ghana climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment

Indicator DescriptionAbility to survivecrisisThe percentage of totalhouseholds within adistrict that felt either“somewhat” or “very”insecure about theirability to withstand anycrisisAgriculturalemploymentThe percentage of thedistrict’s total population> 15 years of age that isengaged in agriculturerelatedemployment(including hunting andforestry relatedactivities).DependentpopulationThe percentage of adistrict’s total populationthat is < 15 and > 65years of ageTable 7.1 Social Vulnerability Indicators Included in the IndexData source andyearGhana 2003 CoreWelfare IndicatorsQuestionnaire SurveyReport: StatisticalAbstract, GhanaStatistical Service(hereafter, CWIQ II)2000 Population andHousing Census,Analysis of DistrictData and Implicationsfor Planning, GhanaStatistical Service(hereafter 2000Census)Impact onvulnerabilityHigh percentageincreasesvulnerabilityHigh percentageincreasesvulnerabilityCWIQ II High percentageincreasesvulnerabilityRelevance for climate change socialvulnerabilityHouseholds that already feel insecure about theirability to withstand even a short-term crisis arelikely to be equally unable to weather long-termthreats to their livelihoods, or have enough extracapital to invest in necessary adaptation measures.Agriculture is an especially climate-sensitiveeconomic activity. Agricultural employment is likelyto underestimate the extent to which a districtdepends on agriculture. However the higher theagricultural employment, the more a district will beimpacted by disruptions in production due tochanging environmental conditions. Reducedproduction will cause a similar reduction indisposable income. High agricultural employmentalso suggests a lack of other employment options,and therefore few opportunities for failing farmersto earn additional income through other economicpursuits (O’Brien et al., 2004b). People are morelikely to fail to secure their needs in a time of crisiswhen they are restricted to a single sector foremployment (Eriksen et al., 2007).Individuals 65 years of age depend onfamily members or social services for financialsupport. A district with a higher dependentpopulation is forced to stretch resources further;households must juggle work responsibilities withcare for dependents, threatening the household’sability to withstand disaster. Individuals who dependon social services for survival are often elderly,economically and socially marginalized, and requireadditional support in a post- disaster period (USC,2000).Other studies usingthis (or somethingsimilar) as anindicator of climatechange socialvulnerabilityBrooks et al., 2005Eriksen et al., 2007Social Vulnerability forEnvironmentalHazards, 2000 (USC)Brooks et al., 2005O’Brien et al., 2004aEriksen et al., 2007Adger et al., 2004Social Vulnerability forEnvironmentalHazards, 2000 (USC)Brooks et al., 2005Eriksen et al., 2007GHANA CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION ASSESSMENT 120