Climate Change Adaptation in Post-Disaster Recovery Processes: Flood-Affected Communities in Cambodia and Fiji

Abstract

By adopting an integrated and participatory action-research approach, this project explores how rural communities living in flood-prone river basins of Cambodia and Fiji respond to increasing variability of flood incidences and other natural hazards under the influence of climate change and other risk factors, such as hydro-electric power development, forest conversion and environmental degradation. Particular emphasis is placed on risk perceptions and adaptive strategies of individuals, families and social groups with regard to regular and catastrophic floods and how the livelihoods of vulnerable groups are affected by floods and other disasters. Our research approach integrates the food, water and energy security nexus with the rural livelihood framework. The objectives of the project are to (1) identify the spatial extent and dynamics of flood hazards as a result of multiple risk factors; (2) determine the various factors that can enhance resilience and adaptive capacities of flood-affected communities in a changing environment, and (3) provide examples of successful community-based flood management and climate change adaptation that can serve as best-practice models for other flood-affected communities in the Asia-Pacific region.