and Those Icons [rainfall]; available via www.flaticon.com.
Citation
Williams, M., Pauli, N. and Boruff, B. (2020), "Participatory GIS and Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change and Environmental Hazards: A Cambodian Case Study", Neef, A. and Pauli, N. (Ed.) Climate-Induced Disasters in the Asia-Pacific Region: Response, Recovery, Adaptation (Community, Environment and Disaster Risk Management, Vol. 22), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 113-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-726220200000022005
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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